D-Day has arrived - New (non-red) 328 in my hands!!!

#75442. November '87 build date. Delivered in January 1988 to Ferrari of Washington DC out of Sterling, VA. Wonder what the weather was like that time of year.

The car was so well taken care of by the original owner until 2004! Two owners after that. The second also in VA. The third ended up moving with it from DC to Cali.

Anthony, I say take separate trips. Nothing beats the top off and the intimacy of the 328! I really don't see how much more speed gets you more bang for your buck with this type of car. It is plenty fast and responsive just the way it is.

The manual steering is also delight on the 328. Much lighter and better than my 83 911.

Robb

 

Had the pleasure of topping 30000 miles on my way back from my girlfriend's place on Sunday Night. Just picked it up three days earlier with 29k on the clock. I enjoy driving the car at night but will look to upgrade the headlight bulbs... and instrument bulbs, which are really dim. I'll be using the search button to find those threads.

Got the 328 parked in my building's garage next to the A4 avant. It's quite a bit lower... I'll be moving out of the downtown loft for a townhome with a 2 car garage, so that will be nice to finally get a private space for my cars and ducati.

I am waiting for the fun, 3 day weekend starting Friday AM. I'm hoping to head out to the mountains and will be taking the cameras for some more scenic photos. Got the red car cover from Ricambi today and am very happy with the custom fit and that it goes way down on the sides. I went with the red color and it is very very bright.

One VERY cool thing I forgot to tell the group is that Gary at Motorcars Intl swapped out my front hood strut for a matching strut from a rival exotic manufacturer. Works perfectly and it does not have the problematic ball to unlock the hood. Hopefully this will help protect it from any accidental closings and bent or dented paintwork. Give Gary a call to obtain the quick fix and save yourself some peace of mind. It works so well and looks perfect because it is an OEM part. I'll try to get some photos of it soon.

Doug, I am going to visit Ferrari of Washington DC soon and see if they have any photos from back then. They were likely sitting next to each other at the dealership.
Steve, the nice thing about the argento cars is that they reflect the colors in the sky in particular and their surroundings or night lighting. Twilight is absolutely magical! I will get some of those this weekend.

Any of you guys and gals thinking of adding an argento?

Robb
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Glad you like the photo. Please feel free. I have been itching to get out and shoot some very nice photos of the car in the Colorado mountains but we have had many days of rain and clouds. I will try to get up there in the next few days. I have been able to get out a little here and there, but nothing camera worthy.

I have been having fun with other posts and detailing the car some.

I will be getting the emissions done in a week or two and then getting my plates as my 30 day temp registration expires.

I received my NART badge for the back to add when I drop by to see Dave Helms at Scuderia. He says he can't wait to see the silver car after so much red in his shop. Should be quite the filter for that sort of thing. Will try to order my floormats and will post more photos when they get in.

What a great car. I can't seeever parting ways. You other 328 owners will recognize that feeling - except AJ... J/k.

I need to make sure the accelerator cable is greased up so that it is a little smoother on the pedal travel. May have gotten "cleaned out" during the purchase detail.

Hope you guys are having fun with your F-cars. Told my dad about the car finally and sent him lots of photos. He is on the very conservative side of spending money and I was a little nervous as to his thoughts...

He loved the car and the stories of the roadtrip with my son. He was very glad to see me reap the rewards of lots of hard work. I told him that it was important to go check some of those dreams off the list because you just never know. He thinks it's a good one. He sold a '63 vette split window when I was born and bought a...





Wait for it........









Yep... ..... ........










Impala.




So I need to put that as my next focus to thank him for my good life.

That will be a fun photo.

Robb.

 

in celebration of my 328th post, thought I would add an update and ask some fun questions that the other 328 owners might be able to answer.

We've had some crappy weather the last few weeks especially around the weekends so I still haven't been able to head up to Mount Evans with Furman to get more photos. I stole away from the downtown area to avoid the crush of the democratic convention to go for a nice ride with my 10 year old in the cooler twilight weather. I will have to be ready to avoid the tornados while enjoying the breeze with the targa off.

Bought another iPod to replace the first one(now a fish tank) from the dripping a/c on the return trip home. Sounds great with the alpine. The stereo isn't on that often but is great in traffic.

I had a much more agressive right foot this last tank and averaged right at 15.5 mpg.

Stopped by ferrari of denver during the drive with my son. First time to be there with an f-car, so it was kind of a simple benchmark moment. Many more to come i am sure. Suddenly, my parking light switch is not keying the lights so dave helms will have to take a look at my oil change. Going in for emissions this week. Should be an experience of anticipation although I'm sure it will pass.

So do you guys have the original folding ignition key? Why was it designed to fold 90 degrees?

Do you guys find that you put the top back on if you are stopping to eat or run in a store? Any bad experiences leaving it off?
Hate to over use the latches and front pins for the top.

I'm sure I will have some new photos after this holiday so I'm excited to share those with you guys.

Robb

 

Great info. Kind of like the "red key" on a ducati. Thanks.

Robb

 

I had a great drive up to the emissions place yesterday morning in advance of the crush at Mile High Stadium. I didn't want to be anywhere near the people and traffic with Obama's speech.

I chose to go to the emissions testing station in Boulder, Colorado near the municipal airport upon recommendations of my mechanic, Dave Helms.

He was right and it was a good place to go. Little fuss and much easier than testing my 911 sc years ago. I did not even have to go on the rolling road. They just tested it under idle which was great news to me. I didn't have to worry about anyone burning up my clutch or screwing with the car.

They let me do everything myself including closing the rear deck lid to avoid dents. They verified the VIN because it is a new to Colorado vehicle.

The only snag in the procedings was that the supervisor entered the car as 1998 into the computer with the correct vin. When I saw that at the end of the test, I was worried that it might throw up a red flag on a carfax report or cause problems getting plates, so I asked them to change the year to be a correct 1988.

She realized she screwed up but let me know that they had to run the test again and waste 20 more minutes of my time to re-enter the correct year into their system. I guess you can't make any changes or add a new entry without a live car hooked up. Not a really big deal but definitely beaurocracy at its usual.

I was just VERY happy to know that a 20 year old Ferrari with a stock OEM cat and exhaust is still golden and passed just fine.

The weather was like the start of fall with blue skies and a cool temperature. I'm headed to New Mexico for a photo assignment on Saturday, but will be out and about in the high country in the 328 the rest of the holiday weekend. More pictures for sure this time.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday weekend.

Robb

 

Met up with Furman and his Red GTB to go on a nice drive today and get some nice photos showcasing our awesome terrain. Beautiful day. Brought my son. He thought Furman's GTB seemed like a race car with the full roof. I grinned and bear'ed it... I am a sold GTS fanatic. Love the sensations sans top.

I can see that I will need to go to some driving events to keep up with the Colorado krewe so I will put that on my list for this year. If Furman is the slower of the group then I can't start to think how quick the other guys are. It helps to be a regular on the road I guess. He has the Goodyear F1's and I think they are in my future to up the grip. Still sheepish to find the car's limits up in the high country. Will push my comfort level at a more forgiving location first.

It was my first time driving with more than one f-car. Great fun to see the other 328 and how it "works" on the road from the vantage point of another 328's driver's seat. His paint is original and gorgeous. Makes me like the red. It was almost too saturated for the photos... Very nice car and nice guy as well.

Enjoy and feel free to visit soon!

Robb
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