OT but, anyone ever owned a Ferrari 308?

[Mark Howard]

Just curious. What is the boards opinion of these autos? I have heard maintenance is a killer. But any honest opinions?

and, no, I do not have $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ burning a hole in my pocket....just maybe some future plans......

[zuffenhausen]

Mark,

How big are your feet?

My father has an '83 GTS Quatrovalvole and on the rare occasions I drive it, I have to take off my right shoe to keep from hitting the brake and accelerator at the same time! The ergonomics are odd, but it's definitely a fun car. The engine is quite strong, revs freely, and blends mechanical and exhaust noises to yield that magical Ferrari sound. The gated shifter takes some getting used to but the close ratios are a rare treat in a street car. It has quite a different personality than a 911, but can bring you just as many smiles per mile.

As for maintenance and repairs, I imagine timing belt changes and any work on the forward cylinder bank are a *****, but beyond that I haven't seen anything insurmountable. Oil changes are easy. We've put new distributor caps and rotors (yes, it has two distributors) and new plug wires on it, plus a Bosch fuel pump (it uses common Bosch CIS injection). We rebuilt the brakes too which was difficult only because of a lack of good service information. The factory service manual is a joke. Parts are expensive, of course.

BTW, the early carb'ed cars and the later QVs are preferred. Horsepower dropped significantly When they first switched to CIS and it wasn't regained until they added four valve heads.

Anything else you'd like to know about it?

Best of luck!
-zuff

[Roy M]

Never had one but a couple of mates have got them. Actually looks relatively simple (like an expensive kit car). Clutch can be changed through the rear wheelarch but really engine comes out for cambelt changes. Treat it right and it's reliable but best if you can maintain it yourself.

Had both of them down to Le Mans a couple of years ago and ran without a problem at fairly high speed. Not sure if they're as fast as my '88 Carrera though and absolutely no practicality. Interior fittings a little fragile.

Wouldn't mind one in my garage as a plaything but wouldn't swap my Porsche for it!

[zuffenhausen]

Originally posted by zuffenhausen
As for maintenance and repairs, I imagine timing belt changes and any work on the forward cylinder bank are a *****, but beyond that...

I can't say 'b* i* t* c* h'?



C'mon, Wayne, that's required language for working on cars. As in...

"Removing rusty heat exchangers is a"

"These flywheel bolts are a"

"Bring me the 13mm socket and another beer, "



Man, I bet I can't say 'budonkadonk', either.

-zuff

[Wayne 962]

Gotta keep it PG-13. Anyways, I'm saving my pennies for a Boxer 512...

-Wayne

[Joeaksa]

Wayne,

Considering that the DriveWerks "pop up" today was "The DriveWerks Ferrari Collection," you must not be kidding!

Hope you also put aside a bit for a full time mechanic! A friend of mine owns an orginal 250 GTO and has a full time wrench to take care of it and other "toys"... and a family member has a 308 but does his own maintenance... slowly but still does it.

Joe

[marc weintraub]

Over the years I have owned quite a few Ferrari's and I found them to be beautiful and fun to drive, but I never felt comfortable enough with them to go on long drives. I owned a 1976 308GTB fiberglass car and I loved it. Neat automobile with more power and lighter due to the construction of the shell. The mechanics weren't terrible and the upkeep was not as bad aas some of the other ones I had owned. Overall, I like the Porsche's better because I am never afraid of getting stranded somewhere with my car.

Wayne, instead of buying a 512 Boxer, get the 365 Boxer. Boxers, in general, go through clutches very fast (3-5k miles and they are toast). The earlier cars seemed to be more reliable, for whatever reason. The earlier ones had carb flairups and there were quite a few Boxers with burned up engine compartments. Beware!

[g930shaw]

I've had a 308 GTS. It was a '79 and of course, had carbs. When I bought it, it had only 13k kilometers (8k miles). It was red w/ black interior and red inserts. Yes it was perfect. It was originally a Canadian car w/ the guages in metric. It had the 4 pipe euro sport exhaust, deeper front spoiler, euro bumpers and was GREAT!
The sound was phenomenal, the ergonomics were easy to adapt to. I have an '85 930 that I love more than anything but, when you sit in a 911 and work the pedals, your legs move down as you press in, and the high seat position stops you from easily shifting, braking etc.
In the Ferrari you sit lower and pedal pressing is easier and more direct.Forget about the pedals being too close. The left front wheel well is there and the pedals are offset to the right. Same as in a 911, but a little more.
The gauges are easy to read and the shifter gate is not a problem. Compared to the balky shifting in my '78 SC, the Ferrari is preferred. Don't forget the dogleg left for 1st gear! The RIGHT place for 1st gear!
The car drove smoothly (new shocks were included when bought). The tubular frame construction is more solid than in a 911 targa. Less wind noise too. New Michelin XWX's are expensive from Coker Tire. The balanced handling and acceleration are a dream. The only thing I didn't like was the brakes. I ran the car @ Watkins Glen @ a DE event. The fluid started to boil, and at the end of the back straight, I had to pump the pedal and bypass the chicane.
The car was quick by any standard, (no cats and carbs) but nowhere near the 930. I sold it for more than I paid for it, only because I didn't have room for two. Now, I have the room and would gladly buy it back. They are beautiful cars.
The parts are not expensive. Comparing similar parts on 911's, some thing were actually less. Alot less! The 308 is a popular car, and parts are easily obtainable. I changed my brake pads on all 4 corners in no time. Only 2 beers worth. How hard are Webers to adjust?
Anyway, I guess I need one German car and one Italian car. Wayne, the 512 BB's are one of the alltime great roadrockets! I looked at a few of them also. Nothing like still getting pushed back in the seat when you accelerate @ 145mph!!!! Carbs are good, carbs are our friend:

[juanbenae]

dint magnum P.I. have one of those? my buddy has one and its a farrari, enough said. its a beautiful car and he really needs to drive it more. its a garage queen, my sc is too but if i dont get it out once a week i get all grumpy. i give him grief about the fact that even though it says "farrari" its still a fiat motor.

[silverc4s]

Mark,
You have likely heard this already, but all my Ferrari nut buddies say the 328 is a MUCH MUCH better car than any 308..
I am sure the pricing reflects same, but, you know what they say..

[Mark Howard]

Thanks Shaw and others....makes me want to use some of my "disposable income" right away!!

Down here in Louisiana I don't think I've ever seen but one or two. Would really be fun to have.

Anybody know a good divorce attorney?

[silverc4s]

Yeah, That would be the guy in the Ferrari you just saw....

[Rot 911]

Or you could just bid on this CaliforniaClassix Ferrari/Vette:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1842322976

[yelcab1]

I have a 75 308GT4. Fun fun fun but different from my 84 carrera.

Clutch and timing belts can be done in the car, but contortionists are almost required. Sounds are wonderful, clutch is heavy, sitting is reasonable for me (GT4 is a 2+2). My wife loves it too.

Maintenance is more than the 84 Carrera, but whatdoyaexpect? Parts are about the same prices as a Porsche. There are definite tricks as to how to maintain a Ferrari or else things will break down more often and get more expensive.

Yes the 328 are better by a wide margin, but that is 10-12 years newer and more expensive too. No complaints here, yet anyway.

[Kurt B]

I love reading stories of ferrari ownership (or other exotics). Anybody got more insight? Has anyone owned other exotics (lambours, lotuses (loti?), panteras etc)?

Please post! I'm fascinating by these cars. I've never even stood next to a running ferrari let alone drive in one. In fact, I haven't even ridden in a 930, so I've missed a lot.

[silverc4s]

Owned a Lotus Europa once, way back in the early 80's.... What a money pit!!! It was absolutely the best handling car I have ever driven on the street, but you could not go 50 miles without a new problem developing... I swear it.
Finally donated the car to the Plano TX High School auto shop as we moved to sunny CA in 1985 or so... took a tax writeoff bigger than any potential sale would have brought, and said "Never Again" to British cars - in the US they are out of their element.
IMO, YMMV, as always..

[g930shaw]

hey hey. After driving many a 308 and 328's, before I bought one, I'm not sure that a 328 is a much better car, considering it costs on average, a little over twice as much. No way! They're not that much different!
For the difference in price you can get a nice 930! The 930 would blow the doors off the 328, and you can still have a pristine 308!

[BKOMAR]

http://www.nsxfiles.com/stories.htm scroll down to chapter 50... I love reading these guys' stuff.... Ahhh the trials and tribulations of F355 living. All of these stories are great... Makes for some great time killing when we have no patients! Brian

[marc weintraub]

Hi Kurt,

I have owned quite a few exotocs over the years, to include over 20 Ferrari's, one Lamborghini Miura (1968), two Abarth Zagato Monza's, three early E-Type Jaguars, one Maserati and 8 Porsche's.

My favorite cars were the Miura, Ferrari 275GTB, ferrari 275GTS, Ferrari 330GTC, Fiat Dino Spyder, Ferrari Daytona, Cooper Race Car, all of my early Porsche "S" cars, 1997 Porsche TurboS, 1964 Jaguar XKE Conv, 1967 Jaguar XKE Conv, Jaguar 1967 Coupe, 1967 Alfa Duetto Spyder (3).

I have never been a fan of the newer cars because the older ones are easier to work on and they sound wonderful without being restricted by the emissions crap. The newer cars are way too complicated for a garage mechanic like me and to be honest with you, most of the cars spent way to much time and effort keeping them on the road.

Porsche's are still the most drivable cars, being reliable and relatively inexpensive to repair compared to other exotics.

Lots of funny stories about some of the cars though.

Marc

[Kurt B]

Marc: it means something when a guy who has that much experience says Porsches are the most drivable, and really, i can picture what you mean even though i've never had a non 911 performance machine. But we've all driven cars that were constantly on the edge. Everytime the tach wavers or the idle jumps at a stoplight, you say "Oh *****, i better get ready to push this thing off the road."
I never worry about this 174k mile, beat-to-hell Carrera. It's just always run well when I haven't specifically abused and raced it.

And when you consider that it's not just reliable, it's a reliable sportscar, it's pretty impressive.
if you take the simplicity and reliability of an old VW bug, and you make it into a sportscar, you get a 911.