A Ferrari 308 being reborn

Just spray the wheels with silver Krylon and go on with life......LOL!

That's what I do with my 16" Etoile's and BBSs.........

I have three sets of 14"s now also.......

 

The leather is stretchy, but only so far. On the fiberglass cieling panel it formed to the contours very easy, but it took me 9 hours just to glue it as I worked in small sections and tried to do it as well as I possibly could, I dont want it coming down. The contact cement grabs it instantly, so you have to be careful it doesnt stick where you dont want it to. So I worked one area while keeping the remainder of the leather folded back out of the cement. The dash was all pretty easy except the area where the instrument cluster sits down in that hollow. As you try to stretch it and form it it wants to wrinkle. At first I fought with it, but then realised that is what leather does and what makes it unique. After doing it there are a couple areas I would do differently, but all in all it was easier than I expected. The dash has a nice satiny appearance, totally non glossy and wont glare nearly like the vinyl did. I guess the biggest questions center around its originality, and how long it will hold up. Time will tell.

Another issue is the outboard dash vents. They arent very robust, only fragile plastic pins with metal spring clips retain them. The pins break off quite easily, its almost impossible they wont given 30 year old plastic. Windshield trim clips will work. I found if you bend the rivet tang to act as a spring clamp, and after tightening the fingers to grasp tightly, press them on the inner edge of the vent under the dash, the tang will hold the vent securely against the underside of the dash. I'll try to get a clear picture or will draw it to describe what I did. But if you have the dash out your going to want to deal with that issue.

I honestly tried to buy the original grade vinyl, but its the same story as always with these cars. Whenever you want something its always on backorder or out of production until they get enough people interested, and of course it will be $$$$$$. The cheapest I found any for was over $375 per square meter. I bought two full cow hydes, one black, one cream, which are each roughly 3 square yards for about $200, so it was pretty much a no brainer for me. I mean, there was no way I could justify paying almost six times the cost of leather to put in cheap vinyl simply to call it original. I hated to admit to anyone it WAS vinyl. If thats that important to someone they should find a different hobby. Its a Ferrari, it should simply be leather.

 

Damn right it should be.

People that get in my car look around and say "this is nice" then they run their hand over the dash to see what it's made of and when they realize that it's vinyl they just don't say anything but i know their thinking the same thing i am.

 

Yeah, it is so hard to stay "original" when it is so easy (and often times cheaper) to do it better. I guess everyone has their sense of when to respect the marque' and when to take a little detour. I am going to do mine in a fine Corinthian leather!

 

As far as I know the Dino's were leather, but regardless if they were vinyl, they wernt originally considered a Ferrari so they arent comparable to a Ferrari in this regard. They are today, they just wernt back then. The 308 is the first and last only true Ferrari I know of that had any vinyl upholstery. I dont know of any other cars they built before or since that used anything other than leather.

Its hard to look back and realise Ferrari in the late 60's and early 70's were incredibly small and struggling. My cars are numbers 21181, and 21645. As you are all aware, Ferrari skipped even numbering after the very earliest cars, so you can virtually divide the serial numbers in half to count the actual production. Thats barely 10,000 cars in 30 years. I know of local home builders that have built many many times that many houses in 30 years. And if you read through the P3/4 0846 threads, you see Ferrari running up against Ford with only 7 cars and a handfull of engines. There are racing documents showing the same engine serial numbers being different displacements on different tracks only a week apart. They couldnt afford more engine blocks! They banged apart motors and knocked in different sleeves to alter engine displacement instead of having engines already made up they could simply swap over. And here was Ford spending reportedly 2 billion with the GT40 project to cream them. I guess what I'm trying to say as I see the vinyl as thier way of helping them stay afloat while still building an awesome car so they could survive. Replacing it with leather is just my way of saying thanks.

 

You mean like this!!!

 

not sure what happened but here are the pics!
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Don't skimp, go Naugahide!

 

I would but I heard Nauga's are endangered....

 

Got the engine separated and cleaned up the trans. Nice to finally get up out of the grease & gunk.
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I think I am the first to put a Ferrari 308 in an FJ.....
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While engine is at the machine shop...suspension gets worked. First pic, dissassemble ready for blast cabinet, and then por 15. Second pic, right front assembled and on car with new QA1's, all new bushings, brake lines, etc. (of course with Verell's Paper weight that I just put on for looks)
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Looking good!! Thanks for posting the pics!

 

No, like this
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Hey Rico,
'sweet TR6!
Coop

 

Thanks, it was great project, I am hoping my 308 comes out as good. Unfortunately I sold my TR6 to help fund my 308 restoration, as well as my motorcycle habit...plus I want a Lotus Exige and a...,and a...

 

The dash on my Euro 308 QV, came from the factory with black leather.

 

Pic of block at Norwood Performance that they were kind enough to forward to me as they progress with the head work. Luckily the engine was in pretty good shape and no major machining is needed. Old liners go back in, crank mic'd good, etc. so basically waiting on new JE Pistons (10:1).

So as I rebuild suspension, my engine is getting worked and I still buff my clear when I get bored with everything else. Feels so good to be going the other direction (as in putting things together).
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Just a plug for Norwood Performance.

Got all my stuff back and ready to start assembling. Everything delivered as agreed upon, looks great, nice build sheet, no surprises, and spot on their original estimate. Thanks Mike and James!

 

Looks nice!

Can I ask, either publically or privately what this type of work runs at a shop???

JIM

 

I don't mind the question. In round numbers the bill was just slightly under $10,000.00. In general this included complete rebuilding of the heads, magnaflux and polish of the crank, remove and replace liners (mine were in spec, so were just honed), new JE pistons (10:1), and then all the ancillary items to basically rebuild the short block (gaskets, main bearings, rod bearings, cam bearings, etc.). They fit everything and give you a build sheet with all the clearances, etc. So, what you get back is a package ready to assemble, though I did ask them to refit the liners and install the rings on the pistons.

Norwood gave me a cost estimate specific to exactly what I intended to do and then we modified it during the process as needed. But they didn't deviate at all from their original estimate, and I had the good fortune of having a very good core piece (crank was good, cams, etc.). I was very happy with the service from them, answered all my questions, very accomodating pleasant guys to deal with. And, during my build they said they will walk me through any questions or concerns I may have - I asked a question yesterday and got a detailed response in less than 2 hours.

I will post a couple more pics here in a bit.

 

Just a few pics of where I am at. Block with crank in from Norwood, being mounted on engine stand. Pistons and rods (did you know you can get these from Pottery Barn?) And a pic of my rear suspension, which I did while waiting for my engine.

Anyway, currently cleaning up and getting organized to rebuild the engine, remove crank, superclean, and start assembly. Hopefully start with putting the crank in tonight, and fit the pistons to the rods.
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Looks great! I can't wait to get mine back from the painters now!

And where is that Pottery Barn?!

 

Looking good. I'm surprised my wife hasn't come home with a set of those yet, she has everything else they sell...

 

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a store at the mall where you could look at real car stuff? I mean come on, thousands of womens clothing and shoes, furniture, candles, dishes, blah blah blah stores. Couldn't we just have one! My wife would probably enjoy not listening to me whine the whole time....