Good afternoon all Could someone lead me to the Gentleman who was fabricating the hardtop for a 355? If you see this thread please feel free to PM me directly. thank you Steve
From what I rcall Fab did a hell of a lot of work and now its not bad, but many small problems originally. That being said nothing money can not fix.
Usually fabrications take couple of runs before they are road worthy. I saw couple of design preferences on the original latching mechanism that I would have done differently but thats just me. Now that I look at the old photos, things become more clear as to what could be revised to make it a sturdy piece. I have PMd him lets see what I find out. thanks
I have two. They are great. They must be fit to your specific car which takes some trimming etc, and is recommended done by a body shop. Tim no longer sells them and the Bucks have been destroyed. The last set of latches were pretty good. The roof is light and stable at any speed.
Hey Mike, Here is Fab's thread(s): http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/412124-my-removable-top-finally-done.html http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/348-355-sponsored-bradan/386582-my-nightmare-review-jettops-removable-tops.html
LOL Dave. I see your still on the campaign trail 😀 I originally designed and started this as a personal project for my own car. A fellow enthusiast Tim ( Mighty Ferrari) wanted to market them. I helped Tim along until I had other projects take hold worldwide. I know Fab and Tim had some issues. I followed the proper steps which I think Fab eventually did as well and, like mine, his has turned out beautifully. Each car is slightly different which is why you can't "out of the box" these things. They are georgeous and even though I have the 355 in Coupe, GTS and Spider, I use the Jett top and love it. I will try to post some pics.
I sure did and was a member here and I recall Fab posting about it. I had no idea you were involved Jeff until your post a few minutes back.
You must have been brand new at that time. My apologies. I was there when Tim told fab to freight it home which I concurred. Tim had told Fab about fitment at a body shop. Fab got a huge deal on it. I guess the window blew out on his trip home and Tim felt that fab should pay him for a new one. Personally, I would have just shipped him a new window but it was not my show. Either way, as I said, when fab followed the steps outlined, his top turned out fantastic. I also did the fitment work myself but the body shop route was recommended. It was not an easy undertaking and, I could have bought a 360 with the Dev cost but I learned tons about the car and many other dynamics. I love these cars so it was a cool experience. Maybe Fab can post some pics of his. I will of mine shortly.
Sorry guys, been busy and off fchat for a few days. I finally responded to your PM, my apologies for the delay. Indeed I was pretty disappointed with the outcome of the deal at the time because I was flat out lied to and could not get straight answers. Jeff was sort of involved but not really so I certainly cannot blame him. That beign said it was a while ago and it's water under the bridge and I have no desire to reignite an old feud. I had the roof painted and did some mods to make it work properly and I'm happy I ended up keeping it. It's also cool that there are only 2 of these in the world. Here are some pics of the roof and my car with the roof on... Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I think we had prototype #1 here at Ricambi America. I remember trying to fit it onto my colleagues Spider. Fantastic idea, but at the time it simply wasn't ready enough for consumer sales.
Daniel, you were a class act with the information and considerations that you had given me at the time of design. Here are some shots. As an enthusiast of the 348/355, I'm pretty proud to have accomplished this and have it on my car. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Top on for Forza shoot. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The spider sill box is thicker than the berlinetta. Welding cages takes some effort. Spiders in L.A. are cheaper than Berlinettas. If I was building a 355 racecar I would start with a spider which will be stiffer than a berlinetta after the cage went in. The cage fab would be way easier without a top. Then I would make the top out of CF and bond it to the body. It does not have to be concourse perfect its a racecar. In fact I would add a roof scoop to duct air to the driver or that could run air to the aircleaner.
