mad car...mad resto

thanks rob,in hindsight it would have been more sensible to just rebuild it all on another x19,expecially as i had a very straight one that i bought for spares,but i wanted to change a lot of things,basically finish the car as it should have been done originally,so cutting everything out and replaceing everything enabled me to do this,else it would really have just an x19 with a different body,i think even the most die hard would have a job to identify this car as being anything other than what it looks like now,because from all angles,it just looks like a genuine ferrari....till you lift the bonnet....at the moment,lol

Fantastic effort Nick, hats off to you!

Lancia Thema 832 Ferrari V8 Conversion comes to mind - Are there any scrap ones out there??

Thanks Rachel,and rob,yeh,Rachael made me aware of these engines,I did have a look but I think realistically,for the price they want,I could probrably buy a genuine Ferrari engine,so for costs sake I'm thinking more along the lines of fuel injected 4.6ltr rover v8,but dress it up to look like something it isn't.ie,Ferrari rocker covers etc,but il have to see

Massive respect to the work thats going on there........
Fair play to you. Though you were right - Mad! Wouldn't it have just been easier to buy a wrecked 308?!

The problem with buying a wrecked 308 is that because of their value it would hAve tone a heavy wreck,a total write off,which halves its end value,but,if it's a genuine car then it can only be repaired using genuine parts,which means it costs double what it's ever going to be worth,even then,if you still do it then your left with a car that's impractical to use daily,my car may well end up oweing 7-10k,but I'd hope it will always be worth at least what I've spent,and even if not then I still have a car that is as close to being genuine as a copy could ever be,but with the advantage of similar performance that can be used and driven daily!,that's the plan anyhow,lol

Best of luck with it Chris - we'll be following here with interest! Keep us all updated on progress here.... cheers

I'd keep it Italian, especially for the noise and these engines are cheap and plentyful! Plus there are those out there in the know on the conversion, eh Rach?

Alfa V6 would be nice! It's two cylinders short of the original 308 engine but it has similar capacity and the right sound.

Isn't it more power?

The 3 litre V6 can make 220 - 230 bhp with a little bit of work. The 3.2 is 240-250 bhp as it comes, I guess more can be had form it with some new cams, exhaust and the like. That's all pretty similar to what the Ferrari V8 used to make.

the best v6 ever made will never sound half as good as the worst v8,my opinion anyway...the car already has a built turbo engine thats had loads done to it,if,and at the moment its only if,i do stick another engine in it,then it would be purely for getting a more authentic sound and look under the bonnet,because i cant imagine that any of the engine swops ive seen are going to be an improvement on performance,then again,im yet to drive it on the road,it may be the case that im dissapointed when i do,and if thats the case then the engine will be on the floor within 24 hrs....but i dont think thats going to happen,the engine was built by avanti at a cost of 5k 12 years ago,and since then its had other stuff done as well...so like i said,if i swap engines then its only for the sake of having 8 cylinders,no other reason..........incidently,i looked today at a gtv that was in the unit next door for m.o.t,it did sound nice for a v6 admittedly,i was suprised to see that it had no brembo calipers?

Hi Nick,

I just love reading this kind of resto. What can I say that hasn't allready been said. I really admire some one who has stuck with a project like this. The welding looks brill. Makes me think I maybe shouldn't have scrapped that Lido I had because it was in better condition than your car. You have created an unusal conversion that could live for a long long time. Will we see it on the road soon? The only negative comment is "get a better camera" so we can enjoy your hard work more