Ferrari F430 Spider

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Discussion

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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Thanks everyone for the kind comments!

IanUAE said:
Like those clusters!

Robbins said:
a) you're putting in so much work everywhere else, why not just buy the Scud crossmember?
b) surely simpler to buy said crossmember as it would be an easy bolt on/bolt off affair so you could easily reverse should you change your mind?
c) will the structural glue hold up to extreme exhaust temperatures?
d) define "significant structural modifications" - surely modifying what you already have is more significant than just replacing with another (pre-existing, official Ferrari OE) item?
The Scuderia crossmember is welded on. If I were to fit the repair section it would mean cutting my rear chassis legs half way along then welding on the new crossmember and adjusting for the rear bumper mounts and engine lid clsoing position. I really don't want to do that to the car.


The glue is high temp rated but would not withstand direct heat from the exhaust. The tailpipe trims are actually double up as heat shields for the chassis and rear bumper and so the glue will never be exposed to the full heat of exhaust.

TheLordJohn said:
...When you get chance, please could you stick a quick list of what you have for sale up? .
Sure:
Exterior door handles (Rosso Corsa)
F430 luggage compartment trim (black carpet)
Front and rear ARBs
Front bumper with grilles and splitter (Rosso Corsa)
Front undertray
Fuel flap (Rosso Corsa)
Heated, electric seats (Nero, Rosso stitching)
Kick/sill trims
Rear 'challenge grille' bumper conversion and PDC kit (Rosso Corsa)
Rear diffuser (grey)
Scuderia lightweight luggage compartement trim
Side skirts (Rosso Corsa)
Spider engine bay grilles (grey)
Standard exhaust tailpipes
Suspension

In other news both headlamp bowls are now ready to be sent to Parts3000.

TacoExcellence

62 posts

108 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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You've lost me on this crossmember modification. What exactly are you doing? You're drilling through it and reinforcing it with parts that you glue on? Why not just weld it? Once you're making that sort of modification surely you want to make it as strong as possible? Or have I totally misunderstood what you're talking about.

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
TacoExcellence said:
You've lost me on this crossmember modification. What exactly are you doing? You're drilling through it and reinforcing it with parts that you glue on? Why not just weld it? Once you're making that sort of modification surely you want to make it as strong as possible? Or have I totally misunderstood what you're talking about.
Yes, that's right. The exhausts on the Scuderia pass through the crossmember which is a crash attenuation device. I'm plating around the new exhaust apertures to act as a load spreader in the event of an accident. A few aluminium and carbon fibre cars are glued together - adhesives have come a long way.

TacoExcellence

62 posts

108 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
Fair enough, I'll bow to your wisdom. From the work I've seen you put in on this - and other cars - I'm sure if anyone can do a good job of it you can!

But your insurance is totally cool with you doing that then? I'd have thought modifications to that sort of level would be a major liability, because they have no way of knowing if it would behave the same as stock in a crash.

kingkongsfinger

243 posts

171 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
TacoExcellence said:
But your insurance is totally cool with you doing that then? I'd have thought modifications to that sort of level would be a major liability, because they have no way of knowing if it would behave the same as stock in a crash.
I think if the insurance company reads this thread they will know the car is being modified correctly and making it a lot more awesome thus reducing the premium. bowtie

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
TacoExcellence said:
…But your insurance is totally cool with you doing that then? I'd have thought modifications to that sort of level would be a major liability, because they have no way of knowing if it would behave the same as stock in a crash.
The insurance company offer a premium they deem appropriate based on the spec.

kingkongsfinger said:
I think if the insurance company reads this thread they will know the car is being modified correctly and making it a lot more awesome thus reducing the premium. bowtie
Thanks!

Rocksteadyeddie

7,971 posts

227 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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mwstewart said:
sid88 said:
Could this be your previous F430? :X

http://www.copart.co.uk/uk/Lot/15859456
Sure is. An experience I'd rather forget. Are you bidding?
Did anyone keep a record of where the auction ended up? Be interested to know. As stated elsewhere the car deserves saving if possible.

paulw123

3,200 posts

190 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Simply fantastic work, cant wait to see it all finished

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
Rocksteadyeddie said:
Did anyone keep a record of where the auction ended up? Be interested to know. As stated elsewhere the car deserves saving if possible.
Price wise? £43k. I would be surprised if there's much of a market for it above and beyond the Copart price; I don't think there are many buyers who would be happy with a Cat D Ferrari. Granted there wasn't structural damage, but it's a very particular market.

paulw123 said:
Simply fantastic work, cant wait to see it all finished
Cheers smile

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
My carbon plenum is nearly complete and I’m really, really, pleased with it. It was originally a challenge plenum therefore differed from a Scuderia version by the lack of gloss finish i.e. no lacquer equals less weight. My plenum had some crazing to the RH inlet duct and wear from chaffing braided hoses which has been repaired and also it’s been refinished to my spec.

I really like the standard F430 rosso plenum behind the engine window and of course that is lost when going to a full carbon plenum like the Scuderia, so to restore some colour I came up with a couple of designs that incorporated Rosso Corsa paint around the Ferrari script on each chamber.

In the end I settled on a style that Ferrari were already using, starting first on its FXX cars in the 2000’s, then later on the Speciale road car. The central Cavallino background is also satin black which gives a subtle contrast and makes it stand out; the usual giallo would have been too jarring against the rest.





I want to mention and link to the site of the person who's done the work for me but I'm just waiting for him to give the nod, because it's not his usual line of work.

TheLordJohn

5,746 posts

146 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Looks the business biggrin

zippyonline

354 posts

166 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Hi Mark,

I don't post much on PH, but have been following your car projects for a good few years. Top work, I'm impressed with the attention to detail and have picked up odd bits of useful information, methods and such like. Thanks for taking the time to share

mwstewart said:
I want to mention and link to the site of the person who's done the work for me but I'm just waiting for him to give the nod, because it's not his usual line of work.
Now bicycles are what I do, and based on the fact I keep vaguely up to date with the industry, built myself up a bike using Cotic Soda Ti frame bicycle, and can see a Shimano hollowtech II bottom bracket in the background – I have an inkling of who’s done the work!

p.s. that plenum looks great

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
TheLordJohn said:
Looks the business biggrin
Cheers smile

zippyonline said:
Now bicycles are what I do, and based on the fact I keep vaguely up to date with the industry, built myself up a bike using Cotic Soda Ti frame bicycle, and can see a Shimano hollowtech II bottom bracket in the background – I have an inkling of who’s done the work!

p.s. that plenum looks great
Thanks for the comments. I wondered if someone would figure it out after seeing that biggrin

kingkongsfinger

243 posts

171 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Plenumporn. I for one would wet myself peering at that through the clear engine cover.wobble

Coker

4,436 posts

175 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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After following the M3 and Fiesta threads (although I do need to catch up on those), I thought it couldn't get any better... But this just ups the game even further!

Amazing work.

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Monday 23rd May 2016
quotequote all
Thanks both.

A mention to the person who restored the plenum for me: Matt from, http://spirecycles.co.uk/

Matt used to design and build carbon bike frames for road bikes (cycles) and his knowledge and skill is really impressive; for example there is a barrel throttle between the two plenum chambers that balances airflow between banks at certain RPM, and in order to prepare the plenum for paint Matt fabricated a tool to pull out the roller from its bearings without damaging either part.

Matt also discussed with me some of the techniques used and products used when working on the part, including a special clear coat developed by Jaguar that incorporates a solvent which slightly softens any epoxy it contacts thus creating a good bond with a CF part - usually clear lacquers will peel off once chipped and lift away from the carbon. Also, the epoxy used in the repair is a special high temp epoxy that is baked then left for a week before further work takes places.

Anyway, I totally recommend Matt if you need any CF parts restoring or repairing. Mention Mark Stewart / Ferrari plenum when you contact him.

I've also been in touch with Ed Blasi from Christian Lewis for a price to fit the Scuderia gearbox, F1 system, and 16M TCU, then set it up. I'm happy so the car will be going in when I have it back together.

mwstewart

Original Poster:

7,585 posts

188 months

Friday 27th May 2016
quotequote all
Mk1 air inlet ducts
Sometimes later parts are actually worse than their earlier version. I noticed when I drove my new car home from the dealer that the intake sound was nowhere near as sonorous as my last car, so it prompted a bit of research. I found a wealth of information and discovered that the air intake ducts were changed in late 2006 and went from a high quality single piece moulding to a very cheaply made two piece part: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430-sponsored...

Courtesy of the Ferrari Life post here’s the frequency analysis comparing Mk1 and Mk2.


The 16M actually has its own design of inlet duct, but sadly they are also the cheaply made Mk2 type, so I tracked down a pair of the rare Mk1 Spider intake ducts from Exotic Auto Recycling in the states.


I noticed when looking at my new car it is pretty easy to tell from the outside of the car if the early intakes are fitted. The Mk1 intakes must be cast in a lost foam mould because the interior looks like the surface of polystyrene, and is a dark grey.


The Mk2 ducts are very smooth and black.


I will also modify the ducts as per: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/360-430-sponsored...

Parts
I’ve bought a sheet of 3mm textured ABS plastic from which I will make front bumper skid plates. It was only £14 posted so works out considerably cheaper than an off the shelf version.


Scuderia PAS cooler hard lines. These cost around 3x what the cooler did. Madness.


Some 2008 onwards Spiders have water shields to protect the spark plugs. Mine didn’t so I’m retrofitting them.


I now have the alloy tube for the rear cross member modifications.


I have some 2.5” 304 stainless, some stainless plate, and perforated stainless plate to start modifying the Challenge exhaust. I am going to turn it into a silenced X Pipe.


Butyl tape to reseal the headlights. This performs a great seal but is easily softened with a heat gun should I never need to disassemble the headlights again to clean them.


In parts diagrams I noticed the F430 and Scuderia front bumpers are shown with a rubber trim along the upper inside edge. I’ve never seen this fitted to an actual bumper so I bought some generic rubber edging to see how it would fit.


The trim is a perfect fit but I’ll need to evaluate it on the car.


A load more seals, clips, hose clamps, etc. from Eurospares. Claudio also send a replacement header tank decal FOC.


The crate containing a lot more of the Scuderia parts arrived today. Top marks to Simon Hammerson for his packaging.


I made a wooden trolley for the gearbox. I really want to get this fitted now.


I hadn’t realised before but the yellow background on the Scuderia cluster is more of a mustard yellow than the F430. It seems a bit strange to me because it doesn’t really match anything else!


Scuderia coolant hoses, and also the thermostat housing and outlet elbow for the water pump. It’s larger than the F430 version. The water and oil pumps are also upgraded but I’ll cover those off when I start work on an engine build.

sealtt

3,091 posts

158 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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Great update smile

neilbauer

2,467 posts

183 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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Looking forward to seeing the finished article, any idea of the time frame?

Bungleaio

6,330 posts

202 months

Friday 27th May 2016
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I dread to think how much the sum total of those photos is but top work as always.