Over the past few days, several customers have contacted us asking whether we'll do any "Black Friday" Ferrari parts specials on Friday November 28th. Here in the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving traditionally marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Intrepid shoppers queue up for hours in the early morning at their favorite stores, hoping to get some fantastic discounts for holiday gifts.
Ricambi America has also planned a fantastic Black Friday special, but I can't comment quite yet! While we normally specialize in genuine, original Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini parts, this door-buster sale will be a particular item that all owners could enjoy, regardless of the Italian exotic they have in the garage.
At Ricambi America, we field almost 100 telephone calls per day, from all corners of the world from customers looking for genuine Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini parts. Although I have some nice windows in my office, it seems I'm often tied to my computer and unable to get outside and enjoy some fresh air...
Well, the answer has arrived! Remy, my new Nova Scotia Duck Tolling retriever is like a 1-hour countdown clock. The process of potty-training him forces me to put down a cool steering wheel, or clutch assembly, and get outside for a potty break every 60 miuntes. At first, I thought I might miss "something important" being away from the desk. The truth is, it's nice to just feel the fresh air!
Should we rename the company Fur Parts ? Or Furry Parts? I think we'll stick with Ricambi America. After all, the name is already synonymous with the quality, passion, integrity, and the most knowledgeable Ferrari parts staff in the business.
I'm sure Remy will be trained soon enough. Then, our breaks will involve fetching tennis balls and perhaps even an occasional Challenge Stradale wheel or other Ferrari part that rolls away (just kidding).
*** On a more serious note, we're in the process of working with Hill Engineering on a clutch thrust bearing for the Lamboghini Gallarado. It'll be a geat way to save some money, and get a fantastic Lamborghini item that is vastly superior to the factory version. Watch this space for more information.
Anyone who owns a modern Ferrari (348, 355, 360, 430, 456, 550 and so on!) shares a mutual frustration with the sticky, gooey, melting of their interior trim parts. Ferrari, in their incredible wisdom, chose to coast most plastic items with a textured rubber coating for purely aesthetic reasons. Yes, it looks great when brand new. However, within a matter of months and a few hot days in the sun, the rubberized coatings begin to melt and stick everywhere. Yes Virginia, even a $250,000 Ferrari is prone to this mess.
Some people claim the mess is because of cleaners like Armor All. Others claim its the result of damaging UV rays on the interior. Regardless, it is just amazing that Ferrari owners tolerate this gunk. Simply touch your A/C vent to redirect air and blammo! the gunk is on your hands. Touch the rear-view mirror switch and blammo! the gunk is on your hands. To make matters worse, if you then touch the nice leather seats, the black goo is easily transferred to the seats and makes a horrible mess. Ferrari knew about this problem with interior parts as early as the 348 (1989), but in their incredible blindness to customer pleas, they continue to use it on the latest 430 Scuderia and California.
So, what is a person to do? For several years we at Ricambi America have been selling replacement plastic panels (genuine Ferrari parts) which indeed look great and fit perfectly. But sadly, they are also coated with the same messy rubber which degrades and turns to goo. For F355 owners, we have offered a brilliant HVAC overlay to ensure the air conditioner panel never goes sticky again. But those original plastic pieces? What's a Ferrari owner to do? The answer is here!
As long as you're not planning to enter an FCA sanctioned concours, a new company has emerged to professionally refinish the panels with an extremely strong black paint. The coatings are strong enough to survive in a mass production Honda, but gorgeous enough to fit perfectly in a Ferrari. The company , www.stickynomore.com is run by a true Ferrari enthusiast who can also professionally install our HVAC panels.
Last week, I tore my 348 apart and sent all my interior Ferrari parts for professional refinishing.
Although I certainly could have pulled new ones from the shelf at Ricambi America, I really wanted to see the results from Stickynomore. Within 3 days my panels were returned -- and in a nutshell, I was absolutely speechless. The quality of the finish is superb. The color match is excellent. The durability -- I can already sense -- will be outstanding. Here is some of their handiwork: Ferrari Parts Refinishing
Really -- as much as we'd love to sell new plastic pieces to every Ferrari owner on Earth, I must strongly recommend the services of www.stickynomore.com. As an owner myself, I know the plight of these interiors, and do think (for non concours cars), this is the ideal solution.
As the team at Ricambi America expands our business beyond the primary Ferrari parts world, we are becoming deeply involved in Lamborghini parts as well. A prime suppliers of ours in England, Hill Engineering has been instrumental in helping us develop custom Lamborghini parts which allow owners to personalize their cars, improve their cars, and just have fun in their garage.
Our first “custom” item is an oil filter tool which allows the simple removal of a Gallardo oil filter housing. Although Lamborghini makes a similar tool, it is ridiculously overpriced and really of marginal quality. Similar to Ferrari tools, the manufacturer produces these tools for workshops, but gives little thought to how they’ll be used over the years. Now, with Hill Engineering at our side, we have released tool OFT-05 for the Gallardo.
Next up, will likely be an item very similar to a popular Ferrari part we sell — skid plates! The skid plates are made from either extremely strong plastic, or billet aluminum. Mounted to the lower side of the front bumper, they are basically invisible to a passerby, but do an outstanding job protecting a Ferrari or Lamborghini front bumper when the car crosses a concrete parking lot apron. Rather than the ‘crunch’ sound of a $4000 bumper scratching the ground, the skid plate gives itself up and protects the bumper. In terms of popular Ferrari parts, the Hill Engineering skid plates have been a huge success. Now, we’re designing them for the Lamborghini Gallardo, with an expected release date in early 2009.
