Vintage Pictures I took of 308's 1981-1997 | FerrariChat
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Vintage Pictures I took of 308's 1981-1997

Discussion in '308/328' started by Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011.

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  1. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
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    #1 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Okay, I have finally found some time to put up my old pictures of 308's that I took and saved dating back thirty years. I hope you guys will enjoy looking at these.

    The first set is of a 77 GTB. I am pretty sure it was a steel body car. It was owned by a local doctor who bought it from FAF in Atlanta used. Now this car is very special because this is the car that set my life in the direction of all things Ferrari. This was the first one I ever saw in the spring of 1981. I was home during spring break (we called it AEA week back in the day) and this car drove past my house when I was out front messing with my little dirt bike motorcycle. I was 13. It looked and sounded incredible and I jumped on my motor and followed it home. Now this is important because this was the moment I discovered Ferrari. Everything since then, every car magazine, every picture I drew in my high school books, every poster I bought, dreams I had, all the way to now stems from that moment captured in these pictures I took that afternoon. When I found out that the car was at a house just a mile or so from where I lived, I rode back home and got my little 110 camera and went back. The guy driving it wasn't the owner . He was a friend working on it for him and I remember he was out in the driveway hosing off a battery when I pulled back up. He let me come up and see the car and take these pictures. Funny thing was he actually owned one too. A 330 2+2 that was in the garage. Evidentially I used up my roll of film on the 308. I have wondered what happened to this car. I have since learned that the doctor died about 20 years ago and the car went somewhere "northeast" after that. One unique thing about this car was that weird big horse on the rear. I have never seen any 308 that had one that size since.
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  2. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
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    Tommy
    #2 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  3. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
    Full Name:
    Tommy
    #3 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  4. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
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    Tommy
    #4 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Now it's June 1982. This was a brand new 1982 GTSi at a car and stereo show at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center. I can still remember the radio ad mentioning the cars that would be there by saying, "... Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari". No Lambo was there and I am pretty sure no Maserati either but this one was and that's all I cared about. One thing I clearly remember from that afternoon besides this , of course, was a Corvette that had two huge speakers beind the seats blasting "Let's Groove" by Earth Wind and Fire continuously. I still think of this afternoon whenever I hear that song to this day. Now by this time I was a big Magnum PI fan and was unimaginably excited about seeing this car in the flesh. The last time I had seen one at all was that GTB a year earlier. I cannot begin to describe the thrill I had walking up and seeing it in real life. That's me sitting in it, one week out of 8th grade and 14 years old. My friend Troy Gigis took these pictures. Troy later became a radio DJ and has worked through the southeast. Now here is something funny that a few of you will appreciate. The guy with the mustache leaning up against the car is Steve Ahlgrim. Some of you will remember him from FAF then or from T Rutland's now. Others will know his name from his Ferrari columns each month in Keith Martin's Sport Car Market magazine. How funny is that? Thanks for letting me sit in it, Steve!
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  5. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
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    #5 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
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  6. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
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    Tommy
    #6 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
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  7. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
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    Tommy
    #7 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 5, 2011
    I have more of this car. I will post them tomorrow.
     
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  8. tempest411

    tempest411 Formula Junior

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    #8 tempest411, May 5, 2011
    Thank you for posting those, that's pretty cool!
     
  9. wazie7262

    wazie7262 Formula 3

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    #9 wazie7262, May 5, 2011
    You've been sick in the head a long time, Tommy. Just like me ;-) I started drooling right around age 13, too :) Cool pics! Thanks :)
     
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  10. Cornbread

    Cornbread Formula Junior

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    #10 Cornbread, May 5, 2011
    Right on.

    I followed a 308 on my BMX bike about the same age. Pulled up out of breath in a local drive way and the owner told me to piss off.

    I gave him the finger and took off.

    Still loved the car and came back later to stare at it.

    I continue to stare at them, and they still take my breath away.
     
  11. Crazyhorse

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    #11 Crazyhorse, May 6, 2011
    Thanks for sharing the memories.That '82 could be mine,as it came from FAF!
    Thanks again.
    B.
     
  12. GrayTA

    GrayTA F1 World Champ
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    #12 GrayTA, May 6, 2011
    Thanks for posting these Tommy!!

    I was around 10 or so the first time I saw one. I didnt have a camera though....

    But I DO have a lot of the magazines from that era. I keep saying I am going to scan them and post them here, but just havent done it yet.




    PDG
     
  13. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #13 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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  14. krisdisk

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    #14 krisdisk, May 6, 2011
    These are great!!!!
     
  15. ramosel

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    #15 ramosel, May 6, 2011
    Too Cool
    Thanks for sharing your memories!

    Rick
     
  16. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #16 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
    I have a lot more to put up. I will get all of 1983 up this weekend. Those are the best.
     
  17. 4re308

    4re308 F1 Rookie
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    #17 4re308, May 6, 2011
    Fantastic photos Tommy! I love seeing old 308 pics. If you look very closely, you can see a Series III Maserati Quattroporte with the hood up behind the red 308 GTS, I guess the only no show was the Lambo!
     
  18. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #18 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
    After all these years, I never noticed that!
     
  19. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #19 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Last ones of the 82 GTSi and one more of the 77 GTB that I accidentally left out earlier. I have the exact same Blaupunkt head unit and eq in my 308 as this one - thanks to ebay. I even put ball speakers up by my rear window like this car but instead of the Blaupunkts (which I also have thanks to ebay) I installed Anthony Gallo's. They look exactly the same but are much better quality.
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  20. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #20 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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    Now it is July 1983. I was in Huntsville AL visiting my Aunt and Uncle. I was in the Burger King driveway across the street (look closely and you can see it) with my aunt when I spotted this 308. I went crazy and she drove me over to look. Now for some reason I had my camera with me and I have absolutely no idea why. The car is a 81 GTSi, marronie and tan and was owned by a Chinese heart surgeon whose office was in that parking lot. Now here is a stroke of fate; while I was outside taking pictures, my aunt went into a small grocery store that shared the parking lot and as she was checking out - the lady in front of her was the doctor's wife! Total coincidence!! She just happened to be in there shopping at that exact moment. She came out and opened the door and let me sit in it (she wasn't there in the Ferrari but thankfully she had the keys. She was in the big blue Mercedes 300SD in the background)). She even invited me over to her home that evening so I could get a ride. I could hardly wait for 6 pm to come. Finally it did and my Uncle drove me to their house ( I was only 15 ) and the doctor drove me around Huntsville for about a half and hour. My first ride!

    Notice the dent in the front. A lady in that parking lot backed into it about a week before. The doctor bought the car new from FAF and, interestingly, a picture of this very car hung in the men's bathroom there at the dealership for some time. Weird.
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  21. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #21 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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  22. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
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    #22 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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    That summer of 83 was a big Ferrari summer for me. I took a trip to Lakeland, Florida to see family and visit the then new Epcot Center. We spent two days at Daytona Beach while there and I walked up on this black 1980 308. By then I had upgraded my 110 camera for a nice Pentax 35mm and once again I emptied a roll of film on a Ferrari. It was parked in front of the Aladdin Inn that may or may not still be there. I doubt it. The owner is the guy looking down in the trunk of the white car with the towel around his neck. He had a couple of cute girls with him too. I remember two things he said to me. One was that when he was about 19 he figured out a way to drive a car without paying taxes on it by getting a dealer tag. I asked him how he did that and he told me, "...it's just a lot of paperwork." I don't know why I remember that conversation but I do. The other thing he told me he could actually get into the racing department at Ferrari. Who knows.
    Now this car was only 3 years old but it was pretty worn out. Look at the passenger seat. I have always wondered how in the world it would wear out before the driver's side did. I am assuming the driver's seat wasn't simply recovered because, at least if it were me, I would have fixed the hand brake cover at the same time. It has the same Blaupunkt radio as the 82 above (and my car!)
    Without trying, I got a picture of the VIN - 32509 and back in Nov 97, thanks to the new Internet I tracked the car down. It was for sale at Auto Classics in Coeur d'Alene, ID and I was told the car had made it's way around the southeast spending some time with a young doctor in South Carolina I believe. By then the hand brake cover was fixed, it lost the gold wheels, someone added a QV spoiler and changed the mirror. A man by the name of Terry Godbout at Auto Classics was kind enough to send me a current picture of the car. It is the last in this set and was taken in late 1997.
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  23. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
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    Tommy
    #23 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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  24. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
    Full Name:
    Tommy
    #24 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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  25. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 4, 2001
    36,275
    Birmingham, AL
    Full Name:
    Tommy
    #25 Dr Tommy Cosgrove, May 6, 2011
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