Might make a good daily driver? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1978-Ferrari-308-GTS_W0QQitemZ130200065121QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item130200065121
The golden rule is to buy the best 3x8 that you can afford...This one is not that car!! The front seat leather looks very suspect like they have mold or water damage. Every seal, hose and fuel line in/on that motor will need to be replaced. Water pump, alternator rebuilds most likely and the list goes on and on..... Since it's sat for so long I wonder what kind of corrosion is *inside* the motor? RUN...unless you want to spend some big $$ on a daily driver. JIM
"Does not run. This car had been sitting since the late 80's" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! total rebuild time $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. buyer beware !
Now the strategy being employed here, of course, is to publicly proclaim that this is a car to run away from, hoping others will, while secretly plotting to buy the car for as little as possible, hope it will not take much to make it run, and then go from there replacing hoses, etc., as a hobby/project. I'll say it: for someone who does his own work, this might be an excellent fixer-upper project. If I were going after it, I'd drive over there, pull a few spark plugs out, shine a light in there and look for corrosion, spray some Kroil in the cylinders, and see if it turns over. If the inside is clean and it turns over without drama, then you have a project. . . . but then, it's currently at about the limit I'd spend on a project. The seller is handling it admirably -- not a single "which should be an easy fix" lol Plenty of sellers would describe that interior as "excellent for its age, with the usual wear on the driver's seat"; seller here honestly calls it "scruffy".
Ok, as I said on another thread abandoning such a classic car should be the 11th Comandment Thou shall not abandon classic cars. It is just plain wrong.
I've been thinking how I would've responded if astjr would've said...."could make a good DIY project" My post would've been totally different......Something like: "Motor would need to be pulled, all seals replaced, distributors looked over well, carbs rebuilt, seats dealt with, etc.... If you are willing to spend the time and $$ to get it running it could be a good project!" VS. what I actually wrote. It's interesting to think about JIM....just thinking out loud.
Right on. We have all kinds of threads about suspension upgrades, big brake kits and engine overhauls. Some done on real nice 40k cars. We repaint nice cars to make them perfect. If that's your thing, why not start with a 13500 dollar car?
I completely agree. This would make for an excellent project car. But not over $15,000. At the current price of 13,500, this would be perfect. Honestly, if I had the money right now, I would be making a bid. The engine would come out and gone through. All hoses replaced and while the engine is being looked at, the body work would be taken care of. I hope someone comes through and rescues this car . Jeff
Great project for person w/ (fair) ability, help from F-chat and a little time. Some people say buy the best, most documented car...etc.... I say (if you have time/ability) buy a car that is complete, yet is a relative bargin....get the work done/DIY under your ownership so you know it's done right and enjoy the car. There have been multiple sotries here on F-chat about someone payign a premium $ for a documented/up to date/serviced/etc car... only to have to put an additional $15K into the car w/in 6 months. There have been stories of guys who buy bargin cars and whose only talent is writing checks and those stories come out pretty sad as well. OTOH, this car is perfect for a guy who can and/or likes to get his hands dirty, knows his way around cars in general and w/ a little help from the F-chat brother hood could get this car up and running, and in presentable shape for well under $10K. As such he would have a $23K 308 with up to date service, modern upgrades like brakes, fuse box, etc and could drive the thing guilt free for many years to come......if this car were a GTB, I'd be all over it.
For that car, I think it is the same shape as many here that are going in for paint. Check that the motor turns over by hand and make sure that the valves are not hitting I think it would be a very worth while project. I think the most expensive part of that whole car would be the interior replacment
If you don't go OEM spec, you can get by rather comfortably...ask me how I know. Just thorwing out options.
Too bad it wasn't a QV. At that price (even at $15K), it would've been perfect for my "HotRod/Daily Driver" project!
I guess it depends on how far from factory spec you are talking about and what comfortably is for you? I had a local shop recover my whole interior but it was all the bits and pieces that ate up my budget (and then some!!). I bought a running car in about the same shape as this one looks to be, or maybe even slightly better. I can tell you there is no cheap way to do it, at least not if you want the car to be decent. Mine is no show winner and it's far from concours correct but it's looking pretty good. That said, figure on tripling (or more) the purchase price of this one to get it in great shape.
That is a FACT! You can get a lot of the same parts in something other than the yellow box with the horsies on it, and in a few cases better parts for a little less. Seeing as the car is "just a GTS" and not a more rare GTB and is currently in far less than OEM off the showroom floor shape, getting it back running and on the street rather than junked or parted out is worth not having it factory perfect. IF the engine internals are sound, this can be brought back to life relatively cheaply. Can you make it concours ready on a budget? Not really, but you sure can make it worthy of any local show and shine. Could you make a profit? Maybe a tiny one in the short term, but best of all you could have a running Ferrari under your but for less than a new Scion. This car is a prime candidate for a hands on learning/teaching experiance with the kids. If I was not currently garageless, and the kids were not 2 years old, and two months from birth, this would have been the project for me.