My F355 "Barn Find" (And Build Thread)

Hello Fellow F-Chatters!

Just wanted to share my experience purchasing my first "classic" F-Car, a new to me 2-owner 1995 F355 Berlinetta. I can certainly say before 48 hours ago I have never considered purchasing one, as I have been trying to hunt down a manual F430 (I'm only 21, so the F430 is my "poster car" and the first exotic I've ever been in). I was in a jam as I sold my 991.2 GT3 to make room for my 992 but I had no desire to take my Speciale to Monterey for Car Week. About 48 hours ago, I got a text from a distant family friend asking if I would be interested in acquiring his father-in-laws 1995 F355 Berlinetta. As my search for the right F430 came up empty I decided to stay up the entire night browsing just about every F355 forum thread on FChat. I went to see the car this morning, still undecided if it was the car for me despite the raving reviews I had seen across the internet.

I had very minimal information on the vehicle when going to see it. Me seeing it was actually more of a favor to my friend as his father-in-law needed to sell his car this weekend in order to have a down payment on a new home they were purchasing. I knew the vin, miles, and heard that Denzel Washington was the original owner. That was it. No images, no service history, no info on condition. Knowing what nightmares can stem from a poorly serviced F355 I was not hopeful in the slightest. Upon arriving I was surprised to find that the car was a family heirloom, and was passed from the father-in-law to his son. This celebrity owned 29k mile serviced Nero / Beige Tradizione 1995 F355 Berlinetta had been sitting in the garage without any real mileage put on in a decade. While the car certainly needs some cosmetic love (paint correction, interior freshening, etc) I was surprised when the father handed me an entire binder of service records. While the car had only covered a mere 700 miles in the past 6 years, it had consistent engine out servicing and a brand new clutch. Within the binder was proof of registration from Denzel Washington along with hundreds of receipts.

After driving the F355 around the block I was instantly sold. I find it odd that prior to this I believed that no car could come close to bringing me the level of enjoyment that my Speciale does, but I was hooked instantly. Everything was just as amazing as the reviews I read online, from high pitched song of the 3.5L V8, to the metal clinking of the shifter on the gates, to the lack of computer interference, it really is a true drivers car. Although not the fastest by modern standards, it was by far the most engaging driving experience I have had in recent times (maybe excluding the Carrera GT).

After all these months of searching I do find it funny how a perfect example of an F355 fell in my lap by chance, only weeks before my trip to Monterey with no car in sight. While the car has the potential to be one of the finest F355s out there, I need to do minor restoration work to paint, interior surfaces, and seats. My plan for this thread is to document my ownership along with my journey turning my F355 into a pristine concours quality car.

Thanks to everyone that made it this far in my post, excited to bring you all along on my journey with my new F355 Berlinetta. In the meantime, there are some post-wash images listed below!
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Perhaps “Barn Find” is a bit of a stretch, just a hell of a car sitting in a garage somewhere in the middle of nowhere

 

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments! Scheduled two-step paint correction, deep interior cleaning, and ceramic coating. That and new tires will be the most I can accomplish before Monterey. After that I'll be removing the minor audio modifications made by the previous owner and obsessively restoring little pieces of the car until it looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Possibly a Tubi system.

 

Paint correction and ceramic coating going on today (pics to follow), next step is tires before road tripping the car to Monterey. I was sorting through the records that came with the car and found the original warranty card signed by Denzel Washington

 

The much needed paint correction made a night and day difference. Paint looks phenomenal (like glass). I used Navas Auto Detailing based in Orange County. Found them on Yelp, younger guys but super knowledgeable about paint correction and did amazing work for a very reasonable price. Recommend to anyone that needs paint correction or ceramic coating.
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They’ve done classic Ferraris before and came prepared. They metered every inch of the car before touching it. Good thing is there’s plenty of paint remaining (confirming my suspicion that it hasn’t been professionally detailed or polished in decades). Also confirmed the car has never had any paintwork, I didn’t have a meter on me when inspecting it but I’d say I’m pretty darn good at spotting it by eye (I’m a former used car manager for franchised stores). Car looks phenomenal and ceramic will help preserve the car for years to come.

 

I did some research and made sure they didn’t cut too much to remove the orange peel. It was certainly interesting reading of all the weird quirks of the car the night before purchasing, I did remember reading about the factory paint on 95s. Most of the scratches that needed to be corrected were from hand washing so they didn’t need to cut much off at all, factory orange peel still in fact
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Slightly gloomy weather but here’s the “after”. Black cars certainly look fantastic when the paint is properly sorted.
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Just a few, nothing that would warrant a respray. Going to have that addressed post Monterey along with some other small items (such as adding a factory head unit)