F430 New owner diary inc. maintenance & upgrades

Lots of bits & bobs and other odd jobs consolidated into a single update.

Winter jobs cont.
The leading edge of the scuttle panel is in a dip with a flange along the leading edge which creates a nice water trap, and on my car the mounting bolts had started to corrode inside the Rvinuts which led to them spinning when I attempted removal. I hate it when that happens! To rectify I drilled out and replaced three of the Rivnuts. At the same time I took the opportunity to inject wax into the cavities and repaint the area.
(photo attached below)

I removed the RH side skirts and again Dad kindly prepared the area for me.
(photo attached below)

I've replaced the door strikers, their bolts (BZP grade 10.9), and the catch panel securing bolt with stainless. Ferrari revised the strikers by removing the Derlin/plastic coating and increasing the diameter of the post, I assume because the plastic always wears away, however the doors sound horrible when closing over the all-metal posts so I've gone back to the old ones!
(photo attached below)

On the doors themselves I've also gone for stainless.
(photo attached below)

Scuderia radiator cages complete
What looked to be a simple job was a bit of a pain and one of those things that was better returned to after a good nights sleep! The end of the Scuderia removable support did not align with the rest of the radiator cage and was out in horizontal and vertical planes, so to join the two I fabricated a pair of brackets from 2mm aluminium then formed the componded curves (not entirely visible in the photo) afterwards.
(photo attached below)

Brackets mounted and Scuderia removable sections bolted in place. Relevant areas painted satin black.
(photo attached below)

Misc
I have a sample of the red leather from my steering wheel so I've used that to choose a shade of red for the seat belts which I'll have re-webbed. I'll hold off on this for now as I want the rest of the interior in place before I make the call.
(photo attached below)

A friend is building a 9k rpm F430 engine at the moment and believes from his measurements that the cam change (from engine number 97781) was to Scuderia/Challenge spec. My engine falls well after the changeover which is good as it saves me buying new cams to have reground to Speciale spec.
(photo attached below)

Gary from Club Scuderia who sold the Captristo system to me has kindly posted a set of locating screws to fit Challenge front CCMs to road car hubs. This means I have the option to use Challenge discs, or Challenge centres with Speciale discs. Thanks Gary.
(photo attached below)

Braking update
I've picked up a Speciale front pad kit. 488 pads were another option and cheaper but they aren't the 'hybrid' type just regular CCM3.
(photo attached below)

New seal kit to rebuild the Speciale calipers.
(photo attached below)

In preparation for Speciale rear calipers with integrated EPB I've taken the opportunity to modify the new Scuderia centre console loom to include an additional plug for an EPB switch. I liberated the connectors and wiring from my old F430 console loom. To maintain an OEM theme I can re-purpose another F430 roof switch - which is SPDT - and create an EPB icon for it.
(photo attached below)

When the handbrake lever is gone I will epoxy a plate over the gap in the centre console to form another storage tray, then line it with leather just like those adjacent to it.

Scuderia pedals
I gave up trying to find a RHD CD/Scuderia pedal so decided to modify mine to spec. I used a 40 grit flapwheel disc in my angle grinder to remove the bumps from the pedal surface, then smoothed with 120 grit before finishing by hand. I used a 7mm drill to drill the holes and then a 16mm HSS countersink to complete the look.
(photo attached below)

Dad also spotted that the pedal itself had been weight optimised so I chopped off the excess then finished by hand.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

Over to the accelerator pedal, and the Scuderia part I've purchased was LHD and I found to use it in my RHD car I had to swap over the pedal to potentiometer lever rod from my old pedal. Also, this meant I had to reset the pedal stop position, so to achieve that I used a multimeter to check min/max resistance of the two pots and then adjusted the pedal stop until 1ohm away from the max travel. I did this to protect the sensor (potentiometer pair). Once the car is running I can confirm via diagnostics that the ECUs are seeing 100% requested throttle.
(photo attached below)

I will perform the 'Scuderia look' treatment on the passenger footrest.
(photo attached below)

Interior reassembly
I've replaced the anti vibration foam on top of the heating ducts as it looks like the el cheapo stuff that crumbles over time. As per my other projects I use Silent Coat products.
(photo attached below)

I soaked the dashboard stitching in UV protectant.
(photo attached below)

The carpets are taped down on the A pillar and sills so I've used new 3M VHB.
(photo attached below)

My driver's kick trim/guard had some scratches on it so I used 120 grit aluminium oxide paper in one direction to restore the brushed finish.
(photo attached below)

Carpets are in and look like new. In fairness they were were pretty good anyway.
(photo attached below)

Dashboard back in. I've taken to opportunity to improve on factory cable management because the routing for stuff like the iPod interface which is is an add on to the basic loom left just a bit of room for improvement! Also, I found the nav unit did not sit perfectly perpendicular to the dashboard so I realigned the metal frame part of the dashboard so it does. It was only a mm or two but I couldn't leave it.
(photo attached below)
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Lightweight door hinges
I found an F430 GT3 race team selling off some spare parts and I couldn't resist a set of door hinges they had machined to save weight. The machning work is good - I really like them - but when I picked them up the voids had been filled with expanding foam, filled over, and painted Dad kindly sorted them for me and it took him the best part of a day to get them to a standard suitable for my car.
(photo attached below)

Photo to show a finished lightweight hinge (left) and an original (right). Total saving is near 1kg.
(photo attached below)

Door off for hinge fitment. I aligned the doors more evenly than they were originally and so much so that I could discard the shims that had been used at the factory. Aligning a door well takes time so using shims once it's loosely bolted to the car saves a lot of time on a production line. I only saved 20 grams a side but I just prefer the approach.
(photo attached below)

Scuderia electronics research - part 8
One final tidy up activity on the wiring was to remove an additional acceleration sensor (introduced with the CFC301) used by the TCU. With the advent of Superfast 2 its function had been consolidated with the digital yaw sensor. On my car the sensor was bolted to the centre tunnel.
(photo attached below)

The sensor could be left connected and wired in because the Scuderia TCU does not read anything from the reference pin it is connected to, however to ensure the wiring and system was factory spec I removed the sensor and its wiring back to the TCU.
(photo attached below)

N.B. as with other MY08 parts it isn't listed on most of the online parts systems but I did find it on FerrParts.
(photo attached below)

I now also have a complete set of information on the later F1 system so I'll paste some of it below for reference.

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I've tracked down another rare part: the 16M dashboard plaque. I always wondered why it was so expensive compared to even the Scuderia carbon version, but now I know; it's hallmarked solid silver! I found this new part in Japan.
(photo attached below)

Steering wheel – paddles - electronics
Looking further into feasibility of my circuit I realised there was a problem: most Solid State Relays SSRs are opto-isolators, which means they are devices comprised of an LED and a phototransistor. The problem occurs because there is a small voltage drop across the phototransistor, which means the TCU would not see the expected voltage for any given paddle position. I had to go back to the drawing board. There are other options I could take including reed relays, and analogue/CMOS switches, but I settled for a different approach: rather than copy the Ferrari circuit I would simulate its behaviour using a small processing unit.

I’ve purchased a Genuino (Ardunino) Micro which is a small microcontroller with a number of input and output pins that comes with a development environment so that custom code can be uploaded to it, and so the possibilities are endless. I’ve also picked up a AD8403AN10 quad channel digital potentiometer which I will communicate with from the Arduino over something called the Serial Peripheral Interface Bus. Finally, a LM2596S based voltage regulator to ensure the components receive a steady 5v regardless of alternator and battery output.
(photo attached below)

I'm going to write some code that will vary the resistance of three pots to match paddle position. The three outputs being connected to the up, down, and standby wires to the TCU.

I'll package the whole lot in a small enclosure to create a steering wheel paddle module.

Braking update
I'm going to use another Arduino to create an EPB module to control the two Brembo EPB motors. At this stage I don't know if the Speciale EPB motors have integrated hall effect sensors to detect when the parking brake is fully engaged, or whether I'll use a current sensing circuit to determine that.
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Interior parts retrim and paddles
Part of the Christmas present from my OH was a retrim to my spec of various leather interior parts. The present wasn't a surprise but the results were. The chap who did this for me works for Bentley and is one of the few remaining who do so; his team deal with really bespoke requests and rectification of any defects from the robotised production process.

I've gone with red leather for the control interfaces but not the Ferrari Rosso leather because it looks a bit dull next to Rosso paint. As this was a 599 GTO wheel the rear was covered in Alcantara, but I've changed it to black smooth grain Nappa. The bottom is Alcantara 9040 Deep Black which will match some other trim parts yet to be completed.
(photo attached below)

I am over the moon with how my paddle conversion turned out.
(photo attached below)

The extended paddles are back from paint and match my wheels, F1 panel, interior air vents, and HVAC control knobs.
(photo attached below)

Extended paddles fitted.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

Handbrake lever in perforated red leather.
(photo attached below)

A new handbrake gatier for the Scuderia console, this time in leather.
(photo attached below)

I've gone for plain red leather for the centre console tray inserts.
(photo attached below)

As with all convertible cars the interior trim is subject to more dust than a hard top car so I've taken the opportunity to clean behind any trim that's been removed.
(photo attached below)

Some of the new parts and Scuderia centre console fitted.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

Headlamps
I have the headlamps apart to rebuild with the carbon inserts and I've taken the opportunity to change the bezel colour again: I repainted them in silver as per the Scuderia but there's nothing else on the car that colour, so I've had them repainted to match the wheels and other grey bits.
(photo attached below)

Misc
Hel stainless brake lines. I use Hel on my cars because they are a British company and also because the entire assembly is stainless.
(photo attached below)

I found Graypaul Nottingham were selling off new old stock of the original door catches. I don't expect the plastic insert to last any decent length of time but they were for sale at less than it would have cost me to have my originals re-plated.
(photo attached below)

The door jamb trim on my car had cracked in a few places and as expected, Ferrari charge a lot for it despite it being fairly standard square profile edge trim. I picked up a couple of metres for just over £6 and will see how it compares - there are many variations available.
(photo attached below)

Weight saving
Sprung weight saved: 78.16 kg
Unsprung weight saved: 24.97 kg
Total weight saved: 103.13 kg
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Early 360 windscreen washer reservoir
I found during some of my research that early 360's had a very small washer tank. These early cars did not have xenon's and thus not a requirement for headlamp washers either meaning the tank capacity could be lower. Ferrari discontinued this smaller tank when the first xenon's started to appear on the 360, and from that point only supplied the larger tank but with the additional motor hole blanked off for non-xenon cars. The smaller tank presented a meaningful weight saving capacity not from the tank itself - which is already quite light - but from the minimum quantity of fluid required to keep the dashboard warning light from illuminating, which is the level of fluid I fill to; I don't use the wipers except for the MOT but if I do need to there's a good to three days worth of fluid in even the smaller tank.

With my original tank fitted to the car I blocked off the motor output ports and connected a multimeter in continuity check mode to the level senor, then filled the tank until the circuit was broken. This was to be the comparison at 5.2kg.
(photo attached below)

Here's a photo to show the F430 tank (top) next to the early 360 tank (bottom). The F430 has a different front sheet metal to suit the revised underbody aerodynamics, so the two lower mounting lugs on the 360 tank require modification. Also, I would need to find a way to fit the F430's headlamp washer pump to the 360 tank.
(photo attached below)

The filler neck and low fluid sensor are identical so can be swapped over, and to make life easier the upper mounting hole is only 4mm out so I just enlarged the mounting hole. I found that the lower mounting lugs could be trimmed to suit the F430 body. I added new Rivnuts to the shell and blanked off the now unused ones with butyl, so that the original tank can be refitted at any time.
(photo attached below)

I bored an 18mm hole in the side of the tank at a suitable place, and Dad came up with the ideal of using a P clip or other fitting to secure the headlamp washer motor to the body. It turned out that a 32mm solvent weld domestic plumbing fitting was perfect for the job! I had to extend the motor harness by 200mm.
(photo attached below)

New tank installed and working. It saved 2.358kg.
(photo attached below)

Headlights complete and installed
I made another modification to the headlamps at the last moment. When I commissioned the carbon inserts I asked for a slight tint but when they arrived I was never really happy with it. I decided to take the risk of stripping off the epoxy top coat and initially tried sanding, but if anyone knows epoxy...too hard! 99.5% pure Methylene Chloride wasn't strong enough, but Nitromors paint stripper left on for a few hours enabled me to scrape off the epoxy with a knife. I finished with 400 grit wet and dry paper to expose the carbon cloth.

I initially painted with matt lacquer as per OEM but I didn't like it - too lackluster - so I settled on satin lacquer which gave a bit more life to the carbon. The process saved some further weight but that wasn't the primary goal.
(photo attached below)

Dad bought over his DA and we gave the headlamp covers a good polish inside and out.
(photo attached below)

Lights installed with my new clear indicators and grey bezels. I'm happy.
(photo attached below)

Misc
The front bumper is back on and the alignment is much better. I won't say perfect because nothing bodywork related on these cars is perfect, but for me believe it or not that's actually become part of the attraction of the F430. Obviously, the car is due a good clean and polish.
(photo attached below)

Scuttle panel and wipers back on with stainless fastenings
(photo attached below)

My trimmer wasn't comfortable working with the airbag so I've stripped it down for him so he can retrim the cover in red with new embossing for the 'AIRBAG' text.
(photo attached below)

Weight saving
Sprung weight saved: 80.60 kg
Unsprung weight saved: 24.97 kg
Total weight saved: 105.57 kg
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Thanks Serf.

 

599/Scuderia steering wheel, and paddles continued
I've lacquered the 599 GTO carbon surround to match the rest of the interior. I had to reduce a 3/8" AF socket to remove the Manettino – a very odd fastening with minimal clearance given everything else is standard metric!
(photo attached below)

I machined polished it to a nice shine: much better than OEM. I also applied a new MA Carbon Manettino sticker.
(photo attached below)

The airbag trimmed with 'AIRBAG' embossing.
(photo attached below)

The complete steering wheel. I'm over the moon with it; my favourite steering wheel to date.
(photo attached below)

F430 Challenge CCM discs
I bought a set of F430 Challenge CCMs (398mm/350mm) from 360 owner Gary who also sold the Capristo system to me last summer. I will continue to work on the Speciale brake conversion in the background but for now I want the car back together and to Christian Lewis to finish the gearbox setup, so I have a couple of months contingency ahead of the summer to wrap up this phase of the project.

The rear discs are around 40% and the fronts 90%. I only need the fronts which I have stripped to recondition.
(photo attached below)

The Challenge bells do not fit road car hubs due to a different centre bore diameter, which is well known, but I am still interested in them because I discovered a full set is nearly 1/2kg lighter than even the lighter aluminium road car bells that were fitted to my car. The bells themselves are a completely machining and part of the weight saving comes from additional cooling pockets machined into the rear face.
(photo attached below)

There is also greater clearance between the hub mounting face and disc edge to allow cooling air to flow outwards and across the outside face of the disc via the machined pockets. This was a feature Ferrari carried over into later CCMs.
(photo attached below)

Photo to show the rear of the CCM bell with its cooling pockets.
(photo attached below)

The Challenge hubs are centrelock with ten locating dowels on the same PCD as the five road car wheel bolts, so to mount the Challenge CCMs to the road car it is possible to use turned down countersunk cap screws in two of the holes to centralise them on the road car hub using the original disc securing bolt holes, but because the disc securing bolts on the road car were never designed to centre the disc - which they aren't on any car; it's the job of the hub boss - the threaded holes in the wheel hub are offset and thus do not fully centralise the disc. I tried this approach and found too much runout in the disc to be comfortable with, so I had aluminium spigot rings machined to tighter tolerances than the original road car discs to perfectly centralise the discs.
(photo attached below)

Scuderia front uprights
Time to fit the Scuderia uprights to suit the 398mm braking system. The caliper lugs are 9mm longer to suit the 18mm larger discs. The Challenge just used studs with a spacer boss which is fine on a race car, but on a road car it can lead to additional vibration under braking. It's not a massive consideration of mine for this car given how focused it is but given there was a better option available I took it.

The hub mounting face had the same offset as the F430 but I did not check if there were other dimensional differences.
(photo attached below)

I'm happy with the condition of my suspension but the low deflection 'flambloc' joints are showing signs of corrosion and degradation of the rubber so I am planning a replacement solution for next winter.
(photo attached below)

Despite being very low mileage the Scuderia hub bosses were a bit rusty. Dad kindly prepared them and masked off the central nut then I sprayed them in silver zinc.
(photo attached below)
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Scuderia front caliper rebuild
Dad also kindly stripped the red 398mm front calipers back to the original anodising, then I stripped off all removable parts.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

I bought new bleed nipples, seals, decals etc. I decided a 2009> L320 Range Rover Sport pad fitting kit would work – and it does. I had a set of Hill Engineering seals in stock already but when stripping down the caliper I found the fluid and dual lip internal type dust seals were pretty standard and readily available elsewhere for considerably less. The pistons cleaned up to live another day; I didn't want stainless pistons because of the weight penalty.
(photo attached below)

Calipers painted. To prevent corrosion I've packed the seal lands with red rubber grease which is a trick that works well on motorbikes with a similar seal arrangement. It is worth pointing out that this type of caliper is a high performance type with internal dust seals for high heat resistance, and is not maintenance free even with stainless pistons. Internal dust seal calipers should be stripped and inspected every few years to keep an eye on bore condition. Incidentally, Ferrari fitted boot type seals to the Speciale and La Ferrari calipers - I can only imagine because the caliper was destined for the road 488 - and whilst that type works well on a moderately driven road car, they overheat and break down on track.
(photo attached below)

Hubs in place and calipers temporarily bolted up.
(photo attached below)

I now have a set of fluid and boot type dust seals for the Speciale calipers which I will refurbish in due course.
(photo attached below)

Misc
I've purchased some good suspension parts from a race team including the derlin inserts which are fitted in lieu rubber on the road car. I'm going to use these parts to develop a replacement set of flamblocs for my car.
(photo attached below)

I had a void in my dashboard where the glovebox open switch one was so rather than a blank I decided to fit something that is always used on our road trips: a USB charging point, only this one incorporates a voltage display - something really useful on these cars given how sensitive the electronics are to supply voltage.
(photo attached below)

I decided to cut a reveal in the R/H rear wheel arch liner to allow the F1 reservoir drain to route to ground. This will prevent the diffuser and engine under tray being filled with oil in the event of an F1 issue. I bunged the end with a piece of foam to prevent dirt ingress.
(photo attached below)

HEL brake lines fitted.
(photo attached below)

My car has an auxiliary front fuse panel which Ferrari strategically located directly above the battery terminals. At best the lack of clearance between it and the terminals slightly hampers battery removal, and at worst it can allow a short between the negative terminal and earth which bypasses the battery master switch. To prevent this I've trimmed the battery terminals flush to increase clearance by 5mm, thus solving the issue.
(photo attached below)

Scuderia parking light switch fitted. This is a latch type switch rather than momentary.
(photo attached below)

I picked up a nice set of used Andrew/Exoticare Alcantara mats. They are lovely mats but have a red cavallino which is a bit much given I have yellow cavallino's on my seats, so I've purchased some dye stripper with the intent of re-dying yellow, but I may go black if the interior starts to look too 'busy'.
(photo attached below)
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Yes; I'm building something that exceeds the spec of a factory built car, with better finish, and with trim I would have ordered new. Obviously there's nothing available used that would meet that criteria.

 

Steering wheel paddles completed
I was happy with the Arduino code and tested as much as I could using a digital simulation so the next step was to build the actuation element of the circuit: this is the part that varies the resistance of the circuit based on paddle position, and it is controlled by my Arduino code. The first prototype is complete and tested and shown below.
(photo attached below)

I've housed the three elements; Arduino, power regulation & protection, and the actuation circuit within a plastic box. I've used a panel mount Molex connector to join to the car wiring loom. Internally I've used locking DuPont connectors, but for added reliability and vibration resistance I've sealed the locking tabs with butyl. I have matched the OEM colours where I'm interfacing with existing wiring.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

I found a nice space behind the steering module next to the OE timer module. I've secured my module with Velcro.
(photo attached below)

Next I turned to the Maserati clock spring. To recap, it is a dual stage airbag version of the single stage airbag F430 clock spring, and I'm re-purposing one of the airbag stages for my paddle wires. I found I had to attach the F430 plugs because the Maserati uses a different type with inbuilt wire wound resistor.
(photo attached below)

Here's my clock spring mounted with the F430 airbag connector and two additional paddle connectors that I wired in.
(photo attached below)

On the column side of the steering wheel I had to add some pins to the clock spring connector. They are fairly generic Tyco pins of which I had some in stock from a BMW project. I added the pins and ran a power and earth (same earth as the paddles) to my new module behind the dashboard. I also extended a second set of wires from the existing F1 paddle plug to my module rather than cutting off the OE plug and relocating the wires; one of my design requirements was to ensure the entire conversion was reversible if required - if my module is disconnected the OE paddles will still plug in and function without any further changes.
(photo attached below)

Manual gearbox steering column trims - no cut outs for the OE column mount paddles.
(photo attached below)

Wheel and airbag mounted.
(photo attached below)

Of course, the proof is in the pudding. I used the Autel to first check the OE paddles were working and the Autel was recording their status - it was. I next checked what errors to expect if the OE paddle assembly was disconnected: the TCU reports error for up, down, and neutral (nothing pressed). I then cleared codes and plugged in my module: it worked first time. I am quite proud of that because despite the conversion appearing to be a simple change, in the end it actually wasn't.
(photo attached below)

I'll trial the system over the coming months and make any programming or paddle position adjustments if necessary.

Carbon mirrors
I've been waiting a while now for a good set of OE mirrors to come up for sale and now I have some.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

A RHD set is next to impossible to find so I settled for LHD. On the F430 it is the mirror base which determines this - the mirror cases themselves are identical between LHD/RHD.
(photo attached below)

For now I have reassembled my mirrors using the carbon casings, and I'm going to send off the carbon bases to be modified for RHD. Total weight saved by the mirrors is 0.679kg.
(photo attached below)

Front brakes
In the end I decided I would fit stainless pistons to the Scuderia calipers, because they are temporary until I finish the Speciale conversion and new stainless pistons would make them a more attractive proposition for others at sale time. I commissioned a set of new pistons to my spec including some spares, for £100. The complete set is 351 grammes heavier than the original pistons, but they are lighter than other stainless pistons available commercially.
(photo attached below)

I've used 458 pad wear sensors because they monitor both pads in each caliper.
(photo attached below)

Complete
I took a shot of the Scud Ing Swiss Ultimate DRLs in the new carbon headlight housings. Very pleased with both!
(photo attached below)

The car is not totally complete because I'm still waiting for some of the interior parts to be re-trimmed, but I'm at a stage where it can go back to Christian Lewis for another shot at the gearbox setup.
(photo attached below)
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Minor update but some progress. The car has been with Christian Lewis since Feb 27th for the following:

Phase one
1. Fit the carbon fibre hood tray – potentially a 10kg weight saving. Ed also recommended I take the opportunity to have the roof oil replaced, so I am.
2. Adjust the roof as there is a part of the N/S door seal that doesn’t quite sit flush.
3. Give the roof a general health check for alignment and elastic straps loosening.
4. Raise both front shocks/spring perches by 10mm to equalise ride height.
5. Full geo to 16M spec on the Hunter machine – I previously had the toe adjusted to spec, not camber, too.
6. Steering angle sensor (SAS) calibration.
7. Clear codes from everything.

Phase two - TCU
1. Calibration of DEIS parameters.
2. Self-learning.
3. Superfast shift self-learning.
4. Reading of closed clutch value from old TCU and input into new one.
5. Calibration of acceleration sensor offset (yaw sensor).
6. Kiss point procedure.

Then and annual service, and MOT.

Once the pre-requisites for the gearbox work were done i.e. SAS calibration the remaining errors were gone, the Manettino became operational, and the TCU successfully completed through a DEIS procedure; this is confirmation the electronics conversion was successful and the modules appear to be working in harmony. It’s now over to Ed’s experience to run through the rest.

The car will be ready for the 31st – can’t wait to drive it.

 

Thanks Tony and Julian. It has been incredibly satisfying if at times challenging, and others stressful! - but that's all part of the fun.

Mark

 

Trimming update. To recap all of these pieces in my car were plain black carpet.

The photos aren't great quality so the colours aren't quite representative; they are from my trimmers phone camera as he works with me in real-time over WhatsApp to ensure I am happy with progress and the finer details of his work. He always keeps me up-to-date and is great to work with, so normally I would share his details because I like to recognise people who do a good job - but he's too busy so doesn't want me to post his details.

Rear bulkhead - upper panel
I've gone for a 3mm backing foam under the Alcantara.
(photo attached below)

The trimmer always does a mock up in leather to ensure I'm happy with the stitching detail. I wanted a slight tweak to this one.
(photo attached below)

I had the nets stripped down and the frames re-trimmed in black leather, then reassembled with the nets re-tensioned.
(photo attached below)

Bulkhead and nets complete. Unlike the Ferrari trimming which is simply cut level with the edge of the panel, my trimmer actually folds over and glues to the rear for a better fit.
(photo attached below)

Rear bulkhead - lower side panels
Original carpet panels.
(photo attached below)

I'd sent one of the leather trimmed parts - which will remain - so that the trimmer could match the OEM stitching length, spacing, and colour.
(photo attached below)

One panel complete. Again, these have 3mm backing foam.
(photo attached below)

Rear bulkhead - lower central panel
Original carpet panel.
(photo attached below)

Before the carpet was stripped off we figured out a line for the stitching; the front edge ties into the existing stitching on the leather centre console.
(photo attached below)

Complete.
(photo attached below)

Front tunnel panel
I wanted contrasting stitching along the ridge of the panel, but the front section took a little figuring out. If the stitching was to run parallel with the rest of the panel it would be hidden underneath the drivers' footrest.
(photo attached below)

We decided it should curve up and inwards to follow the edge of the footrest (an alloy part not attached here).
(photo attached below)

Carpet stripped.
(photo attached below)

Leather mock up to ensure a good fit.
(photo attached below)

Completed panel. No wrinkles or risk of them because of the use of multiple sections - the contrast stitching is a join between parts as per the OEM centre console.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

Front bulkhead - passenger/footrest
The passenger front trim backing had cracked where it had been bent forward to access the footrest mounting screws, so I've had the entire thing re-made.
(photo attached below)

The trimmer made a miniature mock-up to see if I was happy with the edge detail. I wanted a folded over edge trim sewn on but he wasn't sure if his machine would sew through it and the backing material, but thankfully it did. I think it looks a lot better than the basic folded edge and single sewing line.
(photo attached below)
(photo attached below)

Complete.
(photo attached below)

Front bulkhead - driver
This small part doesn't feature any contrast stitching on Ferrari's trimming, but I thought it deserved some. The following photo shows where my trimmer had to join several pieces of Alcantara to ensure the finished part did not contain any wrinkles once stuck to the panel.
(photo attached below)

Complete. The joins I didn't want to be picked out in red stitching are concealed very well.
(photo attached below)
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It was a good unit for a hobbyist and enabled me to diagnose everything I needed to, however there is now a better option available - see: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430-sponsored-yellow-compass-group/527803-f1-clutch-job-9.html

 

Thank you Julian, very kind words I am really looking forward to getting it back together. Unfortunately, as I mention in my post, he doesn't want his details given out because he is swamped with work, however when his backlog clears I will pass on the details. Sorry!

Have you found time to continue with yours?

 

Thank you, Mikael, very nice of you to say. I really should keep that OCD in check