YUCK! "Fierorana"

I am the owner/builder/seller of the car in question. I thank YOU (tifosi12) for your comments which show maturity and good breeding, unlike many of the respondents to this issue. For background information; I have been retired for some time, have a few cars in my warehouse displaying a 30 year collection, have a great respect for all things and people in the automotive world and greatly enjoy building interesting projects. How I "waste" my money is my business as long as it does not bring harm or disgrace to any others. Concerning the 355 Reproduction ... I challenge anyone to construct one equal or better. They will surely be surprised at the cost in money and time, however, the satisfaction in accomplishment will outweigh those costs. I hope the readers will look closely at the pictures and appreciate the craftsmanship shown. To those posting negative remarks I can only remind them that ignorance and intolerance are character traits of the insecure.

 

so why the cheezy gauge cluster then? everything else looks pretty good. you need rear wheel spacers though.

 

I'm calling you out. Show us some pics of your swank car collection. Any mature collector would not have a Fieroarri.

Remember, you can sprinkle glitter on a turd, but it's still a turd...

 

Come on - he DID put a whole bunch of Ferrari decals on the engine, doesn't that make it a "Ferrari" engine.

I wonder what the wunderkids at FNA would think of all his brilliant badging or what DOT would think about a false builder information placard - particularly the manufacture date more than the NOT manufactured by.

I've got to join with the "what was he thinking crowd" on this one. A Fiero by any other name is STILL a piece of crap. And, a Fake is a fake is a fake, no matter how well executed - if you don't agree, I have a great deal on some high end wristwatches for you.

Scottie
www.TheCarcierge.com

 

Well... I think that this is one of the best REPLICAS (not reproduction) out there, if you browse around on ebay you are likely to find 30 other replicas FAR worse than this one. At least this one has some attention to detail, inside and out, and I admire the guy for the build.

As far as the guy spending this kind of money building a replica, hell, if it makes him happy, good for him! It's not up to us to say, "you're dumb for doing this" or not, every person has their likes and dislikes. If he likes to build his cars, and go through the expense, the hassle and all that comes with building a replica, so be it.

I can say that in my case for example, I don't like hotrods, at all, or I may not agree with pimp-my-ride type cars, where you spend $50k trying to make a $500.00 car look cool. But who am I to say, "you could've bought a real nice car for that? Or a real Ferrari for that, instead of dumping money into an old car? Hey, if it makes the owner happy, what the hell does my opinion do? If I don't like replicas, I won't build or buy one, just like I'm not buying a hotrod.

There are many different types of car aficionados. We love Ferraris. Somebody else loves Hummers. Another person loves 67 Mustangs, or maybe another person loves all of these, and that's ok. It's not up to us to decide.

 

This is a lot better than the vast majority of 355 replicas out there. I personally think the "Not manufactured by Ferrari" badging is a cute touch. Haley came up with something similar for our car. She wants the chassis plate to identify it as a "250 GTO-R" with the R denoting "replica" He paid a lot closer attention to detail than even a great deal of owners of real ferraris do as well.
Most of the celeb's or poor rich kids out there with Ferrari's know nothing about them and care only about the status of showing up in "something expensive". They wreck them, neglect them or toss them out on a whim. They do a heck of a lot more harm to the image of Ferrari than this guys car does.
Larry, I have news for you - Enzo didn't give a darn about much besides getting paid so he could afford to keep racing. The ones at FNA threatening to sue and shut down anyone who isn't paying them don't care either; they only care about being paid. If you want to pay homage to FNA's lawyers and marketing dept go for it.

Some asked "why not just get a ___ (insert more affordable model)"
Come on - if you dream at night of owning an Enzo, are you going to be happy with a 308gt4 just because you found one on ebay for $10k?
I wrote before,
"this is that this is an apples and oranges comparison. If someone loves a 308 they may loathe an enzo. The same person who dreams of having a Daytona spider may hate mid-engined cars. Loving one Ferrari model doesn't mean automatically you have to love all Ferrari's. I love the 250 GTO, however for less than this engine swap and repaint is costing I could get a mondial coupe or a 400i.. but I don't WANT one of those."

To appreciate the notion that this guy just might be a FAN of the marque look at some of the work he did to make this more accurate. Look at the details, the painted calipers, the style stiching on the dash, etc
Look at some of the other 355 replicas out there. Remember the bondo fiero? (do a search for the pics) most 355 replica's are quickly identified by the rocker panels being part of the door. This car has them as a seperate piece like a real 355. That's not a 15 minute mod you can just toss together. I agree the gauges cheapen the whole look of the interior and if it was mine first the engine would be swapped then the dash would get redone. The shifter, the rest of the interior is decent and is more work than most ever bother with.

"Real" collectors do sometimes own replicas as well. We have a quite a few members on this site who own both originals and replicas. Two years ago I met someone with both an original 250GTO (sitting behind ropes in his collection) and a replica he used to run around town in. This is a car I would buy as well, and enjoy it. Yes prices of a real 355 are down finally but this will be easy on its new owner for maintenance, insurance, and if they are in certain states the annual tax on a fiero is considerably less then it is on a real 355.
If you can only feel good about yourself ripping to shreds someone who actually is ripping the skin off their knuckles every night after work trying to reproduce something they love you might want to look at your own life a little closer.
Chelle

 

It's crappy Fiero kits that make peeps ask me if mine is real.

Fiero kits make the baby jesus cry (as do shady ebay types). Anyone think that puff letter in the ad is real?

Someone who crafts a replica for an impossibly expensive car and rare car is a fan - someone who chops up a cheap car to make it look like a readily available expensive car is a POSER, and quite possibly of poor breeding.

 

So friggin what?

Actually most people either don't know what my 308 is or don't question it. Once in a blue moon somebody asks whether it is real or even assumes it is not. So friggin what? Do I care what they think or believe?

Actually I do: I'd rather have people believe it is a cheap Fiero underneath, so nobody will think about stealing it. Not that a 308 is that expensive, but I'd still prefer to find it where I left it the night before.

 

It appears to be a very nicely done conversion.

Here is my question: Obviously it takes a lot of work/talent/$$ to do something like this. If you have that ability, why not just design your own car?

After all that work, it's not like you have a real 355 or 250 GTO. It may look like it, but there is more to Ferrari than just the looks (believe me on this one, I own a GT4, which some consider to be the Fugliest Ferrari around).

If it were me, I would totally love to do this, and rebody a car to a design of my own imagination. Then you would really have something truly unique. It wouldn't be a Ferrari, but it would be truly your own creation.

You could even start with an old (wrecked?) 308 or 412 as you base, if you wanted it to be Italian powered, and go from there.

But, I guess, to each his own.

Dom

 

I was with you until you got to the "love" part. What is it about selling the car that is demonstrating love?

 

That's obvious, he is madly in love with cash, and "just" in love with cars.

 

LOL I stand corrected.

 

Not sure about that. If you tackle any conversion project you have to realize that it will cost you a lot of money and that in all likelihood you won't be able to collect it should you decide to sell the car. If you don't realize that, you're naive. So it is more about being passionate about a particular car than trying to make some money.

 

That car is no different than a fake Rolex or fake Vuitton bag.

 

sure it is - for one it's a car, not an accessory
and second, a Rolex is a flashy middle price range item when shopping for watches. Usually the fake Rolex is flash for little cash, something like $200 for something that looks like a $10k-$12k watch flashed by insecure professional athletes.

Ferrari's are hardly middle price range flash. I'd say a fake 308 (Mera) or Dino (VW powered Kelmark GT) might compare with a fake rolex. However a fake 355 spider would be more like a fake Piguet, Patek Philippe, or Breguet.
Come on - if this guy was all poser flash why would he take the time to make the replica 355 more accurate than most AND paint it a nice subdued blue (rather than "look at me red")?

He didn't do it to turn a profit, most toys like this are financial suicide anyway. He probably loves the 355 (I know I do) and when dealers were getting high $130's for them he decided to build one.
Maybe he's selling now because he loves Ferrari's but the 355 was a crush and now he's madly in love with the F430
Chelle

 

It's stupid. Replicas are a joke. The guy can cry all he wants that he did a good job, but this doesn't discount the fact that he's stealing a design. It's bad karma period. If you can't afford to buy one, don't rip off what Ferrari has spent $$$ on R&D.

 

hate it ..nothing like the real mccoy . half the fun is the performance and sounds of the car.
i dont even like replica boobs , just doesnt compare to the real thing, y'know?

 

Very nice replica, in my opinion. Obviously took a lot of time and effort.

By the way, I see what looks like an early 308 in one of the pics. Welcome to F-Chat.

 

It may LOOK like a Ferrari, but it will never sound like one, drive like one, brake like one, handle like one, etc. It's like masterbating...it may relieve the urge, but never as satisfying....

He may get great satisfaction from building it (good for him)...but it is still a fake. I could spend months or years making the perfect fake Rolex, and in the end, what do I have? The satisfaction of building a worthless fake Rolex, then spend my days plying Ebay trying to convince others it is so much better, more reliable, easier to maintain, blah, blah.

 

You're right about that.

But maybe that's why there is a reserve on his auction. In response to the car itself, I'd say it's not too shabby.

 

You know in many cases to this point I would say "Thank god for that" It's hard to make the case with the fiero based 355's because the 355 is such a wonderful car and way ahead of the Fiero in every way however in a lot of cases a fan of a particular car can have something with the look of the car they love that does everything else better. I absolutely love the look of the original 250 GTO however we have come a long way in automotive tech in 43 years. The original was/is a well balanced race car. It looks great but it rattles, leaks, and was never intended to be much more than a race car. With modern tech could be so much more capable and usable. Our recent project looks the part and out performs the original in every way except investment potential (and history).
Be grateful that reproductions are an option for those who want one. If they weren't then when Frank Beard wanted a GTO spider he might have had someone cut the roof off an original. Someone wanting a 355 who works on pontiacs for a living and preferred an engine they were familiar with might stick a pontiac 4 cyl in a 355 with a blown engine.
Would you rather see original race cars butchered with 20" wheels, mohair interiors, and sound systems or 355's in primer with a chevy engine out there?

People are building their dreams... Exotic bodies with the drivetrains they choose or can afford.
Different routes taken by different people. Some have a fiero and want to make it look like more, some start with the body they want and make the rest fit their needs.
Some guys here find a woman they love and send her in for plastic surgery to make her look like the exotic they thought they wanted (or might impress their friends) but couldn't find or afford. Some start with the the hot ditz and just hope she isn't emberassingly stupid. If you could play Dr. Frankenstein and take a Victoria's Secret supermodel who was a total b**ch, a dullard, and terrible in bed, bring her home to your secret lab and turn her into a beauty who was also charming, intelligent, caring and great in bed would you resent people calling you a "Poser" because you made the perfect woman instead of buying one?

Worthless is in the eyes of the beholder.
I personally would place a lot more value and pride in something I worked to accomplish than something I wrote a check for. If you decide something is only worth what cash you can get for it when you are done that's your choice. Do you have kids? You put a lot of work into them haven't you? Are they worth more to you than what they might sell for? Do you not have pride in what you have done bringing them into this world or do you look at them strictly on a cost/benefit basis?

This guy isn't "plying ebay trying to convince others" it's better than a real Ferrari - he's stating honestly that it is better than the other 355 replicas out there. It is better than most of them. It's not a real Ferrari and he posted it in the replica section. He posted only once here to defend himself. Anyone who would spend the time and money to build what he did is probably a fan of Ferrari. He's a fellow car nut. He deserves a tiny bit of a break here. I talked a little to him in PM and he has a lot in common with others here and could become a friend, if people tried talking to him rather than chasing him off the site insulting him without even knowing him.

Chelle

 

Well, isn't anybody going to answer this question? I'm serious. Why not try to make an original, instead of trying to replicate somone else's design?

Dom

 

I build model cars as a hobby and will answer it from that perspective:

What you're suggesting could be done by kit bashing: You pick and choose bits and parts from existing kits (cars) and combine them into a new design. You also have to make up parts from scratch etc. All fair and good, but the problem with this is, that you lack the ultimate challenge: Matching reality. It is for me a lot easier to build my own model space ship of a fantasy design I came up with than trying to match an existing design. That is a lot harder and I can see how that is the same ultimate challenge for kit car builders.

In addition you also have to do a lot of research and learn all the intricate details about the original. That research is part of the fun too and also why in some cases people who build models or replicars know more about what they're doing than people who build a model kit or buy a turn key car.

 

It's as good as original, why pay $90k when you can pay $60k and get the same exact car ?