| Author |
Message |
'75 308 GT4 (Peter)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 11:40 pm: | |
With all of that dirt, grime and oil on that engine, it'll be preserved very well and with generous use of Simply Green and/or solvents will come out nice and shiny. |
BretM (Bretm)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 8:57 pm: | |
Yeah Ferraris are cool.
The steering wheel being offset shouldn't be a big deal, it probably just needs an alignment. Mine was offset about an inch clockwise until I got my alignment about a month ago, now it's really nice. |
magoo (Magoo)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 6:53 pm: | |
Chris, It really doesn't sound like a bad deal. The thing you really want to be sure you have done is to check out the car by a Ferrari professional Tech. It may be a diamond in the rough, depending on the color of the interior if you like it. |
chris cummings (Entelechy)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 6:18 pm: | |
BTW I forgot to mention; after spending an hour in a Ferrari, it's amazing how the world just seems a better place - the sky is a little more blue, the air is a little sweeter, food tastes better, etc! I hope that feeling never wears off. When I first started working in Hollywood, I felt the same way driving through the studio gates in the morning and being on the soundstages with all their rich history. I literally used to get tingles.
Anyway, what do you guys think about the steering wheel being offset? Finally, I meant to say in my last post that (like many of you) this has been my dream car ever since I can remember. When I do get one, I want to have it for as long as possible. As such, I'm ten times more critical than with any "ordinary" car purchase. The good thing is I've also learned the value of patience.
Bret, thanks for the list you put together, and again, thanks for everyone's feedback!
~Chris |
chris cummings (Entelechy)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 5:59 pm: | |
Thanks for the feedback. I passed on the car because of the visual state of the engine --by far the worst I've seen (looked like it hadn't been touched in 16 years), the high mileage (relatively, for a Ferrari - my research indicates that the engines are good for about 100K, and in rare instances when maintained well can go well over 100K, but conservatively that only leaves 30K before a possible engine rebuild which aren't cheap!), and that fact that I've got my heart set on the tan interior - this was black. Still, I just wanted to see it & test drive it in person as it was so close to home, to see if it might win me over. The seller is asking 32,000 and said he might come down to 31,000 if he could sell it locally to avoid having to arrange shipping. The EBay auction has ended and he's talking to the two high bidders. It might not be too late if anyone's interested. His name is Peter and his number is 714.420.3808. He's a very nice guy and is only selling the car because he has a son on the way (due in December).
~Chris |
BretM (Bretm)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 5:54 pm: | |
- 69K is a little high, but not too high, I would look for a car with about 50K on it.
- The sound of the engine is the big thing. Get one that has been serviced recently, I'm always skeptical of cars that haven't yet been serviced yet and want you to do so. It may be dirty, but as long as their is little oil leaking (expect some leaks) and everything looks good (belts, wires, connections look clean and not corroded,etc).
- A clean body usually signifies well kept. I've noticed that water tends to sit where the rear bonnet meets the rear quarter panels, that would be a prime spot for paint bubbling (you have to open the rear bonnet to see it). The body should be perfectly straight above the front and rear bumpers, look for door dents where people opened those low doors.
- I wouldn't pay much attention to things like tires, brake pads, etc that are expendable.
- The car should just feel really tight, tighter than almost anything else especially since no power steering or ABS. |
David Harris (Dakharris)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 4:44 pm: | |
Chris: Drive a 328 and you will be even more impressed. Same for a 348, 355, etc. If you want performance, buy the newest car you can afford. Your description of the drive sounded about right. When I was looking for my current ride, I always wanted the owner to go with me on test drives. They will reveal a lot more about the car (good and bad). They usually tell you to push their car to the limit. Beware of those who want you to take it easy. |
BretM (Bretm)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 4:02 pm: | |
I like high mile cars (none are truly high miles, but high miles for a Ferrari at least) because someone that is driving their car is also maintaining it, you have to in order to keep it on the road. Cars that sit are the ones where owners get frustrated with problems or don't really pay attention to them. And then the whole thing about how a sitting car develops more problems.
The engine starts to kick in at about 4000, at about 5000-5500 it really starts to haul ass. This is the most fun, you could rev it up to like 7500 all the time I think and it would be fine (I usually shift at like 6500 when I'm tooling around though).
As far as the engine being dirty don't be surprised, it's all open back there and is like a magnet for dust and grime. You have to constantly clean it if you want it to stay nice.
I'm gonna try to put together a list of things to look out for tonight that I'll post later. |
Martin (Miami348ts)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 2:23 pm: | |
Why did you pass on that car?
How much was he asking?
That sounded just like the perfect car. All records etc. |
TomD (Tifosi)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 1:41 pm: | |
your right - you need to get the revs up. Its great doing 60 in 4th or 5th and being able to take off to 90 in a hurry. You just don't win to many off the line races against new sports cars but who cares. Just make sure the oil temp is up before you hit the high revs |
William H (Countachxx)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 1:15 pm: | |
sounds about right for a QV, except my powerband in my QV kicks in under 5,000 rpm |
Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 1:08 pm: | |
This comes up quite a bit about a Ferrari's power band. The sound of a Ferrari at 4k is louder than what most cars sound like with the valves about ready to shoot out the hood. Once you're finally comfortable with that high of revs in the Ferrari, it's like you're driving a entirely new car. One of my first times was driving along with a friend in a Viper and I did a clutch drop at about 6k and the wheels let loose just long enough to get about a foot sideways and then when it caught... the car launched like nothing I have felt before and the Viper was still behind me! These are race bred cars that we drive on the street, I think it's actually healthier and definitely more fun to drive them like they were intended.
I'm not sure if anything was wrong with that car' transmission or not, however, even a perfect car has a notchy feel to it. This took awhile to get comfortable with too. Once I got the hang of it I actually can't stand my other manuals now as they feel loose and sloppy. I like the precision and tightness of the Ferrari transmission, gates, and shifter. |
chris cummings (Entelechy)
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 12:37 pm: | |
This weekend I drove down to test-drive an 85 308 GTSi QV in Orange County (the one recently listed on Ebay). The owner seemed like a terrific guy and let me test drive the car on my own. I didn�t really push the car as it wasn�t my own and he was kind enough to let me take it out by myself. The car had 69,000 miles on it with a complete service history, but the engine looked very dirty and neglected. The car had its original paint and was cosmetically in pretty good shape, showing the normal signs of wear & tear for a car 16 years old. On the test drive, my impressions were that 1st and 2nd felt a little notchy until the oil pressure warmed up; this helped things but they still never felt completely smooth. The steering rack and wheel were offset to the left an inch or so, but the car was aligned straight. This is the first QV I�ve driven, so I can only compare it to the two non-QV GTSi�s I�ve test driven previously. I liked the handling, the dead steering at slow speeds, and the acceleration much better in the QV � basically confirming everything I�ve read. When I returned and was sharing my impressions with the owner, he asked where I was shifting in the tach. I said about 4000 rpm. He smiled and told me to hop in again and he�d show me what the car can really do. According to him, the high end torque doesn�t really kick in until around 6000 rpm and that the car is meant to be driven/shifted at that range. A quick run around the block really blew my mind; the car was SO much faster than I ever expected!
I decided to pass on this one, but wanted to get any advice or impressions anyone has to offer on the above.
Thanks in advance,
~Chris |
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