For the Love of God! (sorry if repost)

I can understand someone enjoying this type of thing. I just whish the kitcar companies would sell original designs and not "replicas"

 

Did he tae pictures of his car in front of a cemetery ??

 

dont sweat it ppl, as they say "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

 

Like this:

http://www.factoryfive.com/table/ffrkits/GTM/GTMkit.html

Man, that MR2/355 kit looks like a lot of work... figure the cost of the MR2, the kit, paint, parts, badges... I'll stick with my 308! I commend him for following through with the project and turning out a decent looking car, though.

 

Add up all the parts and labor for that project, and he could have just bought a real 355.

 

Looks like crap. Anyone who has ever seen a real 355 would immediatley be able to tell its a fake. Its too squished

 

Looks like a hell of alot of work.

 

For someone to go through that amount of work, there is definitely a 'labour of love' element going. I just can't understand why not go for the real thing?

 

A friend here built his own '34 Ford hot rod from a kit, but that's not the same thing. There are darn few '34 Fords around as compared to 355's, and as a hot rod, he wasn't trying to build an exact replica.

 

We all know that a lot of people can $50,000 for a car, but a Ferrari is not a regular automobile and the attention it needs makes a corvette look cheap. It is not the original price of the car, it is the service, insurance, and stuff in between that scare most people away. Something tells me that the maker of that replica would have probably given up almost anything to get a 355, and if he could afford one I really doubt he would drive a replica.

 

Wow, that a nice job on the kit, and obviously a heckova lot of work. He transformed the best looking Toyota into the last good looking Ferrari! (ducking)

But how long do wheel bearings last with those foot thick spacers? Is it expressed in miles or feet?

 

I love the wheels spacers!

 

I think that it's cool. Someone has real talent. It's not a real Ferrari - big deal. Would I own one? Hell no. However, I think that if that's what he likes, why not?

My only objection is the hideous, hideous wheels. And those spacers are absolutely laughable.

 

Totally agree! Even if he couldn't swing a 355, he could have gotten a 348 coupe and put the 355 wheels and rear valence on it and been awefully close to the look of a 355 and still had a nice Ferrari.

I am sure the upkeep on the MR2 is world's less than even a 348, but if he was determined enough to finish the kit as well as he did, I would think he could work hard enough to keep after a 348/355.

Still impressive though!

 

Don't like the idea, but they did a pretty impressive job - the panel gap is even about as good as a regular 355 (which isn't that great to begin with). Just think of how cool a car they could have built if they used the same time and energy to create an original body style.

Look what a cool car Jim built out of an Enzo. Don't mean to drag an amazing car like the P4/5 into this, but there's no reason you couldn't do a smaller budget, custom car using an MR2 as a base car...

 

Nice job, but I'd be scared to drive around with those spacers.

 

wheels are hideous and the interior just made me barf! To each its own I guess though! Tons of work and looks like lots of $ was spent on this project.
gordon

 

I agree completely with you on that.

 

you reckon ?

f355 is a minimum £30k here and thats not going to be the nicest example.

an mr2 turbo is not an expensive car (circa £2000), it can be pretty much home serviced and is easily tuned to say 300bhp ish.
it can do high mileages and are often used as daily drivers.
Oh an normal people can insure them.


http://www.extreme-sportscars.com/prices.htm this site sells the kits, and they reckon £9000 including the donor car.
now im a sceptic at the best of times, so id say add a few £thousand more to that.
so call it £12000.


so thats one replica f355 for roughly 40% of the cost of the cheapest/oldest real thing, and as you start looking for the right f355 that percentage falls.


you said what about a 348 - ive seen a few advertised for £23 - 24k.
However thats still almost twice the price of this replica and with much higher running costs.



Would i do this conversion myself or buy one ready done - hell no.
Can i see why other people do it - yes.

 

You forgot to add the labor cost. After you add that, you are close to the price of a real 355.

 

i didnt forget labour costs, i simply disregarded them as not being relevant or indeed even chargable.

for the sort of ppl who make kit cars and the like generally a big part of the appeal is the element that you have put your own car together and please remember that these kits are designed so that the average man can put the thing together in a half tidy garage using normal tools. (pls also remember this is basically a bodykit not a full on kit car so a lot less work involved)


the site says 50 hours average, so the sceptic in me says lets allow 60 - 65 hours.

there is no cost except in your own time and sorry but you cant bill yourself for that - i think they call it a labour of love.

if you wanted a garage to do it for you then they would be professional mechanics and could certainly do it in well under the 50 hours.
even if you got a garage to do it thats still only 50 hrs at say £35 ph = £1750(you wouldnt be going to a top flight garage nor i hope a naff one)
and im sure you could have it done for a lot less than that