All 348 Spiders have manual tops?

Yes - all manual. 355 tops are fine as long as looked after/lubricated.

 

... and the seat potentiometers don't crap out.

 

.... or top pots don't become loose or misadjusted, especially the ones that are very hard to find (per my friend Steve who fixed a 355 top for a guy that a dealer failed to fix).

 

Or hair gel gets caught in the top prevents operation...

 

Dosnt the 348 spider roof have to be raised with the two foot lever, that comes supplied with the car?
Imagine the scene, your at a Monaco or any other cool event, all is good and every one is admiring your classic Ferrari. Then it starts to rain so you break out the leaver bar to raise the roof. Very cool guys

 

............ it is hair gel that is used to lube the top for proper function .....

+1 ............

 

Oh Jane you magnificantly ignorant slut! There is no lever, other than the one attached to the assembly in the car. And it only takes a minute at best to raise the top. For me, I needed to move the seats forward, so it took a bit longer, but for midgets (or Italians) it just goes up with no fanfare.

 

...or the piston motor fails (after all of the above have been fixed)

 

60 seconds putting up the top has caused an impromptu party in one part of town. I have to tip both seats forward to give room for the mechanism to unfold.

A failling 355 roof would sure look odd if it got stuck half-way as you had to drive home!

 

If you're just trying to dodge either a dash of the sprinkles or a large dose of the sun's rays, check out SPIDER TOP @ Ricambi. I developed it because it was just too time consuming to manually raise the top (tonneau - and all those bloody/pretty snaps) on Rachel, my Mondial t.

Cheers, Hank

 

Since were on the subject of spider tops, what is that snap in the middle by the rear window for? Iv'e seen it on both 348 and 355 and dosn't seem to have a purpose.

 

Good question I often wondered this myself I believe that some soft top covers came with a snap in the middle as well I know mine can certainly use it when I am at speed on the highway.

 

Huh!? So there is a leaver bar then? Doesn't really matter how you say it, there is a leaver Oh and you say you have to move the seats forward manually as well. That sounds really cool
In all the years that i have owned 355s i have never had a days problem with any mechanism, and it looks a great action And i am still sat in the car
Were as with the 348s leaver system, the seats have to be manually pulled forward And all this done out of the car


By the way for all you anal guys, i am having a bit of fun with you

 

So true, that would look odd I was once driving when the top latch unlatched its self and the roof acted like a parachute No one was about so no one saw it Also my 360 spider on two accasioins got stuck half open while the action was in motion
But you know even if the 355 system failed once in 100 operating actions. The 348s always have to pump that leaver and tilt the seats, 100 out of 100 times

 

Yes you see your missing the whole point. The 348 is a mans car with "man"ual labor involved like our steering for one example, if we wanted all the bells and whistles so we wouldn't have to mess our hair by getting out of the car to put the top that NEVER FAILS TO CLOSE or chip a nail with our non power assisted steering then we would buy a Mercedes CLK first then maybe consider the 355......maybe..


Ditto on the joking part..

 

The tonneau covers have 3 velco patches with snaps on them, to secure the cover to the car. Although I could never get the middle one to take - more tension on the cover than the velcro could hold. I'm always losing the velcro things as well. One day they may be worth gadzillions! yeah - right

 

Your just lucky "no one saw you." I got cut off by a Land Rover Discovery once in my '97 355 Spyder on I-80 (by the outlets by the NJ/ PA border) and immediately floored it in the slow lane around it. About half-way past, my latch also let go with the same "parachute" effect. The funny thing was that I always joke about is that it ripped back so violently and completely that for a minute (or even two), I had thought that I lost the roof. That begged the question - do I go back for it? Or just keep driving? In any event, while it was still attached, I was less than a "bad man" doing the inside pass and having this happen!

Probably my favorite "worst story" (of many) with that car.

-SE

 

Nice try - but they have issues that Spiders don't. For example, the GTS cars have roof panels that all leak or creak, and the GTBs have rusting rear butresses (and don't sound as good from inside the cabin). The Spider has none of these issues... None of them is totally perfect, but they are all great cars anyway...

 

That's interesting,I've never heard or seen of these before I guess mine must have been lost also, I do wish it had a matching snap there as the cover lifts in the middle while driving, Thanks

 

What happens when the roof snaps back? I.e. is it broken?

Did you shut the mechanism properly?

 

Actually, it gives us an opportunity to step out of the car and bend over and let the onlooking ladies admire (or be scared away in my case) our tight bottoms. See, there is a health advantage to driving a 348. The lack of power steering means that we get a work out every time we drive our cars. With the manual top actuator, it gives us a chance to work those biceps to stay lean and mean (or chubby and flubby in my case) for the onlooking ladies.

Who is going to be impressed by watching someone push a button to put the top up or down? (or halfway up or half way down on a 355 depending on if you are an optimist or a pessimist) I kid! I kid! I love both the 355 and the 348, it is just that I must support my 348 bretheren with the good natured ribbing.

 

But it is a good idea to point out that there is a big difference between operating the top of a 348 and a Mondial (I have experience with a Mondial t as well). The spider top goes up and down in a jiffy. Pop out, tilt seat forward pull up on handle, move front lip of top while holding the center bar forward to windshield frame, one flip of the lever secures it down. Then I run to both sides to ensure the weather strip is positioned appropriately, then raise the windows, and voila, she's done. Sounds longer than it really is. putting the top down takes longer because it is way faster to unsnap and remove the tonneau than it is to put the thing on. It took a while to get down but ALWAYS start with the two snaps at the corner of the engine cover first (below where the back window is located).

The mondial roof by comparison is much larger and more complex. All the ribs you need to make sure you have in the right position, and move it in a synchronized kind of dance to ensure nothing gets bound up. And PLEASE! Be sure to use the rear window lock out switch when the top is down for crying out loud. The triangular quarter window turns into a ginsu knife on the weather seals of the top if you don't. I have seen the results and trust me, it isn't pretty!

I have also found that if you just drive a little faster, the rain seems to be scared away from entering the cabin of the 348 while the top is down.