308GT4 general questions...

Welcome to the potential world of GT4s

There is no doubt that Ferraris take a lot of looking after so be prepared both financially and not to be disappointed when you have to keep working on the car. I had 20 years on other Italian cars so it was no surprise, but a well sorted car should be as reliable as any other 30 year old Italian car.

I seem to be going through a maintenance phase at the moment, but all the things I'm having to do are simple expiring due to age and having never been touched before -e.g. seals and hoses. Parts aren't overly expensive for it being a Ferrari (although some can be) - and there are many after market items available now - but watch quality.

To answer your specific question, the carbs seem to be good and most will agree a nicer/better option than injection on later engines. They are simple and relatively easy to tune - I don't see why you would need to be retuning on a regular basis as that would suggest other things are changing in the engine which they shouldn't really be. Carb'd cars tend to get through plugs due to fouling, but again a well sorted car should have figured this out and be using the best plugs for the car - either way plugs are cheap so it's not a problem.

Electrical gremlins are the worst thing to make these cars seem unreliable - the OEM fuseboxes are usually toast by now so you just fir a Birdman fusebox and all your problems will probably go away.

Keep reading fchat and look out for fchatter cars, I reckon that some fchat cars are now probably exhibit some of the most useful history of a classic car. It's all very well buying an expensive, low mileage car with apparent good documented history, but is it really worth the paper it's written on - in my opinion you'd have to be an experienced owner to actually make any sense of a documented history anyway. For example people get exited about a belts change history - big deal! they only cost $15 a belt and take a few hours to change. Sure it's important to know, but there are many more complicated/important things to have had done on the car.

Lee

'77 GT4
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Hello,

I have had my car for about 4 years now, we take it accross to France twice a year, down the coast on weekend trips, Ferrari days, everywhere. Even sat in a traffic jam on a bank holiday for about 4 hours...

Its very very reliable, I tend to tinker with it in my spare time, its a hobby. I did a Ferrari track day in April at silverstone, she didn,t miss a beat.
I change the cam belts every two years regardless and replace the points and condencers at the same time. I then tweek the carbs.

Apart from the normal, oil, pads and service work, its tinker till your hearts content. Such as clean polish and admire :0)

I would recomend the GT4 all day long, although I would not go for the full service history garage queen, go for a drivers car. The one that have been owned by a fanatic like myself.

Mark... :0)

 

"The one that have been owned by a fanatic like myself."

Exactly

Lee

 

If you look for creature comfort, well, you'll find none. (my wife never wanted to ride in it)
If you want civility in a nice stereo, the car is not insulated against noise so stereo is ... out. (the engine sound is nice for the first 30 minutes, and then ...)
If you want a dry garage floor, GT4 is like your kids, it pees, from the transmission shift shaft, the dizzy, the front drive seals.

once you got it dialed in, it is very dependable, with regular maintenance. Never failed to start for me. The neighbors always know when I take the car out (its exhaust points at his window)

 

Mine was very good once the carbs were set-up properly.

I would recommend an electronic ignition and updated fuse blocks.

 

Oh, yes, I did have Electronic ignition conversion so it ran really fine.

 

I`ve had three. A 1976, 1979 & 1981. Done some 130,000 miles in them. Now have a 1993 Mondial t coupe. I live in the UK, where owners seem unwilling to really put mileage on their Ferrari`s. There are so many that are barely run-in!

When I purchased my last 308GT4, it had done 19,000 miles between 1981 & 2000. Super low-mileage. Only it turns out, the last owner had done 1,000 miles in 12 years!! The tyres looked like new. They were in 1981, but by 2000, well past their prime!! When I bought it within a few months I took in on a trip. In 1700 miles the tyre cords were showing through and I had to leave it in Lucerne, part way through a 2,800 mile European tour. I left it at a Ferrari dealership and continued in the support vehicle.

Within the first twelve months, I had to pay for all new suspension, new steering rack, top-end engine rebuild and lots more all because it had not been used enough and it didn`t like doing proper mileage when I bought it. It never handled right, feeling like the body was going in a different direction to the wheels!

In 2000, I made a similar error in buying a 1992 Jaguar XJ-S convertible with 8,300 miles from new. Another financial disaster with new hoses, suspension, brakes and steering components all needed from a lack of use.

So, when I bought a Mondial t, I selected one with 37,500 miles on it rather than a low miles one. I use it whenever a suitable trip comes along. 800 miles this week.

I miss the style of my 308GT4`s but recognise that the Mondial t is a better drive and with ABS brakes more likely to stop quicker! I had two very scary moments in the GT4, being almost unable to stop. The last GT4 was never going to be right on the handling so rather than waste more money, I bought the Mondial t and I really love it. The bit I miss most on the GT4 is the great dash-board and it sounds good too, but the way the Mondial handles, steers and stops is far superior.

Have a good look over any GT4 you buy. Get one post 1978, as apparently, they were marginally better built! Look for rust on the panel just behind the front wheels and on the wheel-arches.

My 1979 car did 97,000 miles with very little trouble. Just regular servicing. I do think the more you use your Ferrari, whatever model, it will be less troublesome!! That`s why buying low-priced, bigger mileage ones is the way to the most driving pleasure.

 

If you search the archives, you'll find this theme running throughout....."Buy the absolute best car you can afford.....and have $x,000 in reserve for the 'just in case' items that creep up with any 20+yr old car". This advice is absolute wisdom! I've owned my GT4 for a little over 2 years now. I've spent quite a bit on it, but almost all of it is stuff that I've 'wanted' to do, vs. 'having' to do. A well sorted 3x8 is a wonderful car and the more they are driven, the better they perform! I've put around 20,000 miles on my car in 2 years (really only 1 due to an accident 2 months after I bought it...) and it's been excellent!!
There are several GT4's out there for sale right now. Make sure you ask this board about them as many of these cars have made the rounds before. There is one in SO CAL that has had some very recent work.

JIM

 

Mine had had the suspension rebuilt not long before I bought it so it feels tight.
I got rid of the twin dizzy twin points system and went to a BSM single dizzy and ignition module. Spark Fixed
Carbs are simple to rebuild but need to be balanced and jetted right. Once set though they shouldn't need regular adjustment just regular driving.

Great car you can work on yourself if you're handy, with plenty of advice available from here.

Go the GT4!

 

IMHO: I love the GT4 and I love the Mondial. Happy hunting for your new awesome machine!

 

Love the Texas car. Mine has a red interior too and was originally a silver car and is mostly the reason I chose it.

Lee
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JIM