Straman Conversion Values Questions

A Straman conversion is worth what somebody is willing to pay for it.
Purists stick their nose up at them wouldn't give more than salvage price whereas others would be quite happy to pay a fair price for one because of it's rarity and uniqueness, as long as it was done properly and maintained well.

There is the on going question as to the strength and rigidity of the car after it is cut, even with reinforcing.. Some have said that they flex quite a bit.

 

Spasso is right. The market is very thin here.

 

Met a fellow in April with a white/white Straman TR at the Bella Italia car show. He was quite knowledgeable about the Straman story and the # that sticks in my head is that there were 22 (not 12). Anyway, I think it's an intriguing car...but maybe I played way too much "Outrun" as a teenager.

The total optimist in me says...who knows, catch the right guy at a Barrett Jackson auction and it could go for big bucks. A real long shot though...a nice single mirror TR is the safe way to go if you ask me!

 

What did he have to part with for one?

Geno

 

I've had a Straman conversion for five years now. It is white/red just like the one in JJ's post, that may just be the car. Prior to the Straman I had a coupe so I have spent quite a bit of time with both cars.

The top on the Straman is basically useless and exceptionally noisy. It is difficult to install and I've only used it when I'm stuck in a hard rain (twice). However when the top is down these cars really shine. The top cover looks great and is made of a very dense hartz cloth.
The seating position is such that you are very low in the car and if you leave the side glass up even passengers with long hair don't complain, there is not alot of air swirling around unlike some other spyders. The engine sounds are wonderful. We live close to the mountains and often drive out for a coffee. The views and sensations in the car are great compared to the coupe, in good weather. Top down the car looks insanely low and wide. I purchased my car from Ebay for $59K five years ago, it had a fresh service and 4,000 original miles. It now has 9,000 miles and I've enjoyed almost every mile.....just not the ones in the rain.

There was a good red Straman on ebay recently, auction 300562971210. It was from an estate sale. I inquired as I would have liked to have a his/hers. The car had not been serviced and had a prior minor scrape which was repaired and some paintwork. Short of this it really looked like a great car. The car was pulled early and I was told it sold for $32K, a smoking deal for sure. I'd happily offer a profit to the new owner.

 

There were at least 10 people converting the Testarossa into spyders or targas. Some were well executed and some were not. I have a list of 11 cars that Straman converted.

There is a 512M conversion that is known as the "slutmobile". The car is also a Straman I believe and the owner frequents this site and will hopefully chime in to share his thoughts.

I've put alot of fuel in my car after 5,000 miles and it reminded me of another quirk that the Straman cars have. You have to open the rear engine cover in order to put fuel in the car and guess where the filler is.....right above the exhaust manifolds, kinda dangerous. The factory filler could have been put into the quarter panel just like an F40 but instead you have to open the rear cover and live dangerously.

Spasso, open roads and Eggo all hit it on the head. In Ferrari circles the group kinda looks at you like you are the guy that did a GTO replica, they do turn their noses up at them and it is gets to be a pain explaining how the car came to be. When you are around a less informed crowd the car is impressive and may in fact ring the bell to the right guy, just hope that this buyer doesn't ask the inevitable question "How many of these did Ferrari make?". I enjoy my car for what it is, a fun conversion on an iconic body style.

Road and Track used to do an "Exotic Cars" special edition. The photo of the white car in this thread is from the article when they featured the car in 1989 or so. I'll have to dig up my copy, it had some wonderful comments about the cars.

When I first looked at the recent red ebay car item # 300562971210 I noticed that it was missing the Straman coachworks emblem. If you look at the picture of the white car above you will see the Straman emblem on the quarter panel just below the Pininfarina emblem. This led me to ask about any body damage on the car and the seller mentioned that the car had been scraped down the side of the car, maybe that's why the emblem went missing.

I've got the original invoice for the conversion on my car. From memory the conversion was something like $50K.

 

I don't know how many white on red Straman Testarossa were made, but Road & Track featured one in that combination and I still have it. The review on the car was 100% positive.

 

There are at least two. It was about 15 years ago that a white/red one sold at the Barrett Jackson auction. I did not write it down but was later told it was 73433. The car was in fabulous condition. After reading the Road & Track article and seeing this car I decided I wanted one and then my car showed up on Ebay and when I compared the VIN I was shocked that there were two in a pretty uncommon color combination. If that is not your VIN then there at least three.

I gotta find that article, as I recall they liked the car.

I looked at the invoice for mine, $41,000 plus $3,493 for shipping for a grand total of $44,493.

 

I saw a Grigio Metallic TR "spyder" with a bordeaux sort of interior color last year down in Fort Wayne at the "Ferraris and Friends" gathering. I am NOT a convertible kind of guy...but I have to say.....that car looked simply awesome! The paint was top notch, the interior was perfect...it had BBS wheels which I also normally don't like. But I'll tell ya...that car just looked great....I was very impressed with how well it showed. I think that car was a Straman...but I'm not sure....

 

My 512M is a straman. Great driving car, far stiffer than my stock 308QV. Sounds great, looks great. Mine is a full roadster no top at all so you have to keep an eye on the weather & always carry a raincoat w you

Its much more a cruiser than my 512TR coupe but I love them both

The roll bar is off a Porsche Boxster
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I've owned my fair share of Ferrari but I have to say the TR convertible is one of my favorites. So much character! It draws more attention than any car I've ever owned or witnessed! In Beverly Hills / LA people people used to seeing Ferraris stop to take photos. This is a daily occurrence I've become used to at this point.

My TR is a bit unique and my favorite as its top, when down, emulates the F355 hood when stowed away. in my opinion, this breaks up that rear expanse and makes the car much more sleek and proportioned looking.