About to pick up my 328

.... on Saturday and, being new to these cars, need some advice as to how they should be driven, in both cooler and warmer weather, i.e, how long do you warm the car up, how to shift in the most forgiving way to the clutch, etc. The car is a 1978 328 GTS 47,XXX miles.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Don't try second gear til its good and warm (ie oil & water temp gauges have moved)

Just drive it like a normal car - don't thrash (4500 plus rpm) til there's some temperature showing

Others will chime in too but I'm fairly sure there's loads of threads previously about this

 

Skip the shift to 2nd when cold. Go right to 3rd.

Best of luck

Oh and we need pics!

 

I would suggest that you initially avoid downshifting excessively when you approach a red light or stop sign. Just stick it in neutral and let the brakes do the work. Why? Because brakes are cheaper than clutches. Down shifting a Ferrari takes some getting used to. As you get more familiar with the car you'll get better at matching the revs. That chrome shift gate sure is pretty but when I drive I try to do it so the lever never touches the gate. Either shifting up or down a 3x8 is not exactly snappy so take your time.

Good Luck and Congrats!

 

Don't forget to check the oil after every drive. The manual itself for a 328
(at least my 1986 GTS manual) says to expect to use a quart every 500
miles!! I get right about that rate, but I'm sure some more worn cars may
use quite a bit more. Read the manual for the correct oil checking procedure
(the source of MANY debates here at F-chat).

Good luck on your maiden voyage - gotta post those pix!!!

Jedi

 

What he said.

Also, after you start the car and oil pressure shows on the gauge, tap the accelerator and rev to about 2000rpm to turn off the alternator light in the dash. The battery isn't charging (but it is draining) until that light goes out (assuming it's working properly).

 

The previous posts are consistent with what I do.

I start mine up and usually pump the gas pedal to get it off the battery and onto the alternator. Mine then will idle around 2500rpms until it warms up sufficiently, then the idle drops below 1000, usually around 800 or so. Then the car is ready to roll.

Sometimes I can get into 2nd right off, the key is just DONT FORCE IT. The engine does just fine doing a 1-3 shift. After I have driven for a few minutes the tranny warms up and second becomes just another shift.

I stay below 4k rpms across the board until I start getting oil and water temps up on the meters. Water will obviously get up there quicker, but oil usually takes maybe ten minutes to get where I feel comfortable. Then its game on to rev it up and thats where the engine seems happiest.

Just my take, but I am still a relatively new owner.


PDG
'85 308 QV

 

The most important thing is drive the car and enjoy it. This alone will aliviate small iritating problems which arise from sitting for long periods. Never worry about resale value or you will be a slave to the car, not the master.

When I switched to redline oil for the trans it shifts into 2nd with hardly a squawk when still cold or in colder weather.

If you want to extend the life of the clutch don't do any burnouts and avoid slipping it, just be smooth as you would with any manual transmission - my original clutch had over 50K on it.