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What to do next

Discussion in '308/328' started by GatorFL, Oct 11, 2007.

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  1. GatorFL

    GatorFL Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Nov 18, 2005
    17,115
    Wellington, FL
    Full Name:
    Duane
    #1 GatorFL, Oct 11, 2007
    So I've been investing some cash im making my car "right" for me. It's a great driver, a couple of very minor imperfections but perfect for my needs. I should probably enter it in a show to see how it would do but I am guessing very well, I would do this to get an independent view of what imperfections the car has.

    The two main needs are some paint freshening and perhaps an interior redo like Bullfighter did to his car. So my question is what should I do next?

    The paint work is probably pretty minor, a respray on the front end to eliminate the little nicks the car picks up and perhaps a respray on the rear fenders behind the wheels. The car is Boxer trim and there are a couple of nicks where you can see the red paint underneath the satin black.

    The interior is actually fine, the seats have no rips or tears but just look worn. The car has black interior which doesn't photograph well but it looks fine in person. I was considering a redye but I'm pretty anal and so dying the stitching doesn't appeal to me. After seeing Bullfighter's car I am very interested in doing the interior as it seems like it is the one thing you can do to make the car seem like "mine."

    Anybody have advice on what I should do?
     
  2. ATSAaron

    ATSAaron Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 1, 2004
    1,136
    Shady Shores, TX
    Full Name:
    Aaron Bunch
    #2 ATSAaron, Oct 11, 2007
    Drive it.
     
  3. Bullfighter

    Bullfighter Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jan 26, 2005
    22,622
    Gates Mills, Ohio
    Full Name:
    Jon
    #3 Bullfighter, Oct 11, 2007
    If it helps, my car has the usual stone chips behind the rear wheels and a few on the nose around the badge/louvres. I'm not worried about them, and frankly most people don't get on their knees and crawl around the car looking that closely. Ultimately, I may respray the rear bumper below the 'beltline' and apply the 3M film there. For now, it's fine.

    If you have red paint showing through, I'd be tempted to respray that lower rear bumper and then do the 3M film behind the rear wheels after the paint has cured. A real plus of the boxer paint scheme is that you can respray the vulnerable lower half without worrying about color-matching red.

    I had the front valance (fibreglass part) removed and resprayed last year, which turned out great. Lots of stone chips gone, and they can do it in a paint booth - so no overspray/masking on your car.

    It you enter an FCA show (or FCA-affiliated show), the judges aren't going to deduct points for minor paint chips and a little scuff on the leather. Your big task will be showing the originality of the boxer paint scheme on a 328.
     
  4. climb

    climb F1 Rookie

    Sep 19, 2006
    4,866
    Atlantic Beach Fl
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    Stuart K. Hicks
    #4 climb, Oct 11, 2007
    Unless you just want that particular car i'd suggest looking around for a car that's already been done.

    It's hard to find a place that can re-do the leather correctly. You may dump 4-6k into the interior only to find it wasn't done right. A good paint job is 4-7k ( i got a reciept for $6500 on mine). The down time and the expense combined with the chance that the work won't be done correctly would send me out looking for a car where someone already put the time and expense into it. Chances are you wouln't recoup the cost when selling so why not take advantage of someone else's effort?

    You'd still have your car to drive while looking.
     
  5. Bullfighter

    Bullfighter Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jan 26, 2005
    22,622
    Gates Mills, Ohio
    Full Name:
    Jon
    #5 Bullfighter, Oct 11, 2007
    Well, yeah, but when you park it you want it to look great. I see where Duane is coming from.
     
  6. GatorFL

    GatorFL Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Nov 18, 2005
    17,115
    Wellington, FL
    Full Name:
    Duane
    #6 GatorFL, Oct 11, 2007
    I looked for a good Ferrari (3x8, 355, 360, TR) for almost a year before I found this one. Given the difficulty of my search I'd prefer to freshen the one I have.

    The interior will probably run $4-6k. I don't think the kind of paintwork I'm talking about would be anywhere near $4k, maybe half that.

    I could do nothing and be perfectly happy with my car. My mechanic says I could take home a medal at Cavallino and he should know as he won a Platinum there last year. I think I'm just too anal about my car.
     
  7. furmano

    furmano Three Time F1 World Champ

    Jul 22, 2004
    32,215
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Furman
    #7 furmano, Oct 11, 2007
    Have you cleaned your leather? I use Leatherique cleaner and though my seats (re-dyed I think) were pretty clean to begin with, a weakly or so cleaning really brightens the leather. I highly recommend keeping the leather clean, even over keeping it conditioned.

    Also, cleaning the switches and knob shifter can brighten the cabin.

    Try cleaning before replacing.

    -F
     

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