Are we about to see a lot more GTBs?

Interesting thing I found on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ferrari-308-328-GTB-top-Turn-your-GTS-into-a-GTB_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem439c19a08cQQitemZ290381734028QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1360wt_1167

Now, I have mixed feelings about this:

1. I never liked the "288 conversion" kits to make a 308 "resemble" a 288 GTO. They don't look right, since the 308 wheelbase is too short.

2. I don't approve of turning any genuine Ferrari into a kit car.

3. On the other hand, if you MUST put a phony 288 GTO body kit on your 308 GTS, you might as well make the roof look halfway right.

4. As a GTB owner, I'm flattered to think that GTB's are so desirable that this item even exists.

5. On the other hand, if too many people do this, the GTB might not be quite as rare and desirable as it used to be.

6. Factory GTS's should remain GTS's. See point #2.

SO, all you 308 / 328 GTS owners:

Is this a godsend or a travesty? Is this something you would consider doing? What if it could be attached with Velcro or something, so you could be GTS when you want to be, GTB when you want to be, and full convertible when you want to be. . . Oh, okay, I'll stop it; I'm getting silly.

 

"4. As a GTB owner, I'm flattered to think that GTB's are so desirable that this item even exists."

Me too. I remember when the gts commanded a premium over the gtb. Not no mo...

Spang

P.S. This item might be useful for a track car or something but would cost a good bit to convert a s to a b with the needed trim etc. Agree that the gto kits should at least be performed on gtb's.

 

Interesting.

 

As a GTS owner, I never really liked the black targa top on the various colored cars. My car is black but even so, when I had it repainted I had the texture filled and painted it body color. Even up close, many of my Ferrari friends have thought it was a GTB.

On late spring, cool summer or early fall evenings, you couldn't get me to part with my removable top. Its getting expensive to replace the seals but still... top off, cool evening, country road... nope, no hardtop for me.

In regards to your points 1-3, I agree. Further, on a real 288, I think the high stalk mirrors look spectacular! On a stock body 3x8 they just look cheesy. Purely my opinion and I don't expect anyone to share that as I don't even know why... I just feel that way.

But I think its cool that someone is making this kit so at least some of the GTS folks out there could have a GTB. Probably a bit cheaper and easier than making a kit to go the other way. Think of all the Daytonas out there that had their roofs cut off...

Rick

 

Regarding the comment about a 288 being called a kit, If a vintage ferrari was rebodied in the 60's is it considered a kit even though ferrari didnt do the rebody themselves? Its considered a different model from what it was originally and they use the term rebodied. I would never call a 288 conversion a kit if based on a ferrari, im not sure what to call it but it would still be a ferrari that looks like a GTO.

 

I actually parked my 308 GTB next to a 288 once - and was astonished at how much bigger the 288 "felt." The wheelbase is only a tiny bit longer, actually, but because of the GTO's more "muscular" fenders front and rear and the wider track I felt like my 308 was a 2/3 scale model. . . and THAT, I think, is why the high stalk mirrors look right on the real GTO and ridiculous on the 308/328. It's a question of proportion.

The 288 body "kits" also look silly, because it needs the added length to accommodate the added vents. That's why the 308s with GTO "kits" look so compressed. Again, a matter of proportion.

I've said it before: There's little, if anything, that one can do to improve the looks of a 308.

 

Do that to a perfectly good GTS & all you will have is a chopped up GTS & a car worth about 40% less than before you got the grinder out the cupboard.

Silly idea I'm afraid. There are enough GTB's around that anyone that wants one can find one without resorting to this.

 

Well, not if you attach it with Velcro! Then you could switch back and forth, so it's worth as much as a GTB and a GTS combined, innit?

 

NO, I would NOT do this to my GTS. I waited too long to own a real Ferrari, then to cut it up and turn it into something else is just not something I would do.


PDG

 

I just don't get why anyone would what to have perfection messed with by an amateur???

 

There is only one other product I can think of that is dumber...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CB2MVZgt5Y

 

No, not quite as dumb: You won't diminish your 308's value by getting the E-Z Egg Cracker out the cupboard.

 

I too own a GTS, but prefer the painted top look of the GTBs. Interesting what you have done to your top, but I would prefer to still have an original looking top. I believe that I have seen on here before that there are aftermarket, paintable, removable tops. Can someone point my in the direction on where to find these pieces?

 

i seen that bert painted the targa roof on his gts, i think it looks great, first glance it looks just like a GTB
http://members.home.nl/bertkanters/

How does the chassis stiffness compare between the 2?

 

I also filled in the recess on the edge of the rear hoop (if that is the correct word) and now I also removed the ugly spoiler lip on top of the front screen, not finished yet.
I once rode as a passenger in a GTB and they are much stiffer and have a solid feel.
I now plan to make my roof bolt on/off with metal strenghtening in it to add stifness to the car.
Adding the piece discussed here won't add much stifness I think as it is bonded on fiber. I sure hope you are not supposed to cut off the very strong GTS windscreen surround and replace it with bonded fiber, but NickM is a member of this chat and would know better. It won't give you the full GTB look as the doors don't have the metal frame around the glass.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

bert308 did it right. ^
i love this car and with all the mods done to it, the roof is my fav!

 

Did you modify the vent windows to look like a GTB, also?

 

Is it just me, or do the pillars at the rear of the side windows (where the window ends and the louvers start on a GTS) have a difference rake than the GTB's?

I see some GTS that have painted tops and trimmed louvers, and they still look a little off. At first I thought it was the little lip at the top of the windscreen, but the more I look the more the rake of that rear pillar seems different.

 

I agree. 40 or 50 yrs. from now someone may come across a modified 3x8 and decide to restore it to original condition. I doubt any "real" kit cars of the same vintage will still exist. Once a Ferrari, always a Ferrari. Once a Pontiac, always a Pontiac.

 

Interesting - the 'lip' must be there to smooth airflow over the cockpit with the top off, curious to here how much wind noise (if you can even hear it over the exhaust!) increases without it.
Neat project, great job!