| Author | Message | ||
| nick mrozinski (Nickm)
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Got a nice photo of a 308 convert. coming up. Looks sweet. | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
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How would folks style this 308 WITH THE TOP UP? The beauty with the 348/355 Spyder, is that the top has the flying buttresses of the coupes and this continues the line in a smooth manner to the deck. Looks gorgeous with the top down or up. If it were to have just a roof with no buttresses (a la Fiat 850 Spyder), it would look too abrupt, awkward, "something's missing" feeling... Then again, how and where will the buttresses be stowed, how long should they extend on the deck, etc...? | ||
| J. Grande (Jay)
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Martin I think if the rear wheel arches were flared a bit more it would add to the appeal. Not out so much as up, if you know what I mean. | ||
| Peter Boray (Gts308qv)
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A company in Germany called "Koenig", did do 308 and 328 full convertible conversions in the mid to late 80's. I have a brochure and can scan and post if anyone interested! They are also mentioned in a few Ferrari books ( The complete guide to the Ferrari 308 series by Wallace A. Wyss)where the DP design built 308 conv.is pictured. | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
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Thanks Jay, that to me is a sweet car. I am sure that with a little enginuety you can make a top happen on a 308. | ||
| J. Grande (Jay)
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Messed around for a few minutes (literally) in photoshop to put the tonneau cover on. Tends to keep that flowing line where the roof once was that we all like.  | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
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Joe brings up a good point that I really came to appreciate after pulling the engine. The Ferrari has a wicked frame. There's a fortune in there with all those hand welds and the design. | ||
| joe saldana (Ironjoe)
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Theirs a guy in Chicago,he has made a few.He used a Fiat 850 top,then Im almost positive he tried a corvette top.As for the structural integrity of the 308, its a targa allready.any frame strengthining would be a waste of time.Just look underneath the side sq tubes and the middle I do admire Ferraris frameworkmanship.Anys his name was Ray something I could dig up his name n pics if need be... | ||
| Ken Thomas (Future328driver)
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At first I thought that it would be a crime to covert a 308 to a convertible (why mess with a beautiful work of art), but after seeing Jorma's picture, I changed my mind. That 308 cab looks fantastic. | ||
| Brian stewart (Eurocardoc)
|
The Beetle convertible....many years ago, while testing at the Nurburgring a certain driver was complaining of the heat in the rentalcar. No problem, beingthe clever souls we were, we removed the front and back glass from the Beetle. Next lap, same complaint, no problem, being the clever souls we were, we cut off everything above the doors, spent the remainder of the week driving the only rental VW convertible for miles! | ||
| Frederick Thomas (Fred)
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The engine for the 308 is right behind the cockpit. There would be no place for the top to fold into. A fellow Ferrari chatter (Brian) pointed this out to me. | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
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Carl, can you take that picture and add some black things to it like the 355/348 SPiders have? You will see it looks cool. | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
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If i saw that on the street at first glance or from far away i would probably think its a mondial! | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
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That looks sweet! I'd buy that car. | ||
| BobD (Bobd)
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Save yourself time and money.... buy a Mondial. | ||
| Jorma Johansson (Jjfinland)
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try again  | ||
| Jorma Johansson (Jjfinland)
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image{x} | ||
| chris cummings (Entelechy)
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Mark's right - I've got the book he referred to. I'll see if I can scan the pic tomorrow so you can have a look. Personal preference, but I didn't think it looked that great. Anyway, I'll try and post the pic and you can see for yourself. Best, ~Chris | ||
| DHutchison (Hutch308)
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I like my Targa top just the way it is, and would not want to change the smooth lines that have made it an enduring classic. - Hutch | ||
| Anthony Acunzo (Yank05)
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I like the GTB myself - what a roofline! ...better chassis too........ | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
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I have chopped off a Beetle to a convertible once. You need to reinforce the body with steel cross bars in the compartment and best over the engine bay as well. I disagree with you all though. I think the convertible can look very very nice. If you use some tricks like on the 348/355 Spider with the continuance of the lines of the roof it could look very nice. Remember this photo here is a photo image not the way it has to look. | ||
| Ken (Allyn)
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I think you'd get frame flex cutting off the targa; you'd need to reinforce the frame. This would definitely change the charactor of the car's handling and unless you're an engineer it probably wouldn't be a good thing. | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
|
C'mon guys that pic of the red 308 makes the car look like it has a truck bed on it. Why F--k up something beautiful? Your answer could be beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Not to me. Leave it alone. | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
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I saw one for sale at Chelsea Cars in Wandsworth, London, in May 2001. I didn't get a chance to see how much they were asking for it. There was once built a 328 Spyder, for Sergio Scaglietti (and also proposed to be a limited series run, Ferrari declined). Bret hit it on the nose in respect to regulations. Take a look at other U.S. market convertibles of the 70's.... They all had some-sort of roll-hoop or bar or body-work protecting the cab. | ||
| Frederick Thomas (Fred)
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Yikes!! Keep that hacksaw in the tool box!! | ||
| Brian stewart (Eurocardoc)
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Want me to practise on yours Fred? | ||
| Brian stewart (Eurocardoc)
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Hacksaw, cut off wheel and grinder should be a start! | ||
| Frederick Thomas (Fred)
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I agree whole heartedly with Jerry. | ||
| Scott85 (Scott85)
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There is a place that does this conversion(or did), I think it was one of the places that converted the 308's to 288 GTO's(just the body kits). | ||
| Jerry Wiersma (Tork1966)
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I agree whole heartedly Richelson. | ||
| Richelson (Richelson)
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I think it looks better as a targa. | ||
| 1989 328 GTS (Vilamoura2002)
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I saw a convertible 308 for sale in Europe in giallo. Looked GREAT! | ||
| Carl Roberts (Carl63_99)
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Here is a quickie of how it would look. Give me six months and I could have one done in 1/24th scale.  | ||
| Mark (Study)
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I'm looking at a white 308 convertable looks very nice. Conversion was done by DP in Germany. Kind of takes away from the cool 308 lines. Photo is in book "The Complete Guide to Ferrarie 308/328 Mondial" Dalton Watson | ||
| Willis Huang (Willis360)
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I think Forza's 308 Buyer's Guide mentioned something about a one-off convertible. I'll check it out again. | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
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The 308 never became a spyder because of government safety regulations. It was impossible for Ferrari to make a true convertible acceptable in the US market, which is why the called the targa topped 308 the GTS (Gran Turismo Spyder). It was essentially the spyder for that time period. The Mondial came out later when the safety standards had been revised. | ||
| Greg Owens (Owens84qv)
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Actually, I was just thinking "why didn't they do it?" just the other day. There are 348, 355, 360, and even some custom 400 Spyders, why not a 308 Spyder? The only thing I can think of is that Ferrari built the Mondial Cabriolet as the Spyder with the same 308 running gear. | ||
| J. Grande (Jay)
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I think it would be cool! They did it with the Daytonas in the early 70's so why not? | ||
| J Dirk Carnahan (Dirk989)
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Anybody thought about it? Anybody done it? I'm thinking about it. I feel like a blasphemor, but I just like the idea. Somebody please talk me out of it, or tell me how to get it done. |