Is EAG gone

If you want a completely factory car make sure to keep those sticky buttons, failing precats, 70 lb mufflers, and not use any hill engineering parts then too.

Everyone draws a line somewhere with what they consider acceptable modifications.

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Right. The line generally seems to sit beyond things that are reversible and/or substantial mechanical improvements (exhaust, Hill parts as you said, tires, batteries, etc). And the nature of the conversion is that there is a decent amount of "getting in there" type of work that makes it seem like a massive customization.

But these F1 cars' chassis, and wiring harnesses are already provisioned for OEM gated parts. So to me, slotting in OEM manual parts in lieu of factory installed F1 parts feels totally appropriate and, in fact, far more desirable once complete. Non-OEM is a completely different conversation in my opinion. That is absolutely customized and will certainly turn off plenty of purists or OEM+ enthusiasts. But I think the conversion theses need to start to separate the two because one is not only still completely Ferrari, as designed by Ferrari for that specific model, just the more enjoyable and desirable to many, many, Tifosi (like me!).

 

but what about non oem exhausts and headers?

 

The only way an OEM conversion is exactly like the factory is if the ediff is plumbed and controlled exactly the same way. I am not sure how easy that is compared to blocking off the F1 ports and using the F1 pump for the ediff like the aftermarket ones do.

Has anyone done a 100% OEM conversion where every OEM part for a manual is used and not modified from the F1 part?

Either way it would still be worth less than an OEM ordered as a manual car, but you wouldn’t feel as guilty putting miles on what now is a collectible car.


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my scud and i have all the invoices from when the parts were ordered from the dealer. i wld think there are a number of pre-covid EAG conversion cars out there from when the oem parts were still available as well as a few Universal cars.

 

Art said he did 38 conversions before they had to start making parts, fwiw.

 

I'm sure a lot of all OEM conversions were done, at least on the 360. I think EAG even offered them before parts dried up. I started my conversion in early 2022. I ordered every single OEM part for the 360 with the intention of fabricating all of the NLA parts. At that time I was able to get 95% of the cable linkage, 50% of the shifter parts and 70% of the clutch parts.

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As you may know I have been in the business of restoring cars and building custom cars for all my 60 some years.
Funny story...

I worked with a young man when I was younger and worked at a "Speed Shop". I did custom work on the side in my early 20's. He asked if I could put nice flares on the back of his '58 Corvette. I did. And it really was a nice job. Two years later he sold the car. The buyer came to me and asked how much I would charge to remove the flares and make the car stock again.

 

I'd suggest holding onto the OEM stuff. You may find yourself putting it back on the car if you decide to sell it.

Funny story #2: Many years ago I built a really nice '57 Pontiac 2dr Cheiftan. I did a nice upgrade to the interior (nice stock looking door panels, bucket seats and a console). About a year later I put the car up for sale. One day a potential buyer came by to look at the car. He said; "If it had a bench seat I'd buy it". To which I replied: "I have the original bench seat but it won't match as it's still the plaid fabric." His response: "Keep the bucket seats and put the original bench seat in it and I'll take it". And he didn't even want the two buckets I was taking out. Go figure.

 

Personally, I would take any numbers quoted by Art with not just a grain of salt, but the whole shaker.

When all is said and done, I would doubt if EAG completed 100 conversions. If 500+ had been done, we'd see the market flooded with these cars but they rarely show up.

That indicates either:

A. Not many were done.
B. The owners were so incredibly satisfied that they'll never sell.

Take your pick.

 

OEM parts were absolutely more plentiful at the beginning, especially for V8s, however 38 still seems like a lot. With Art's track record I would have to tear the car down to verify everything.

 

How much does a 355 stock muffler go for 30 years later?

$200.

Some mods are desirable, some mods are not. The market votes with a checkbook. Why purchase a car only to reverse said mods when there are plenty of un modded cars to choose from?

 

I'm more knowledgable about the 575 and 599 side of this conversation, however my question still stands for 430s - assume it's a 100% factory/OEM conversion... feels like incredible value to me. The challenge is navigating parts scarcity, but assuming that can be magically solved, it's hard to argue OEM is customized or bastardized whatsoever. The OEM driveline is robust, but imagine a turret needed to be replaced on an OEM gated 430... sourcing an OEM turret would be the only solution for most/all owners to the extent that is possible. That same part fits in F1 cars with no modification. It just needs shift cables and a gearbox actuator to manipulate the existing gearbox instead of the F1 pump and gadgetry taking care of business, all of which are interchangeable with factory parts and use factory mounting points and hardware (plus all the clutch related and electronic bits, I'm just simplifying the example).

Art managed to stain the entire conversion concept with his horrendous business + customer management and his unsubstantiated claims about his product, but conversations like this can be valuable in repositioning how enthusiasts can think about conversions. The other shops who do OEM conversions are quietly executing on their (manageable) pipelines and making their clients happy, who aren't on FChat or vocal... they just got their final product and drive off into the sunet). It's getting expensive and time consuming to do OEM conversions, but those are the ones that should be leading the paradigm at this point, in my opinion.

 

I got no skin in this game except I didn’t believe for a minute Art was able to convert the 458 he was claiming to be working on in the past, and I was completely underwhelmed by his video of the mishaps with the scud conversion.

I am though very happy you have that car and it’s well sorted thanks no doubt to Trevor. I’m sure it’s a blast to drive.

Here is a car on Autotrader 2005 Ferrari F430 Spider for $179900 very low mileage still with f1

http://atcm.co/S2PVDP/2740106D.

 

My CS is 100% OEM parts with the exception of the center console (@997gawd on IG). Of course no ediff to address either

 

8 mins 30 seconds

 

This seems like a good place to post:

Can I get some love for the F1 transmission? Day-um I love my F1!

Kevin

 

That's kinda the thing. Many OEM parts are no longer made. Used OEM parts are hard to come by, and if you do they are often in poor shape or obscenely priced. Unless you find a donor car, the possibility of piecing together a complete oem manual conversion is very unlikely.

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Hello to all clients past, present, future and prospective!

To acknowledge the dubbed name of the thread and to answer the question.

We want to reach out to everyone to re-establish a point of contact and bring clarity to the current state / future of the business.

As you may or may not have heard, EAG is no longer in operation. The core architecture of the company that was EAG has gone through a major restructuring. The partners, associates and staff that completed the conversion / service backlog over the past year have separated, switched gears and formed a new company, Macchina Motorwerx. We will be carrying the conversion torch moving forward. The team does not include Art or any remaining members of EAG; we wish them luck on their future endeavors.

We have a complete inventory of all manual conversion components in our latest iteration for Ferrari 360 / Challenge stradale, 430 / 430 Scuderia / 16M, 575, 599 & 612. ALL AVAILABLE NOW.

Any work that was performed by members of our team during our time with EAG starting from March of 2023 to February 2024, will still hold the original warranty on our conversion components and installs. This will be honored and administered through Macchina Motorwerx. Anyone that has had work performed by EAG before that time frame that has questions, issues or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. We will help you in any way we can.

Macchina Motorwerx will remain hyper focused on Ferrari conversions, whether in house or remotely we provide full support. Meanwhile, our engineers have nearly completed the first Lamborghini Murcielago conversion! This is an exciting breakthrough that will be soon offered to the market. In addition, we are operating a full automotive repair workshop with an extremely talented crew. Our team specializes in all automotive repairs, service, performance modifications, software enhancements, track support, and collection management.

Additionally, we are offering custom manufacturing services for NLA (no longer available) parts for vintage makes and models, while creating solutions for niche automotive issues supporting the collector car world.

We look forward to working with everyone in the future. If you have any questions about any type of projects, or would like further clarification, please don't hesitate to inquire. We love taking on new concepts. Thank you to all who have been a part of our journey. We sincerely appreciate your patronage.

 

Oh good, an epic plot twist. I now will have more good content to read when I am hiding in the bathroom at work.

In all seriousness, best wishes on your endeavors.

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I’d like to know more about the Murcielago conversion.

 

I can't wait to entertain you and your bathroom.... But thank you for the comedic relief!

 

It's not ready yet and we aren't taking pre orders. But happy to share information please DM.
It is at least two months from completion.
We have two clients we need to take care of first because of their patience and helped us get it together.

 

Thank you for the well wishes!

 

this is priceless, truly is the icing on all of these threads cakes.

The fact that they are even attempting to reinvent the company shows how disconnected they are to their customer base-

Who in their right mind would send a car to them now?

with Art or with out Art.

Especially when other companies offer superior products at half the price [emoji23][emoji23]