Special thanks to my wife for tolerating all this! She's the best!
Slag, I concur, excellent job! Your descriptions and photos were very thorough. It must be a great feeling knowing you redid your cars interior by yourself. And now, it's even better than the day it left the factory. Your 328 looks awesome. How much do you suppose it would cost to let a shop do the entire job if you hadn't done the work yourself? OT: I noticed some Chicago Blackhawk logos in the photos. Not that I should talk (Ranger fan) but they aren't doing that great this year! LOL
djs308 - Thanks! Re Blackhawks - I haven't followed hockey much since Gretzky was on LA. I used to love the Kings and the Blackhawks! Re price for a shop to do it all... I am not too sure, as I never priced it out, but here were my prices for materials : Leather Dye - About $170. Carpet - $700 with shipping - I did call regarding installation of this - I think the shops charge about $50 an hour & they figured an 8-10 hour job. So, carpet would be about $1200 installed, although I have heard of people getting it done closer to $800 - I am happy with the carpet I got from GAHH though. Pedals (including dead pedals) - I think they run around $200 for all 4 pedals. Shifter knob was about $50 or so. Leather for rear deck liner - A hide of leather is about $400 - I think a half hide would get the job done, barring no mistakes. My radio was about $300 installed. The speakers were $70 and I installed them. Floor mats were around $210 or so including delivery. Engine paint was about $5 and bead blasting it from Napa auto was only $10. Spent a few hundered more at Pep Boys and Home Depot on carpet glue (weldwood contact cement), towels, laquer thinner, brushes, fuses, console bulbs, etc. I spent about $2,000 for everything, including the new stereo. I saved a bit by installing the speakers (easy since the door panel was off) and a fellow F-chatter getting me a good deal on the leather. I know it took me a lot of hours to do, so I have no idea how much a business would charge for this - Maybe someone else has some ideas. My friend (who helped me lay the carpet) and I talked amongst ourselves & figured if someone wanted us to do it, we would charge $5k for everything (not including radio). This was just a number tossed around for fun, not sure how close it would be. The most time consuming parts are stripping the leather of the dye and doing the rear deck liner in leather. The carpet went in fairly easily due to my friend having prior experience with laying carpet in houses. I have spent about another $500 for misc parts from Ferrari of UK - Spare wheel bolt, various console plates that were scratched, 2 console knobs were missing, a tire valve, etc.
Great job! looks brand new. How did the color match compared to original color? Was the dye tinted by you to achieve color match or did you buy it by color code? Vinny
Just got back into town from CO,OR and read your post. Absolutely magnificent! I am glad the carpet portion of the project went well. For sure one of the best color combinations for the 328 IMHO. Next Crystal Cove run e-mail me as I would love to snap some photos! I am glad I was given the opportunity to contribute to your project the outcome is spectacular! See you soon, -Jay.
Quite a leap you took to acquire the GTS, then just put your head down and get to work. I've been following Tom Yang's 330 America (Different animal altogether, but still) restoration project for some time now and am very impressed with the turnaround time and results you've accompished on your 328. Obviously, the results speak volumes not only about Ferrari, but about the caretaker.
My wife was looking over my shoulder as I was viewing your restoration project photos Slag. She couldn't care less about cars, in general, but when she saw the before/after photos of those seats she said "WOW!!!" You've done a magnificent job on your car. It looks awesome. I think that I enjoy looking a resto photos even more than concours event photos.
That's amazing. I have white in my Trans Am and was unhappy with the discoloration over time. Your refinish looks great! I gotta try it!
Jerry, All that I can say is WOW! That interior looks amazing! I wish I lived closer so that I could see it in person. Have you taken any other shots of your car since the work has been completed? I would love to see more! -Augustine
Hi Jerry, Your car looks fantastic, well done. I'm glad that we were of some help. I have sent you a mail regarding the washer nozzles. Best, Mark
Thanks all - Can't tell you how good it feels to get this kind of responses from true enthusiast - You all have made my day! Jay - Will let you know next time I am going to CC - Can you drive stick? I'll let you take it for a spin! Your 7 hour day deserves at least that. Aug - I haven't got a chance to give the car a proper wash - Once I do, I'll post some more pics here. Hopefully it will look as good as your beauty! Thanks for the response Mark - I'll check my email now. Thanks to Ferrari UK for answering all my questions & for their quick shipments!
Hi Vinny- Since I was redoing ALL the leather, and not just the seats, a perfect match wasn't that important to me - I just wanted it to be an original factory color. I ordered Crema, and got the original color code either from a book or an internet search, I can't remember which - If you're interested, I can dig up the color code I used, just let me know. If you send them a swatch of the color you want, they can mix to match that color, but I have never done that.
Jerry, I'm extremely impressed, and hope to be following you down the 328 path in a couple years. I remember at the last FDC drive, you said you were still doing some work on it, but I had NO idea! Much less, to have done much of it yourself is terrific! You're an inspiration - can't wait to see it in the flesh on future drives. I still think it's one of the nicest 328's I've ever seen...congrats again on all the hard work! Cheers, ~Chris
Thanks Chris - I remember you and the BMW from the drive. Hope to see you at Crystal Cove or another drive soon! Take care, & I hope that 328 purchase of yours comes soon.
Slag, do you remember what kind of speakers you bought? My original factory ones are pretty crappy, and I'd like to replace them. It looks like your new ones fit perfectly under the carpet panels.
Hi Jim- In this picture you can see them a bit before the carpet went back over them - They were Kenwood speakers - I'll take a picture of the box I have at home tonight for you. I just went to Best Buy with my old speaker & asked them for some help matching it to a new speaker. They are nothing special - I didn't want to spend much on them as since they are under the carpet, it's tough to get that great of a sound. For really good sound, I think I would have to get an amp and a subwoofer that might cost about $1K installed - I wasn't that into it - I liked the idea of keeping it all stock and not adding anything - That is why I didn't replace the rear speakers that the prior owner had in there - Plus I didn't want to cut holes in the new leather! The speakers were like $65-$70. Image Unavailable, Please Login
haha - Hi brother! Since I sold you the Porsche, I know much about it. Our cars are pretty close, could be interesting.
Jerry - beautiful work! This is the kinda stuff I really enjoy. And your documentation of the process is excellent too.
Thanks Greg - I'm glad you liked looking at the pics - Makes it all worth it!! What better way to get to know your first Ferrari?