Looking for a 355.A couple of questions that I can't find an answer to,it surprises me!Possibly haven't looked hard enough What grade of steel is the car made of and what protection did the factory apply below visible paint.Also where do the cars rust(besides the different materials, where the butresses meet on a GTB) What thickness is the paint on the panels that haven't been painted (microns)?
The body of a 355 is aluminum. This may be why you haven't found any answers. Or did you mean the frame? Most 355s have very little rust anywhere.
Are you sure? I thought that just the hood and trunk lids are aluminum whereas other body panels are steel - just like on a 348. Easy enough to test with a magnet I suppose.
Yes, it's mostly steel, the 360 was the move to aluminum. It's not very thick but appears to have good rust inhibition. I have areas on my shock towers that were welded up and have not been painted over (so I can see if they have any cracks that reappear) and while the welds have surface rusted, the surrounding steel has not and it has been over a year now since they were welded. There is not any other surface rust on my car that I can see, it is garaged (attached, so no extreme heat or cold) but does get driven in the rain occasionally.
I can't believe no one knows the answer to the relatively simple questions ! (It appears some don't even know what the 355 is made from ) Chemical composition or grade of steel used on the monocoque? Info on the subframe seems to have escaped the Ferrari factory Under the cosmetic visual surface(paint) is the steel protected like a modern mass produced car,there are many different types of prep and protection prior to paint?I know it doesn't have galvanising (like a VW Audi Group car) The question regarding the paint thickness was a typo.I was simply trying to find out what the paint thickness was in areas that have not been repainted i.e. original out of the factory I am relieved to hear it does rust! However it appears to better better than galvanised 20 yr old cars?? So far only front suspension towers show signs of rust
As the guy asked for the thickness in microns, the correct answer is 0µm The buttress issue isn't caused by rust, it's caused by the body flexing and the buttress and rear wing (fender), moving separately by small amounts. The join between the two body parts is filled with body filler and two parts moving separately cause the filler to crack along the base of the buttress. It's also not only the GTB that can suffer from it, the GTS can suffer as well (348's are known to have the same issue).
I doubt Ferrari knows, let alone anybody on here (and I am not trying to be funny). I worked in the auto industry (in R&D, in Italy) during the era when the 355 was being developed and manufactured and I can tell you that the quality control was practically non-existent on stampings and body panels. What counted was if the panel looked right and if it fitted to the assembly jig. If it didn't, and wasn't too bad it would have been manually reworked. Furthermore, what it might have said on the drawing in terms of grade/composition of the stamping would not necessarily correspond to the components supplied. In terms of corrosion protection, I *guess* the panels were zinc plated on one side only (external side) and the shells were phosphate/catophoresis dipped prior to prime and paint. This was industry standard in Italy around that time. Ferrari would have used roll stock available at the best price in the industry. Their volumes and ethos at the time would not have justified specifying and procuring roll stock to a unique specification from the steel mill. Master framing bucks, 3-axis coordinate measuring or 3D surface models were not in use at all during the era of development of the F355 at Ferrari. We are talking about cars constructed with a good deal of 'manual craftsmanship'. As for paint, well, that was manual too. When it comes to selecting a 355 current condition is far more important than any treatment the car may or may not have receive during manufacture.
Maybe because nobody cares. You want to buy a Ferrari, buy a Ferrari. Are you really going to not buy one because you don't like the kind of metal it is made from?
I think what the OP is actually asking is: Was the F355 still made of the cheap/nasty low quality steel that afflicted all of the FIAT groups range in the dark distant past? - Or are they made of the highest quality, rust resistant steel that it's possible to buy without going to Stainless steel? Next: Did Ferrari make a serious effort to reduce the risk of corrosion occurring on the F355, or did they just carry out a token gesture when it came to corrosion protection? What areas need to be checked most carefully for signs of corrosion and how serious can it get? And finally: How thick is the F355's paint? does it resist stone chipping and other damage well or is it prone to being damaged easily?
To be clear, the suspension towers did not rust at all, they cracked at the factor spot welds and had to be repaired. It was the welded areas that surface rusted after the repair, but the adjacent exposed steel has not rusted so there is definitely some rust protection under the paint.
Just asking some questions ! I believe it is called interest in the car you may buy,if you don't consider steel grade and corrosion protection important that is fine Would I get the same answers if I asked about the engine construction? I guess the grade of materials used there is not important either. Yes I do drive cars as well and
When I had my 99 detailed we measured the existing paint and generally inwas 250 microns with the usual areas that would be thinner going as low as 120 microns. The car has never been re painted.
Only you would measure how thick your paint is Grant. Must be some of that Canadian OCD coming out again. Still love ya though... Henry
+1. I get it... I'm curious too. People need to relax and not take everything as a slight. We all know they're built like crap ;-)
Built like crap? I don't think so. Please remember, the 355 was a 5 year production via a company that builds low volume cars. These cars, while not perfect, are awesome. If people can't understand that, I'm sure another mfg will welcome them
No..they are quite poorly built. Even for a low volume production car. They look wonderful, and sound amazing, and are perhaps one of the best drivers cars Ferrari has ever produced. But it is by no means a well made car.
I don't agree that they are built that bad especially considering most don't get driven. Drive your gm or ford for 1000 miles a year and you will also have problems. Also I don't know about everyone but I think a lot of their problems come from building a race car then making it street legal with components from others not manufactured to deal with heat etc. Their electrical it think has the same heat problems making wires brittle over time. Just my 2c
Jesus,Mary n Joseph ! I have said it before it's just a car and as owners it's a car that we love! Who cares about the damn problems just drive it and enjoy it!
So when you bought your car you never bothered to look into whether there were any reliability issues with the model? You had no concerns as to whether it would corrode or not? I take it you just bought the nearest car to you regardless of condition because you don't care about the problems? I suspect the reality is that you did your homework on the model first and bought the best example that you could afford! Now you're criticizing a guy for doing his homework and trying to get the information he requires before he commits to buying a car? As for: Perhaps you're one of the lucky owners for whom money is no object and so the problems can be solved by just throwing money at them? Or perhaps you're one of the owners who are able to do all of their own repairs and so the problems simply don't bother you? However, there are plenty of owners aren't loaded, and who don't have any ability to do their own repairs and so the problems are exactly that: Problems! - And problems on a Ferrari can be devastating to the bank balance! I suppose the argument could be made that if you can't afford to have problems fixed or you don't have the ability to repair the car yourself if a problem occurs then you shouldn't buy it in the first place, but life's not that simple when it comes to Ferrari's! The temptation to take a gamble on owning a car that you've dreamt of owning all your life can overwhelm the common sense that say's that if it goes wrong you might not be able to afford to fix it!
I've never sonn corrosion listed among the (many) problem areas of the 355 and my experience with exposed metal not rusting, even surface rusting, would seem to back that up. Maybe if you're in a salt water environment or the car were driven in the winter with salt on the roads you'd have reason to worry but that goes for any car, not the 355 in particular. It doesn't seem rust was too much of an issue from the 328 on.
Amen! No wonder the car has no hope in their market. The thickness of the paint is a determining factor in buying an old Ferrari?!?! FFS... I drove mine 400km today to watch a football game. Never missed a beat. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. You buy it cheap and you maintain it cheap, you will reap what you sow.
