It's been three-and-a-half months since I dropped-off my '86 328 GTS at the painter...and let me just say that it was worth the wait. The 328 has beautiful factory-spec Blu Medio paint. The bodywork is flawless. I guess that's what you can expect when a three-time Concorso Italiano winner does the painting! (Paul Hoey at Hoey's Autobody in Olympia, WA. You might have seen the lime green Lamborghini Miura he owned until recently if you go to CI in Monterey.) With all the rain in the Northwest, I've been trying to get a dry day to bring it home. Finally today, the rain stopped for a while, and I grabbed it and drove it the 10 miles home. It got a little wet and dirty on the bottom, but thanks to lots of Speed Shine, she's clean again. In a month or so, I'll do the 90,000 mile service at Madrona Autoworks (there are two Mondials in front of me.) It's just so good to have the car back in the garage!!! Picture attached. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Congratulations Sam. Looks good! Very unusual colour. I can understand your feeling, had my TR painted recently as well & waited three months+. Was to just touch up the stone chips but then painted the entire car & in the end change the red to a nicer tone. Oh well...
Glad to see a 90,000-mile 328 have cosmetic rebirth, and its rare original factory color. Ironically, 20 years later, it's a very current color... The photo looks a bit washed out (all colors), but would love to see blu medio in person someday.
The car was originally Blu Medio with tan interior. The previous owner redid the seats, center console and carpet in black, which I really like. The car looks so much better in person, especially in the sun. It was a very cloudy day yesterday, so the color really didn't -pop- when taking the pix. I need to resize the other pictures I took, but will do when I have a chance this afternoon. By the way, does anyone have any ballpark idea of how many Blu Medio 328s were made? I even asked Ferrari Media Relations (I'm a classic car columnist,) but in true Ferrari fashion, they didn't bother getting back to me.
Great looking color, 90,000 mile service comming up, just shows these cars are ment to be driven. How many of those miles have you done??
doug, actually, I've only put about 500 miles on the car myself. I got the car in June, and in July my friend (and insurance agent) started the car in gear and put it into a metal park bench (which in turn went through my friend's shop wall!) I drove it a few more times waiting for a spot to open up at the painter. The car has been used pretty religiously in the past. The last owner put somewhere around 25K miles in about eight years of owning it (if I remember correctly.) Even though it's painted and nice now, I still intend to drive it as much as possible...just not in the downpours like we're having here right now. Oh, in terms of cost...since it was a combination of insurance and a favor from the painter (a good friend) what was actually paid isn't accurate or relevant. In terms of the amount of time and parts, if this was a pure give the credit card to a shop and have them do it type of deal, the painter said it was a $20k job by the time he was done. Lots of time spent getting tiny dimples and waves out of the rear deck and nose etc...
On the off-chance the sun ever shines again in Washington, I'd love to see some pics in the sunlight.
Here are some more pix -- it's pretty interesting how the paint changes shades dramatically depending on the light/angle. As soon as it gets clear and sunny I'll get some better pix. By the way -- that's a reflection of me (and the trees across the street) in the front lid louvers. Sam Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sammy, I will say, I'm jealous. I will vouch for this one guys, it looks even better in person. The last time I saw this car it was stuck half way through my office wall. What a night that was. Now, I can't wait to get my hands on that engine. New T-belts, seals, fresh tune........ oh it's gonna be great. Bret
That color gives the car a more serious look. I really like it but would never go off the red reservation myself. It's nice to see different colors..this is a unique one Very nice!
