Ferrari F430 Spider

[likesachange]

mwstewart said:

Thanks all. Custom badging is something I will explore if I go for the engine build, as then technically it wouldn't be a 430 - it'd be a 470.

What does the 0 stand for on the f430? (presumably just looks better and more in line than F43) obv 8 in the 458 is self explanatory ..

[mwstewart]

likesachange said:

What does the 0 stand for on the f430? (presumably just looks better and more in line than F43) obv 8 in the 458 is self explanatory ..

They could have gone with F43 but I suppose that would infer it's some kind of successor to the F40, which it obviously isn't. The mid engine V8's usually have 3 letters to denote them/their engine capacity, so I suppose that was another reason.

[likesachange]

mwstewart said:

They could have gone with F43 but I suppose that would infer it's some kind of successor to the F40, which it obviously isn't. The mid engine V8's usually have 3 letters to denote them/their engine capacity, so I suppose that was another reason.

thought as much... In that case F470 would be a nice touch as its very individual just like your extremely exciting project.

My friend has a lovely spec EVO 8 appropriately badged FQ700 which is very subtle and causes many to double take.

[p1stonhead]

likesachange said:

mwstewart said:

They could have gone with F43 but I suppose that would infer it's some kind of successor to the F40, which it obviously isn't. The mid engine V8's usually have 3 letters to denote them/their engine capacity, so I suppose that was another reason.

thought as much... In that case F470 would be a nice touch as its very individual just like your extremely exciting project.

My friend has a lovely spec EVO 8 appropriately badged FQ700 which is very subtle and causes many to double take.

Get an F470 badge custom made!

[_Neal_]

likesachange said:

thought as much... In that case F470 would be a nice touch as its very individual just like your extremely exciting project.

My friend has a lovely spec EVO 8 appropriately badged FQ700 which is very subtle and causes many to double take.

Another vote for custom badging (and for removing the 16M badging). After all you've done (which is ridiculously detailed and impressive) a custom badge would finish it off nicely.

Not quite the same, but a guy who lives round the corner from me has a Lexus IS300 that looks completely stock, apart from the (subtly) non-standard exhaust and tiny "Supra" badging under the "IS300" on the boot. I like it.

On a different note, are you tempted to send a link to this thread to someone at Ferrari? Or will they just facilitate a horse's head arriving in your bed for daring to try and improve on perfection?

[gregs656]

For sure loose the 16M badges, don't do the car any justice at all IMO.

[GreatGranny]

neilbauer said:

I've lost my way with this thread a bit.
My issues are you had a real Ferrari F430 and you've now got a 16M replica.
You have spent thousands upon thousands on all of your cars and hundreds upon hundreds of man hours.
You could have afforded a real 16M or the real M3 you were building before this.
You have so much talent and skill you could probably build your own car!
So I guess what I'm saying why don't you just buy the car you want?

Think OP was suggesting a final cost of £150k? May have that wrong but thread too long to search back.

And has been mentioned, a 'real' 16M is minimum £270k.

But it also seems that the OP just loves doing this type of modifying/improving and finds it very satisfying.

Just read his other threads. Even the Golf daily is subject to fantastic levels of detail and care.

Great reading OP.

[neilbauer]

GreatGranny said:

neilbauer said:

I've lost my way with this thread a bit.
My issues are you had a real Ferrari F430 and you've now got a 16M replica.
You have spent thousands upon thousands on all of your cars and hundreds upon hundreds of man hours.
You could have afforded a real 16M or the real M3 you were building before this.
You have so much talent and skill you could probably build your own car!
So I guess what I'm saying why don't you just buy the car you want?

Think OP was suggesting a final cost of £150k? May have that wrong but thread too long to search back.

And has been mentioned, a 'real' 16M is minimum £270k.

But it also seems that the OP just loves doing this type of modifying/improving and finds it very satisfying.

Just read his other threads. Even the Golf daily is subject to fantastic levels of detail and care.

Great reading OP.

I have followed the Fiesta, Golf, BMW, original grey F430 and this. I guess my point is all the other cars were a great improvement and this has turned into a replica. And I don't think it needs to be. And at some point you will have say oh no it's not a real 16M!

[V40TC]

16MWS Badge ?
the car will be far better than a 16M from factory I would wager.
given the choice of this after all work completed and a factory 16m
I would choose this.

[_dobbo_]

neilbauer said:

And at some point you will have say oh no it's not a real 16M!

I think the point is that at some point you will have to say this is better than a 16M and at half the price.

[leglessAlex]

_dobbo_ said:

neilbauer said:

And at some point you will have say oh no it's not a real 16M!

I think the point is that at some point you will have to say this is better than a 16M and at half the price.

While you cannot argue this is a real 16M, the line is so blurred I'm not sure if calling it a 16M is all that unreasonable. It's made to a super high standard using Ferrari 16M parts, the only real difference being it was built in the UK by Mark instead of in Maranello by Mario.

[mwstewart]

Thanks for the kind words! Still a way to go - lots I'd like to do.

[AyBee]

leglessAlex said:

While you cannot argue this is a real 16M, the line is so blurred I'm not sure if calling it a 16M is all that unreasonable. It's made to a super high standard using Ferrari 16M parts, the only real difference being it was built in the UK by Mark instead of in Maranello by Mario.

It's certainly an interesting question - what makes a 16M a 16M and why is this not a 16M if it has been built with 16M parts to 16M spec?

I'm happy for it to be labelled a 16M given the parts that have gone into it, and based on the detail provided in this thread, I'd certainly be willing to pay more than standard F430 prices for it were it ever to be up for sale.

[mwstewart]

For me it's about the driving so I look at it purely from an engineering and mechanical perspective.

[ATM]

I am quite surprised how much people want to talk about the badge. It is just a badge and probably the least most important part on the car.

[gcpeters]

Love it all, but please please don't do the steering wheel like that... black airbag and black alcantera. Jobs done

[Alonso92]

gcpeters said:

Love it all, but please please don't do the steering wheel like that... black airbag and black alcantera. Jobs done

^^ agreed ^^

But my god what a build, when finished with all the engine work etc please dont't stick 16m badges on it as it will surpass a standard 16m that ferrari built themselves

[_Neal_]

ATM said:

I am quite surprised how much people want to talk about the badge. It is just a badge and probably the least most important part on the car.

I'm not at all surprised. This build is all about attention to detail (and no small amount of bottle/skill).

[mwstewart]

ABS module
The RHD Scuderia ABS module bracket arrived from Eurospares. It is actually lighter than the LHD version.


I'll refit the module tomorrow; I've made a graphic to aid with fitting the six new pipes.


Scuderia pedals
I bought the pedal set from the Glickenhaus car but totally forgot about the LHD/RHD differences!


Thankfully for the accelerator pedal assembly the different parts are easily swapped to leave me with a Scuderia version. It seems LHD cars have a different pedal height to RHD.


I need to order the RHD brake pedal. Doh.

Instrument cluster
Another winter job: convert the imperial auxiliary gauge faces to metric. I'm quite pleased with this because I did not have a '5' or '6' to work with from the original faces, so I scanned the rev counter and adjusted some of the numbers from it. I also did not have the Ferrari font to use for 'C' and 'bar' so I created my own. I've found a local company who can print on transparent ABS sheet for around £11.


Front bumper fitment
This is from my snag list: I was not entirely happy with the fitment of the front bumper. The radiator support brackets prevent it from being positioned to fit flush with the edge of the front wing/bonnet.


I knew the radiator cage was different on the Scuderia but the radiator mounts were the same - or so I thought - so I couldn't fathom how the radiators could be moved, because I'd already maxed out their adjustment. It transpired that the Eurospares diagrams don't print the correct part number for the Scuderia brackets and they appear on an orphaned page: http://www.eurospares.co.uk/search?partNumber=2339...

The cages are welded to the front of the car and support the arch liners, rads, headlamps, and bumper.


The Ferrari parts diagram shows that the Scuderia cages have a detachable lower leg.


In contrast, the F430 cage is fitted as a single entity.


After studying pics of the Scuderia cage I determined it is an F430 cage with the lower leg cut off, and a flange welded on the stump ready to accept the bolt on leg. The detachable leg works with the different radiator mounts to clear the Scuderia bumper.


Scuderia rad brackets and radiator cage legs that I ordered.


Misc
Universal seat belt buckle covers from eBay.


Stainless steel flange head bolts for the windscreen wiper arms.


Replacement countersunk washers for when I refit the interior trim. I've gone for black finish stainless steel.


http://www.mouser.co.uk/ order arrived - terminals and housings to adapt my loom to fit the OEM plugs on the Scuderia centre console loom.

[maxdb]

I don't suppose you have a link for the seatbelt buckle cover you can send me? I have a great idea for my Mazda..