Bill Cosby 308 on sale in Italy

here it is
Ferrari 208/308/328/gto - 1980 Auto usata - In vendita Macerata
i saw this sale advertise on an Italian "craiglist"
the seller says it was the Bill Cosby 308!

 

It's an 81.

 

I believe Bill Cosby had a gold 365 2+2 or 400 that I saw when I was a kid. It was under repair at Al Burtoni's shop in Gilroy, CA.

 

Can anyone get the door jam pic better or larger?

Looks like it has a NOV 80 Build date. So does MINE!!!!!!!

I wonder the VIN.

 

I wouldn't be able to drive it without a constant replay of pudding pop jokes flowing through my head.

 

It looks like Nov 80 to me!

 

That is when it was built.

The model year is an 81. Ferrari began building the next model year as early as July back in the 80's.

 

I don't think anyone at the factory in Nov 1980 would have said "here's an 81 308". The distinction you're making is after the fact and artificial, Tommy. Surely build date and vin is definitive.

 

Build date has nothing to do with the model year on any car by any manufacturer. Two very different things, I promise. They MAY coincide, but it is not a requirement.

 

I knew Mr. Cosby personally for many years. While it may have been his car (who knows for sure), regrettably he wasn't a huge Ferrari guy. His favorite car was his Gullwing, although his interest in cars waned considerably over the years. He still has a sizable collection at his house in MA where he spends most of his time.

 

cosby may not be a huge ferrari guy but dosent he have a 288gto?

 

I treat these things like I do an autograph. Unless I actually see the guy sign it, I just assume it's a fake - just be be on the safe side.

I new a guy once that signed all kinds of sports stuff himself and sold them on eBay as a "real autograph". Funniest thing that happened to me was out in California a couple of years ago. I was in some store that had signed things in it and the owner saw I was wearing a Bama hat or shirt or something. He tried to sell me a Bear Bryant signed picture when he was at A&M. I have seen his signature 371,846,926,574 times living here and on three things he personally gave me. That signature was not even close to his, it was just his name written.

So anyway, maybe this was Cosby's car, maybe it wasn't. We will never really know unless he tells us but I wouldn't pay extra for it untill I heard from Bill.

 

This statement is true. I have a '78 with a serial number later than others who have posted here with a '79 title.

 

gotcha Doc.....so my July 85 is actually an 86?

 

September or later..

 

You need to see if you VIN has a F or a G.

 

ZFFUA13AXF0058443

 

85

 

Really? People don't know about cars being sold as the next model year? Mine is an '85 (yes, I'm sure) built in Sept 1984...yes, I can prove it. So of course a Nov 84 build is an 85! ALL cars are done this way. In fact, car dealers can sell a vehicle as the next model year as early as Jan 1.

Oh, and since the last model year for the 308 QV was 85, any 308 built in 85 was sold as an 85. 86 started the 328.

Whew...my rant is now over

PS...I was off by one day. I found this and it corresponds with info I received from a former family member who was a new car dealer for multiple brands.
"In the United States, for regulation purposes, government authorities allow cars of a given model year to be sold starting on January 2 of the previous calendar year. For example, this means that a 2014 model year vehicle can legally go on sale on January 2, 2013." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_year)

 

Well, I certainly understand that you can buy next years models this year. I bought my 2014 GMC 2500HD (the last year of that body style) in Oct of 2013. I was simply stating what I saw on the door tag picture and curious if a Jul 85 would be considered an 86. Thanks for the clarity guys!

 

Yes, as well as a barely driven F-40, a 275 gtb and others. They never get driven. His son Ennis was really into cars and after he was murdered Cosby couldn't bare to let them go.

Cosby is a nice man; odd for sure, but a staggering presence. But he was very kind to me; we lost touch about 10 years ago

 

Thats the case here in the UK but its different in the USA apparently.

 

Thank you Andy. Yes, we don't recognise "model years" as definitive over here. We tend to look at registration date (title in the US) when assessing a car, but this can also be misleading.

The owner's manual that arrived with the car, if dated, is the only place I can see a year declared by the factory aside from the door jamb build plate (which I don't have). So in this sense, my car was (afaik) built in early Sep 1980 but my horizontal gauges first appear correctly illustrated in the 81/82 manual.

If I advertised my 1980 car as a 1981 in the UK, I'd be called out on it. The VIN and therefore the actual factory build date is the only worldwide common denominator.

 

True story: About 10 years ago I saw a Mk1 Scirocco competing at an SCCA event at Road Atlanta. The driver classified it as an 80 model. I have owned an 80 model Scirocco for 29 years.

I noticed it had a "max" setting for the a/c. That was only done in 1981 and I am probably the only person walking the earth that even knew that still. Who would?? So anyway I mentioned it to the driver and said something about it being an 81. He started insisting it wasn't and his 'proof" was the plate in the door jamb that showed Nov 80. I thought he just didn't know so I explained that a/c thing and a few other little items - including the engine - that made it different from an 80 model. Finally he admitted it was an 81 and asked me to keep my mouth shut. Evidentially the 81 was in a different class because it had a 1.7 instead of the 1.6 from 1980 and earlier. I remember wondering why the folks that register the entries aren't more suspicious of late in the year dates vs model year.

The most interesting thing about this cheater was he had Jesus stickers all over the car. His team name was something like Racers for Christ. Had a huge cross decal on the back window.

 

LOL....what a piece of crap.