328 Bonnet Underside Paint Color | FerrariChat

328 Bonnet Underside Paint Color

Discussion in '308/328' started by hk328, Dec 10, 2003.

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  1. hk328

    hk328 Rookie

    Nov 14, 2003
    21
    My 328 bonnet underside, the side facing the spare wheel has been painted 'Red'. A friend told me that the official factory color is Black. Can some other 328 owners confirm the correct color.
     
  2. Mule

    Mule F1 Rookie
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    Jun 25, 2003
    3,750
    Alaska
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    Mule
    Mine is black on the outside, black on the inside.
     
  3. ScuderiaRossa

    ScuderiaRossa Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Mar 22, 2001
    2,225
    Mine is black, which by the way, can be touched up with Wurth SKS Stone Guard - Black. I used it to touch up chips, scratches, etc. on the underside of the bonnet and in the engine bay. Goes on gray, then dries to a perfect match.
     
  4. RussF

    RussF Karting

    Nov 1, 2003
    222
    Washington
    Perhaps you could share with us the year of your car. The answers might make more sense because these things tend to change over the life of a vehicle.
     
  5. Dave

    Dave F1 Rookie

    Apr 15, 2001
    2,722
    Little Rock
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    David Jones
    "these things tend to change over the life of a vehicle."
    The bonnet underside color has never changed...
    It has always been black on the 3xx series.
     
  6. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    agreed, 308 or 328, the underside of the hood is always black.
     
  7. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    #7 whit, Dec 10, 2003
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  8. Dave

    Dave F1 Rookie

    Apr 15, 2001
    2,722
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    Whit, the body is primed with a yellow color primer, then shot with finish color, as in red, then the black is shot over the red color in areas like that.
     
  9. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    Dave,
    My car, of which the above is a recent photo, is an 88 1/2 328GTS (serial 78040). It has always appeared as depicted. I have never had anyone, including concours judges, say it is unusual. Are you saying it is?

    Mike
     
  10. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    May 29, 2001
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    Whit,
    This appears to be a photo during "production" and I don't know at what step, but the black paint is applied after the red (I can see the red under a few chips in the black on my previous cars).
     
  11. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    Dave,
    That photo was taken by me at Ferrari of Washington as the car underwent the major service...last year.
     
  12. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    May 29, 2001
    17,913
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    Whit,
    It may very well be "original" and came that way from the factory. It may also be a "mistake".

    Ferrari is well known for making errors in production that are not corrected or noticed. Several folks on this list have shown cars that were delivered from Ferrari with the tail lights in the wrong positions. That is, the brake light is in the out board position, when it should be the orange blinker. We know the correct orientation from the workshop manual and owner's manual, but these owner's can document that the car was delivered this way.....so what to say, but the factory workers messed up?

    So it is very possible a batch of hoods arrived without the black paint on the underside. Rather than send them back, and delay production, they were installed...very likely to have happened that way.
     
  13. Dave

    Dave F1 Rookie

    Apr 15, 2001
    2,722
    Little Rock
    Full Name:
    David Jones
    I notice in that photo that there is no foam seal on the bonnet either.
     
  14. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    Fair Enough. Either that or my car has some "history" I am not aware of.
     
  15. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    Another good example is the rear "328" and "GTS" badges. I have seen various finishes on them, black, gold and silver. And you can find them combined in various combinations. The most common is for both to be black. My car had a black 328 and a gold GTS, and I got tired of people pointed out that this is "wrong". It wasn't, that is how it came from the factory....but I went and bought a new black GTS badge, no more comments.

    I know someone on the list was actually losing points at a concours because he had the "gold" badges, even though he could prove they were original to the car. He got tired of arguing and bought some black ones.... :)
     
  16. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    Dave #2,
    My car does have a foam seal around the perimeter of the spare tire well, but it "stays with the car".

    Mike
     
  17. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    Good eye Dave! Yup, very possible the hood was resprayed at some point. And they forgot to repaint the underside black and install the foam.
     
  18. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    I am concluding that the details of the bonnet underside finish and the foam gasket were changed at the "late 88" point. Does your guys' experience include those and the '89s?
     
  19. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    May 29, 2001
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    Whit,
    The hood did change in late 88 or early 89. This is when the switched to the gas strut support on the right side of the hood. Other than that, the interior finishes and foam remained the same in the USA cars I have seen.

    Interesting to note...when I looked on the Ferrari UK parts diagram, they show a carpet liner on the inside of the late 328 hoods. Anyone seen this before?
     
  20. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    I just emailed a friend with an 89 328, he says there is definitely foam on the hood to seal the radiator...I'll see if he can go look at the inside hood finish....
     
  21. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    Whit, Mike, whatever... :)

    Here's a pic my buddy just took out in his garage. This is a 89 328 GTS (usa). Shows the carpet liner and no foam. So, my apologies, as my recolllection must be wrong on the 89 cars. It does appear that your car is missing the carpet liner though, and I still suspect a repaint may have happened in the past, it is not at all uncommon to fix all the stone chips periodically. The shop may have lost or forgot to reinstall the liner.
     
  22. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    Thanks for posting that photo. I have never seen a carpet liner like that before, but would consider installing one if it were available. My hood shows no evidence of ever having had one, so I would be interested to learn how it is attached. And whether or not it is appropriate for my 88 1/2.

    Mike Whitman (whit)
     
  23. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    May 29, 2001
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    Mike,
    Your car may be a "transitional" variant if it is mid 88. Do you have the gas strut on the right? If so, maybe they didn't go to the carpeted liner until 89....

    One of those things we will have to look into further.

    The liners are available from Ferrari UK.

    Register on the Ferrari Owner's Site www.ferrari.owners.com
    then you can go to the "spare parts" section and look up all the various parts and get them for 30 to 50% less than a FNA dealer would charge.
     
  24. whit

    whit Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    22
    Yes, I do have the gas strut. I'll look into the liner, though. Thanks.
     
  25. MARQ

    MARQ Formula 3

    Feb 9, 2002
    1,924
    East Coast US
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    Marq
    Mike/Whit

    My car is also a late '88 (78366) and the bonnet underside looks just as yours does. It is factory painted body color (Fly Yllw); was never black.
    I think I have a brand new (NOS) under-bonnet carpet if you're interested. I just moved a couple o' months ago and would have to locate it (all my Ferrari spares were boxed up for the move).
    Let me know and I'll be glad to look. Will be away until Monday.
    mail me @ [email protected]
     

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