I photographed this one 19 August 1989 at Laguna Seca/CA. COPYRIGHT MARCEL MASSINI Image Unavailable, Please Login
This is a Mardikian-built Vette-based Daytona Spider I photographed at Laguna Seca 26 August 1984. Not really a Ferrari. COPYRIGHT MARCEL MASSINI Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ouch. Even the horsey fell flat on its hoofs. The Mardikian part is IMHO less significant than the fact that it is a McBurnie style.
July 1989 Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
No, read carefully: Vette based. McBurnie's don't fit a Datsun. Only few Daytona replicas were based on Datsun's. All I have seen were Berlinettas. McBurnies are based on C3.
Actually everything from GM except the looks. Here something different: Autokraft replica on Jaguar basis. V12 Jag engine. Interior and exterior is nearly a 100% match, body panels were molded off originals. Made by the same folks who started their business chopping Berlinettas into Spyders. I had the pleasure to get a ride in this beast and it was absolutely spell binding. The swooshy Jag chassis has been trimmed to almost racing performance with an engine set back so far it has nearly a 50/50 weight distribution. Very nimble, lots of power and the brakes to stop it. And the sound from the carburated V12 was a worthy roar. I'd still love to get a ride in a real Daytona Spyder to see how it compares. My feeling is this one gets pretty close. Also in fuel consumption... Image Unavailable, Please Login
The 1953 thru 1962 Corvettes used a 102 inch wheelbase frame if I remember correctly. The 1963 thru 1982 used a 98 inch wheelbase. The reason so many kit cars look goofy is because the bodywork is modified to fit the frame in question. And many times, just a slight modification will make the whole car look goofy. There were a few Scaglietti bodied 1959 Corvettes done back during "the day". One was on display at the Corvette Museum in Kentucky a few years ago. I didn't have a camera when I went there. (Hey, I'm no Marcel, give me a break!)
Just found the pics I took. Don't really like the roll bar, but I guess that was necessary. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Okay Andreas, here is where I have to part company. I think it's possible to take a Ferrari engine, a Ferrari gearbox, various other Ferrari bits and pieces, and build what could be called a Ferrari custom, or a Ferrari "Hot rod". Just in the same way people build Ford or Chevy street rods. It's another thing entirely to take a Corvette, or Datsun or Jaguar and build an imaginary "Ferrari" around it. Perhaps if they had called that spyder a "Jaguarri", or a "Ferraguar", complete with it's own special logo......no, not even then. It's a little like when we were kids and we tied ballons on our bikes so they rubbed against the spokes while we rode them and sounded cool...just like a "real" motorcycle.
I have no problem with you having a different opinion as long as we can have a civilized conversation about it. The inside of your garage tells me that you are yourself somewhat prone to the replica world, although in a more authentic way. And that's really where I see the difference: It is a matter of definition, effort and result where one draws the line. Last time I was in Switzerland I came across a neat looking modern Fiat. The owner plastered it with Ferrari logos and had me curious for a second. In my book not a replica, just a car with the wrong stickers. Then there are the Datsuns, Fiero and Vettes with new bodies. Replicas in my book, despised in yours. Then there is what your friend with the Barchetta built: Car from scratch with genuine engine and a good finish (not perfect, but ok IMHO). And then there are the rebodies of 250 GTE into GTO and the like. Finally there are the reincarnations of cars long gone. I guess the Malibu Enzo will be one such car. Where anybody draws his personal line of acceptance or rejection in that wide array is really a matter of individual preference, opinion and taste. Some have narrower standards than others. My personal view is fairly tolerant, but I can understand how people see things differently. Fraud and lies is where I draw the line. Replicas often are dispised because people think that their owners only have them for posing, but that's not necessarily true. Many have them because they love their looks, performance, etc and they can afford them and even afford to loose them when driving them hard. My friend with the AC Cobra didn't buy that thing to impress anybody (especially as mentioned on here as well everybody nowadays assumes a Cobra on the road has to be a replica) but because he wanted to have that visceral feeling of driving and racing a car from the sixties or built with sixties technology (he owns modern sports cars too). And I bet some of the cars listed in this thread were built and driven for the same reasons. The joy of driving the snot out of them without risking a museum's piece.
My apologies, Andreas. I forgot to put a "wink" after my post. I know you are much more "forgiving" of the replicas, and that's okay with me. We agree about the "fraud and lies" aspect. Since you mention my garage, I should add that all my cars are originals. You are referring, I think, to the Superformance GT I have ordered. I have been agonizing over that subject for some months now. The GT40 is probably the one car I have longed to own more than any other since my high school days. I assumed it to be an unattainable fantasy until I learned about the Superformance GT, which promises to be the most accurate copy of the GT40 yet built. So I placed a deposit. Just this morning I got a call from the source for the proper ZF transaxle asking for money to start building up the box to my specs. And Roush wants to start building the small block engine. Yet I still don't know if I will go through with the purchase, because I may not be able to get the car in right-hand drive, right-hand shift configuration.
I was referring to the GT40. Thought you already had it. I know your other cars are all originals, no offense intended. Talk to Mike from FL about this. His Cobra is Superformance and he is strongly opinionated about RHD and LHD when it comes to the GT40 (he was considering it himself). Also there is that other company in Detroit that builds you just about any race car (including P4 and GT40) on a modern chassis. RHD or LHD, they don't care. You add the powertrain. If you're interested I can dig up their address. Finally there is another company from South Africa, IMHO they build the truest GT40 replica. Again I can dig it up if you like.
If you're ever serious about it, let me know. I know these guys and there is always one for sale. Personally I'm not sure I'd do that. I like 400i and they're a dying breed.
The '206' in post #111 was done in 1989 by Norwood Autocraft for Joe Marchetti. It was done with a tube chassis, alloy body, DGZ box and a Ferrari 4 valve 4 cam F2 engine, complete with slidevalve intake. Bob had two of those engines, both where missing a few bits, one went in this car and he sold off the other. It did not have the roll bar in it originally. Thanks for posting the pictures. James Patterson Norwood Performance
Was the Norwood tube chassis a duplicate of the original Ferrari chassis, or an entirely different design? If it was a duplicate of the original Ferrari chassis, did they get their measurements from an original frame, or a set of chassis diagrams? If they used diagrams, where did they get these diagrams?
Can't anyone ever give credit to a person who builds their own creation? Give a person credit especially if they don't do it for a living. People build things just for the enjoyment of building. Yes some (few) do it to fake others out, but most people I know did it for fun, experience, and devotion to the car spirit. Some even in tribute to a marque. I built my Daytona replicar (Oh YES It is a replicar, of a car I would love to have but can't see ever affording a real one). Is it perfect? Hell NO! but it had gone as high as a 98 point car in a nationally accepted club's regional concours championship (yes I have the documentation). I enjoy showing it at all types of events, including Ferrari ones, with the understanding that some will praise it and others will stick their noses up at it. But how many people do you know who built a car from the ground up? I enjoy telling people how I built it (19 yrs ago) and without prior experience and I don't down play other's creations no matter what it looks like.
Thanks for asking! They still hurt. Dr. 348T took some xrays and gave me drugs and he told me rest for a few weeks which I haven't been doing. I'll be able to rest once this weekend is over.