| Author |
Message |
John Perry (Perryaviation)
New member
Username: Perryaviation
Post Number: 17
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, June 07, 2003 - 10:40 am: | |
I'm sure I will Sindo. Thanks, I've got alot of really good advice from all of the guys here.
Everyone has been really helpful !!
john |
sindo rodil (308qv_miami)
New member
Username: 308qv_miami
Post Number: 14
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, June 07, 2003 - 10:35 am: | |
Try and stick with a quattrovalvole, thats what I have and have'nt had any problems, just regular maintenance. I drive her every weekend at least 100-200 miles. Try and buy the best you can to avoid any problems. Let me know if you have any questions. |
Lee Pierce (Leepierce)
Junior Member
Username: Leepierce
Post Number: 115
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 10:36 pm: | |
Ferraris are supposed to "start like a champ"? Maybe I do have problems.... |
Randall (Randall)
Member
Username: Randall
Post Number: 512
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 3:51 am: | |
I have a 1982 308gtsi. I love the car to death. It may be slow by todays sports car standards, but it is not a slow car. It always starts like a champs, sounds great and has looks that should never go out of date. I paid $22k for mine, I expect to put about $5k into it (estimatex2) and shouldn't have any concerns in the future.
Whatever car you're considering, get the PPI and ask on here if anyone knows about the car. Since I've been on the group I've met several people that had experience with my car, and they've been very helpful in filling me in on the details. |
Barney Guzzo (Trinacria)
Member
Username: Trinacria
Post Number: 256
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 2:59 am: | |
Agree with Lee I do. Sometimes you can find a car that needs a little work and save a lot. My car had records and a clear carfax but needed synchros on the transmisssion. Good luck. |
Barney Guzzo (Trinacria)
Member
Username: Trinacria
Post Number: 255
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 2:56 am: | |
John
I have an 81 308 GTBi. Best of both worlds. Sure it's a few hp shy of the carbs, but it starts up great every time and looks real nice. The extra HP is easily obtaianable if it is important for you. The few repairs I made were expensive but I love this car. I sold my Corvette to get the down payment on it. No regrets. IMO.... go GTB. They lines are just nicer. If you can find a 328 GTB - even better. |
Lee Pierce (Leepierce)
Junior Member
Username: Leepierce
Post Number: 112
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 12:45 am: | |
Oh, and good luck, John. I got your email. I'll send my #; give me a call when you're in town.
I saw your other thread...a good-running carb car is probably the way to go. There's another Lee in Knoxville (whom I haven't met yet) with a black '79 308 GTS. Maybe we could all get together. |
Lee Pierce (Leepierce)
Junior Member
Username: Leepierce
Post Number: 111
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Friday, June 06, 2003 - 12:43 am: | |
"You can't buy a 308 "fixer upper" and possibly come out. "
Well, knock on wood, but so far so good on my "fixer-upper". $12K for the car, plus $6k for service/repairs, and she's running beautifully. A nice looking driver's car, too...not perfect, but beautiful. |
John Perry (Perryaviation)
New member
Username: Perryaviation
Post Number: 12
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 9:38 pm: | |
thanks for all the great info, you guys have alll been first class !!!! I'll keep you all posted of my search for the perfect F-car !! I don't want to jump into anything and keep telling myself not to purchase until Christmas, (I'll have more knowledge (maybe) by then ;-)
By the way, I'm a coverted Porshe owner, I have a feeling that once i make the move to a F-car, I'll never go back to "the other side" THANKS AGAIN,
John Perry |
david handa (Davehanda)
Member
Username: Davehanda
Post Number: 916
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 6:03 pm: | |
John,
The last couple posts here are right on the money, except the GTS verus GTB thing. I have driven both, and the GTB may be a better handler, but I am more than willing to sacrifice for the open air...I'm hooked and will never go back.
If you plan to track the car a lot and drive it in a very spirited manner, the GTB all the way, otherwise get the GTS, I think you'll have more fun.
Way more inventory on GTS too, which will make the search MUCH easier. |
Jay Grande (Jay)
Intermediate Member
Username: Jay
Post Number: 1368
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 5:49 pm: | |
Problem with these cars is that even the really "nice" ones need everything! Take a look at the suspension bushings, upper/lower ball joints, every rubber hose (fuel, vacuum, coolant) most are original or have only been replaced once in it's life-time. Remeber, these cars are 20-30 years old. Be prepared to spend some money once you buy. Valve adjustment, carb rebuild and hoses and belts should be first on the list, regardless of what a previous owner tells you.
I would say go for an early glass GTB with carbs, very light and very fast...and they are more rare than an F40! |
Dave328GTB (Hardtop)
Member
Username: Hardtop
Post Number: 583
Registered: 1-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 5:22 pm: | |
John,
Based on experience.....
The carb cars are the coolest
The 2V injected are the slowest and none are fast
QV's best all around driver/performer
GTB's much better driver than GTS (and prettier too)
A cheap car to start costs more in the end. With Fcars more than others, it pays to ante up for a really nice fully sorted car. You can't buy a 308 "fixer upper" and possibly come out.
Dave |
John Perry (Perryaviation)
New member
Username: Perryaviation
Post Number: 10
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 4:05 pm: | |
I think my budget is going to limit me to a 77-79 carb, or a 80-82. i need to only spend around 25,000 on her.
but hey don't they say you never,
"buy a Ferrari", you, "buy your first Ferrari" hehehe. just don't know if I wanna go carb or injected I plan on driving about three days a week to work. (hour commute) and around town on weekends. so I guess it's to carb or not to carb ?? |
DJParks (Djparks)
Member
Username: Djparks
Post Number: 284
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 4:01 pm: | |
It has been my experience after buying and selling 30 cars privately over the years that one is 'usually' better off paying extra up front for a well sorted car than a project. I was told by a dealer that a car purchased piece by piece is 'usually' 4 times more as expensive than buying one whole and complete off of the show room floor. Ask a parts manager what the markup is on parts. I think I read a thread here that the mark up on Ferrari parts is 45% max. . Correct me if I am wrong.
You should also consider what your time is worth and how much room you have to donate to the 'cause'.
2 cents, DJ |
Lawrence Yee (Ferrariguy)
Junior Member
Username: Ferrariguy
Post Number: 226
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 3:37 pm: | |
Hi John, if you're looking for a 308 QV here's one you might want to take a look at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6212&item=2418352673
|
Ron Vallejo (Ron328)
Junior Member
Username: Ron328
Post Number: 161
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 2:35 pm: | |
Hi John. When I was looking for an F-car, I wanted a 308 first...any 308 for that matter. As my knowledge grew, I thought the '83-85 308 quattrovalve would best, then later on I started considering the 328. Then I learned more about some improvements/updates in the 1988.5-1989 328 models. So, I ended up getting an '89 328 (no big deal really).
Don't get me wrong. The 308 is great car. I'm simply saying that the 328's are worth considering as they're the final evolution of the 308 series. It's worth a few more thousand $$ you're going to spend.
Good luck on your search. |
Charles Barton (Airbarton)
Member
Username: Airbarton
Post Number: 564
Registered: 11-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 12:40 pm: | |
If you have the cash you might consider moving up to a 328 or 348 instead. The 308 is a great car but it does not have the performance of either of these two cars. The 348 is a particularly good choice because they have a reputation of having problems. This makes them a really good value as they are selling well under what they should. The fact is the reputation is not true. All of the bugs the cars had, have been solved over the years by various service bulletins Ferrari came out with. I have a 1990 348ts that I use as a daily driver and I love it! Make sure you get one that has had all the updates. The way to do that is to get one with higher miles or get the latest model possible. Typically the higher mileage ones have all the updates because they have had several major services done on them. During these services the owners usually do the upgrades as well. This is easy to verifiy if the car is well documented. There is a list of these upgrades in the archives of the tech section of this site. |
PeterS (Peters)
Member
Username: Peters
Post Number: 614
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 12:27 pm: | |
Don't forget the '77 308. I have # 348 off the line and its a great carb'd car (Euro). |
Kendall Kim (Kenny)
New member
Username: Kenny
Post Number: 38
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 11:36 am: | |
The 2-valve 1980-1982 308's were slow.. Ferrari had a lot of issues with getting these cars federalized, and emission controls back then ate up a lot of performance on these cars..
I think the best 308's are the carbuerated versions 1978-1979 308 gts or the earlier fiberglass version 1976-1977 308gtb, or if you can pay the extra money, go for a later model 1983-1985 quattrovalve.. Carburated cars are best run in open roads and tend to get clogged up and often need tuning when driven in traffic.. |
PeterS (Peters)
Member
Username: Peters
Post Number: 612
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 11:35 am: | |
John...Send an email to Brad Goldstone, the GM at Ferrari of San Francisco, [email protected]. You may call him at 415 380-9700...Good man. He may have something for you. |
Crawford White (Crawford)
Junior Member
Username: Crawford
Post Number: 60
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 11:29 am: | |
John,
The 308 is a perfect first Ferrari.
You can find a nice one for well under $40,000. Be wary of super low mileage cars - the odometer may not be right and, even if it is, these garage queens tend to need more attention than a regularly driven car.
As Darwin (most likely never) said..."Use it or loose it!" |
Roger Blakeman (Roger)
Junior Member
Username: Roger
Post Number: 82
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 11:27 am: | |
Hi John-I have an '80 308 GTSi you may be interested in. I've decided to do some down sizing and would like to see the car go to a good home. If your interested please contact me at [email protected]. Roger B. |
stephen r chong (Ethans_dad)
Member
Username: Ethans_dad
Post Number: 295
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 10:57 am: | |
Welcome to Fchat John.
You've come to the right place; you'll find a wealth of advice from owners and Ferrari enhusiast...maybe too much ; ) I recommend you go thru the archives and 308 section to listen to the typical issues that are asscoiated with these wonderful cars. Regardless of what you hear about each version, just remember: ALL Ferraris are amazing. The key is to find a healthy one.
Best of luck, and enjoy the search for your Ferrari!
Regards |
John Perry (Perryaviation)
New member
Username: Perryaviation
Post Number: 2
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, June 05, 2003 - 9:22 am: | |
Hello all I'm in the market for a 308 GTSI ( I think) unless you guys convince me other wise, anyone have preference of GTS over GTSI ?? Also anyone have or know of a really nice 308 for sale, also split on buying fixer upper/already done car. any info would be GREATLY appreciated !! I'm glad i found this site looking forward to getting involved ! John |