DM 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa

[THarrison351]

A couple of years ago I won a ridiculously low bid on a DM 1958 Ferrari Testa Rossa. I think I paid maybe $15 plus shipping. It wasn't perfect. No box, tag or papers. It was dirty and it was missing the tonneau cover and the hood latches were broken. Other than the missing cover and the tiny latches, it cleaned up nicely and was in exceptional shape. I thought one day I'll run across either a better hood, and or a replacement cover. Well, the other day I won a whole car for $20 that at first blush only had a broken wheel and came with a box, but it had the hood and cover.

I thought I'll get those for mine, repair the wheel and resale it on eBay. Unfortunately when I received it, it was also missing the left side exhaust. I missed that in the sellers pictures.

Fixing the wheel was as easy as pulling the rubber off the rims and swapping the broken inner half with the spare. Then mounting the inner half back on the axle and mating the outer half back up. then pulling the rubber tire back over the wheel halves.

Looking at the missing exhaust, I realized I could use some styrene rod and tubes and pretty much fabricate the missing part.

So I did.

I also discovered this was a later release and had leather covered seats. The earlier ones like my first one were just plastic.

Leather on the left, plastic on the right

So, now I'm going to keep the new one and put the old one for sale on eBay.

Edited October 1, 2018 by THarrison351

[Gramps46]

Well done on the acquisition and repairs.  I have this TR also and have debated whether to replace the wheels with Hasegawa PE wheels and add some racing decals. 

[randyc]

Cool.   That's the first time I've seen the interior in a photo that actually showed the two side by side.   I have one of these as well; will probably sell it.  Doesn't fit my collection really and was cheap enough I should be able to get my money.  BUT the listing showed it with hood latches, the car arrived with them gone.  I did recast a set of buckles from something else that at least look like buckles.  They are nice little cars.   

What's your seller name on ebay?  might watch it just to have a set of buckles and sell it on down the line. Can I ask that without getting in trouble?  Or PM me with a price and save you the ebay fees maybe, if we can strike a deal.

 

[THarrison351]

So I'm thinking about making the screwy little chrome latches that are missing on the old car. I was wondering what they really look like 1:1.

Pretty close, if you squeeze your eyes tight. Maybe I can bend up some guitar wire and cover it in thick superglue and then paint it chrome with a Molotow pen. 

Randy, I usually wait to sell when they offer no fees, then I drop a bunch of stuff. If it doesn't sell, which is usually '90s NASCAR kits. I can't hardly give them away. I wait until I have some other stuff and when they have no fees again. Christmas is coming, so I'll be getting the NASCAR junk back out for a buck to start plus shipping. I think it's the shipping that scares everybody. I'm not sure if they want me to advertise my seller name. I can PM you a price for the Ferrari if you want it plus my eBay name.

[THarrison351]

9 hours ago, Gramps46 said:

Well done on the acquisition and repairs.  I have this TR also and have debated whether to replace the wheels with Hasegawa PE wheels and add some racing decals. 

Well, before I actually found out how easy the wheel was to replace with the spare, I thought about PE wheels too. The rest of the car has such spotty and mediocre detail, I'm kind of glad I didn't have to. For example, there's a hatch in the head rest fairing for access to the fuel cap. You can barely tell it's there on the old car. The chassis and engine detail are pretty good, but why didn't they hinge the hood? No wonder so many of the latches and buckles are missing from the ones for sale on eBay. Finally, the dog legs for the door hinges are gigantic. I'm just glad I didn't pay full retail from DM when they were new.

Don't get me wrong, I like the little car, and it fits in with my attempt to collect cars of the fifties. If you want to put PE wheels on it and add decals to make it unique, I say go for it.

[Gramps46]

I agree with you Tim on the points you made.  I was very excited when it first came out but never paid full price for mine and now they are cheap on the Bay.