1980 Ferrari Other

California Daytona Spyder Convertible

8

Automatic

1G1A78769H5424184

Clear

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The ultimate in a Miami Vice Collectable. It is estimated that McBurnie made less than 50 cars before the lawsuit brought by Ferrari stopped production and put him out of business. I am selling one of those cars. The car itself is built on a 1981 Corvette chassis (SORRY THE VIN # WOULDN'T REGISTER BUT SEE PLATE)..and is powered by a 1987 corvette TPI engine. Completion date December 1987. In 1984, a new series, Miami Vice, needed a fast exotic car for its star, undercover agent Sonny Burnett a/k/a Sonny Crocket played by Don Johnson. The producers turned to Ferrari and the 365 Daytona Spyder convertible. Only 165 Daytonas were made in a convertible form, the most recent selling for $1.8 million. Ferrari would not give a car to the producers to use. They wanted the series to buy one like Magnum PI had done with the 308. However, a large importer of grey market cars by the name of Mardikian had a better idea. He knew of Tom McBurnie who took a corvette c3 chassis (originally a 1978) and using original 365 panels made a copy. There were 5 cars made for Miami Vice. They differ from mine mostly in the interior, where they were more like a corvette interior. As the series took off, so did the demand for the cars. McBurnie started manufacturing them at his factory in California. Car makers Carl Roberts and Rowley splashed off there own copies after working with McBurnie. Ferrari became incensed and soon sued McBurnie ( Ferrari S.P.A. v. McBurnie, 11 U.S.P.Q.2d 1843, 1846-47)and won, stopping operations cold. I bought this car from the original owner, a Pontiac car dealer who bought one "with all the bells and whistles" because he was going to become a McBurnie dealer. By the time the car was done in December 1987, McBurnie was knee deep in legal action with Ferrari. This gentleman took delivery and drove a short while, but it is frowned upon to own a Pontiac dealership and drive a Ferrari. So, it was placed in storage. I acquired the car after it sat for MANY years. The odometer shows 4400 miles. It still had on it the original Pirelli tires and except for the back two, (we will get to that later) they were like new. I replaced the tires due to dry rot, not wear, with Yokahama, which have less than 300 miles on them (I still have the original Pirelli tires for inspection or included). The interior is ALL LEATHER and it has many unique features. The engine is a TUNE PORT INJECTED 1987, much more powerful than the 1978-1982 engines that most of the McBurnies came with. It can EASILY break loose the back tires, as evidenced by the old Pirelli tires. The car has power steering, power brakes, power windows, power door locks, power antenna and COLD AIR CONDITIONING. The driver’s seat was specially designed for a taller man. I am 5'10" and have no issues even with the top up. It has a state of the art sound system for 1987 big subwoofers hidden in the trunk. YES, a full trunk encased in wood and carpeted. The car can be serviced at any Chevrolet dealer. The newly rebuilt transmission is the TH700R4 I had a auto service station that specializes in hi end cars go through the brake system including replacing some of the brake calipers due to them leaking from all the years of sitting (a common issue with corvettes), they also changed the fluids, tested the systems drained the tanks and adjusted the engine spent over 3K with them to shake off the years of sitting. I have the original bumpers but the chrome was peeling from age. So I bought a new polished aluminum set for the front and back along with new rubber. The top is good. It has a small dime size wear hole on the drivers side but not noticeable. In the last year I replaced the radiator (new not rebuilt $600) because it had a slight leak. I also had to have the TH700R4 transmission rebuilt ($2700) (only 4000 miles but guy said if it sat for 15 years that would cause it to fail prematurely) I intended on keeping the car but with a marriage to pay for and getting a house to start a family, I am forced to set priorities. I will be happy to answer any questions. My name is Bob and I can be reached at (630) 903-9877. I tried to keep as many original parts as possible It has great patina, it is over 24 years old but the paint looks great, some small scratches, some parts such as the tires and brakes had to be replaced for safety reasons. This is a great chance to pick up a FACTORY built car, not something an amateur put together. It has REAL knock off rims, not look alikes and a Ferrari? roll-up suede tool kit with a lead hammer for the rims. I have an extensive collection of articles and pictures of the different McBurnies. I do not have receipts from the original owner because as he said “It has 4100 miles, what the hell would I have needed to be fixed?”. Each of these original cars was assigned a Serial number and VIN. Because of the Ferrari lawsuit, no others will EVER be made. I have a clear Illinois Title. It is ready to go can drive it anywhere… I put on over 500 miles this summer On Dec-11-12 at 12:54:33 PST, seller added the following information: I have a shutterfly link with over 250 pictures please call me (630) 903-9877 and I will give you link ebay will not allow me to publish it On Dec-12-12 at 07:12:38 PST, seller added the following information: TRY mcburniedaytonaspyder(dot)shutterfly(dot)com