Ferrari 60th - 360 CS

[Enzoenvy1]

Well, here we go again. I am gonna start another Challenge Ferrari. Hopefully this one will be a lot less stressful than the F430 one I just completed. I actually got all the parts together in August of 2004. Back then the only option was to create your own or the MSM trans kit. So I acquired one from Ebay for quite a bit. It has been in the closet since then but now I am ready to start it over. Back then I only built the engine a little and cut the front bumper off. So, this is basically a new build. This time though, I have the right wheels from SAS as they are way more accurate and better to scale. So, here are the parts, and hopefully it will not take me 9 months?!

Tamiya 360 Modena

SAS CS Wheels

MSM Trans Kit

SMS Carbon Fiber

SMS Seat Belt Harness kit

Enzo Seats

Acu-Stion 360 Rotors

Acu-Stion Challenge Etch

All this, and a whole lot more. This car is going to receive real working plexi-glass windows. And the rear vent will be screened. So far I have only rounded up the parts for this entry.

[Enzoenvy1]

Here is the wonderful warping that resin apparently does after years of sitting:

Bumper is still good though:

Here is the whole MSM kit:

So, here goes a build that shouldn't take as long. Hopefully I can complete this one before the anniversary ends.

Jon

[ismaelg]

COOL!!! The Modena is my all time favorite Non-Corvette car! Based on what you did in the F430, this one will be a knockout. Will certainly follow up closely.

Thanks,

[les paul]

What a huge arsenal of aftermark you will use.

You have a lots of work to do with them.

[Tuffy's Garage]

Thats going to be cool

[Enzoenvy1]

Thanks Ismael. It appears that you and I are the only ones here that like Ferrari's lol.

Well, I actually got some time here to start this and I am glad. There is a bit of excitement starting to grow. Maybe I will want to complete this, lol.

So, I started by looking at all of my research photos I have. The MSM seats are as stated before a copy of a Subaru seat. They need heavy modification to look right. So I thought about the Enzo seats and then realized that they too would need modification to look right. Then it hit me. The MSM seats have the correct top portion but no side supports. The Enzo has the side supports but not the right top portion. So,...................

Here is kind of what they will look like. Obviously I need to putty a lot and shape more, but for the time put into them so far, they are almost accurate!

The etch set I have for the 360 is only the stock size and not larger for competing. So those will not work. As stated before the Enzo brakes are a better fit. Once again the Enzo was bashed:

These will fit so much better inside of the new 19" wheels from SAS.

Speaking of the new wheels, I spent about an hour cleaning the flashing and sanding them up. They look incredible! But, the stock 360 tires are way to bulky for the new rims. Almost makes the rims look small again. Then it hit me that I have spare 19" tires from a Kranze set and tried them on. Needless to say, I think that I will be using these tires especially after I lower the car to the correct CS ride height. What do you all think?

So, a small update, but like I said, I am getting the bug again!!!

C+C on the tires?!?!?!?!!?

[Enzoenvy1]

So far this has been a great build! I have had some time this week to play and no-one to bother me while doing so. But, she will be here in about 15 minutes. So, I need to get this update finished before hand.

Ok, the bottom of the Enzo seats were too deep and too wide. At first I thought about cutting them down the middle and pulling them together. Then I thought about taken about an 1/8th inch out of the depth, and about a 1/16th in the width:

Here you can see where they were until I did the removal:

And the new:

Next, the remainder of the side bolsters had to be cleaned up:

Here are the stock 360 just for comparison:

After this was complete, there was no proper way to fit the seats. I had to remove the rails for the stock seats and after the Dremmel, the pan looked like ######. So I added styrene to it all ( I emailed 360 Spider for acceptance of this - still waiting, lol):

I also cut out the stock console for the CS's:

[Enzoenvy1]

Now, I have seen some etch floor mats, and even some made out of real rubber. I have neither of those. So I spent about 3 hours making these:

These will be flat black like rubber to dull out the foot wells. The Cavallinos will be picked in titanium.

Just before I posted this I thought about what else I had done, and the rear trunk lid was modified with card and putty:

My steam is there for this one as I am not doing the body first. That is what I think my problem before was. I will feel more compelled if the body is painted last.

Jon

[Enzoenvy1]

Holy ###### I am booking on this build. I have never been so happy with my building skills as I have now. This was to be my first build after I got back into the hobby 4 years ago and I never built it. I am thinking now that I should have. Oh well, I am doing it now and loving it!

Adding the Enzo brakes to the 360 was kind of a bit of thinking. I ended up ruining a whole set of Enzo brakes to get these completed. I might need to get some more Enzo's I think, lol. The front hubs had to be removed from the 360 caliper sets. Then the Enzo calipers had to have that hub drilled out. When that was complete, the hub was glued with the wheel washer into the 360 hub assembly. The rears were a bit harder after I found out too late. I had assumed the same thing for the rear, but I was wrong. I had to hollow out the Enzo rear hub to accept the 360 hub. Then I again I glued the two together with the wheel spacer. As you can see later in this post it worked out great!

The seats are looking flippin awesome. I was almost ready to prime when I noticed on the real car that there is extra cushioning under the drivers knees. So I added styrene and putty:

Cutting out the rear light assembly was a complete pain. Patience and a lot of swearing and I got them out unhurt. Etch saws are the best thing ever. My only problem is that I cut the assembly to aid in removal where as I will need it complete to put in mesh. Oh well.

Like the F430 Challenge there are no defrosters on the 360 CS. So,.......:

[Enzoenvy1]

Here is the interior so far after a ton of modding it:

A dark one with the dash:

The seats are completely finished. I wish I knew how to cast them as I know I would use them again. Oh well:

The knee bolsters look awesome:

Now, the moment I have been waiting for for 3 years - the dry fit!!!

Hope you all like it!!!!!!!

Jon

[Enzoenvy1]

Here she is folks, my second favorite Ferrari of all time mocked up (Enzo will always be first, lol). Hope it is worth the looks!

[Enzoenvy1]

Well, what do you all think? Should I lower the ride height? Do you like the choice of tires? Aren't the SAS rims freakin way better to scale?! Do the seats look anything like they should? Should I light in on fire for fun (not in a million years, lol)? Tell me what you think.

Thanks for looking at the progress and sorry I type to much.

Jon

[Tuffy's Garage]

WOW

[ismaelg]

It looks beautiful! I know 1 or 2 resin casters that would be willing to do the seats, but that would take time. Email me if you want to discuss it.

Thanks,

[Enzoenvy1]

It looks beautiful! I know 1 or 2 resin casters that would be willing to do the seats, but that would take time. Email me if you want to discuss it.

Thanks,

Well, I don't want to toot my own horn, but so far these are the most accurate seats that I have seen for the CS!!! Think I could do it with one of those kits from Hobby Lobby or something?

[MoparMarc]

Looking really good. I have only seen this version built one other time on another forum and you are doing a great job so far.

[Enzoenvy1]

So, I have discovered that most of the people on this forum do not like modern cars. This is odd as the hobby is about the hobby and not the vehicles built. Oh well.

Well the build is losing steam unfortunately. I have so many parts being completed that none have came together yet. So, I am just chugging along. Yet, there is still great progress. Here is where I am with this beauty.

Once again, the MSM kit is a complete waste as many have pointed out. I was hoping that the rear diffusers would be added without too much work, but guess what, not gonna happen. I felt that I could make them work, but the fins on the diffusers were so off. The application of the parts were off as well. So, my good ol buddy Styrene came out to play again. After a few hours, I had what I wanted. Here is a comparison:

Now, this little black piece that goes between the floor pan and the chassis is one that seems to be added to the diffusers of the CS. So, I added them:

Next were the shocks. The Tamiya ones are actually quite nice, but the coils are molded in like every other application cast out there. So, I cut those out and made these:

[Enzoenvy1]

These are not finished, but the point is present:

Well, here is where the chassis and body are when you join them together at the rear. The extensions on the rear flares are working great. And when you added the new diffusers with the chassis pan, well again, it works. Look carefully and you can see where I cut out the mesh in the tunnel and added the Acu Stion mesh in between. Still needs to be puttied, but so far so good:

I also extended the side skirt intakes as the real car has more depth to it. Not the best picture, but again it works:

[Enzoenvy1]

Here is where the body is at to date:

Now, I needed a roll bar for the rear hoop. Solder makes a great piece, but the covering needed some attention. I thought of tape and putty, but why not Shrink Wrap for solder?! Took a while, but I got it on and shrunk. Here is the before:

Here is the after:

The seats are final as of now. I do not desire to add the lip to them. Too much time has been spent, so............. Here they are primed and base coated:

Last but not least, the wheels are about to get color. I needed to add valve stems to them. I grabbed my smallest pine vise bit and drilled the holes. Then I grabbed my smallest wire to see if it will fit. I think that it will work just fine:

Well, more has happened, and much will come. School starts in less than two weeks and I need to complete this before the Senior year starts. Who knows, maybe I will?!

Thanks for looking everyone.

Jon

[ismaelg]

Jon,

This is looking really Really REALLY good! I'm enjoying this project a lot! Question: Are those wheels part of a transkit or did you get them separate? Where did you get them? While not a 100% exact match, they look similar to the ones I need for my C6R.

One more thing: Don't worry about modern cars not been the "cup of tea" of many. This hobby is about passion and passion is not rational. The "depth" of this hobby gives it variety and makes it GREAT! Besides, we'll leave all those old cars in the dust with our modern rides

Thanks,

[Enzoenvy1]

Ok, there has been slow progress on this one. I have lost the steam for it as it never goes any further. But then again, I have not been devoting too much time to it.

Here is the center console getting re-worked. Like everything mentioned before, the MSM kit is very poorly executed. So I had to cut it apart and widen everything.

Here is a very bad picture, sorry. But, you can see where I sued pin heads of different sizes to get the console buttons accurately depicted.

Along with the console I added the magazine net in the back.

I later thinned it down to make it smaller.

[Enzoenvy1]

Here is the body after its first coat of primer.

Like it is intended to do, the primer exposed a ton of issues. So I marked them and fixed them. Next will be another primer coat.

Now for a personal problem. I spent so many hours on the seats that I was content. It was mentioned to me that I needed to make them more accurate. The real seats have a lip to them and not a round contour on the sides. So, I decided to strip them bare and start over.

[Enzoenvy1]

This is where they are today. I am glad I decided to do this. In all, I have spent about 50 plus hours on the seats!!!

Here are the wheels. I was so happy with them then I noticed that one of them got a bit of crazing and bubbling from the weather at the time. So I will strip these and start over. At least you all can see what they will look like. I also added valve stems as well.

[Enzoenvy1]

I also completed the diffuser after I made it realistic. After paint I noticed there was not a nice transition, so I stripped them and fixed them, again.

I also finished the rear hatch cover. This one took a long time and once again, primer showed what was wrong. It is almost ready for another coat and paint.

And here is the console after all of that work and paint. I am happy with it so now comes the CF. I will re-add the pin heads and paint them as well.

So, not a lot of progress, but a heck of a lot of time to get to this point. Hope you all like it.

Jon

[Gray Smith]

Jon,

funny you posted this today since last night I broke out my Modena as well and looked at what I needed to do...the changes to the seats look great, much better(but the first try looked fine to me, i've seen so many different CS seats that I dunno whats correct anymore), also the other revisions to the console(never thought of using pin heads for the buttons) and chassis look good. I'd noticed the console just didn't quite look right and i'm going to use half the resin part and half of the kit part(my resin console is warped where the kit part is similar) and add some styrene like you have. Actually good portion of the resin stuff is junk now due to shrinkage . Good luck with the build, I'll get back on mine eventually, I do want to finish my Daytona first though.

Gray

Edited October 18, 2007 by stryfe101