To mod, or not to mod...that is the question!

Good alterations enhance, bad alterations degrade - so the tricky part is knowing good from bad (and I'd include reversible vs irreversible in my calculus).

 

Not always.

There is a market that doesn't care if it is 100% original, only mechanically better than stock. I am walking proof we are out there.

 

So am I, see my TR for sale.

 

Count me in for some go fast goodies!

 

Me 3 for speed enhancements!

 

I struggled with this exact issue about a dozen years ago. I had owned my QV for more than 10 years at the time and wanted more power. A lot more! At the time 308QV prices had been almost flat since I purchased it. Luckily, Bob Norwood's place was in my area and this made it much easier to turbo charge the car than if I had not had some local assistance.
I don't regret the decision, but I do expect that it would be harder to sell if I decided to do so.
Once you have driven a 308 with 500 rear wheel horsepower, its hard to imagine ever enjoying the car without it.

 

Speaking in general terms, original is king and stock is a close second. In my opinion, minor, reversible mods are fine. They add to your enjoyment of the car and you can reverse them at little cost if you ever want to sell the car. Also, you likely can sell the aftermarket parts here or on ebay, albeit at discounted prices.

So far, in about 6 months of ownership, I have replaced the suspension and the steering rack. I think these mods greatly improve and modernize the car, but a buyer may not think so. If I were to sell, I'd probably offer the car as modded but indicate that I have the original parts to return the car to its original spec if that's what the buyer prefers.

 

In my opinion it depend a lot on which car. More the car become collectible more it need to be stock. I have in mind early carbs 308.

 

I Agree as well

I want the car the way I want it not the way everyone thinks it should be. As someone else mentioned on their turbo 308 I wouldnt have it any other way. My turbo 308 is fantastic to drive and I wouldnt hestitate to modify other f-cars either.

I wouldnt bother me buying a non original ferrari either. I prefer the mods

 

Generally, I wouldn't buy a modded Ferrari - at least not major mods and certainly no mods that weren't easily reversible to be OEM with no sign of the mod. That's not to say I wouldn't MAKE mods myself - heck, I've been talking about installing a supercharger kit in my 328 for several years - but I don't want to deal with wondering how well the work was done by someone else.

OTOH, if I liked the car AND got a really good feeling about it and the owner when I was looking at it/driving it/talking to the owner, I MIGHT consider a modded car as long as the OEM parts involved were part of the sale and none of the mods had made permanent changes.

 

I believe when it stops looking like a Ferrari, you've gone too far; if you're just modding for raw power, it's much cheaper to buy a faster modern car than make a track weapon out of a 308 (and wind up with a car that looks like an Autobot, ie Koeing). That said, mechanical upgrades that make the car perform better - or at least more reliably - can make it more usable so you'll enjoy putting more miles on it.

We can debate ad nauseum about Concours specs, but remember that Enzo was a racing boss who - in his early days - would mod the **** out of his driver's cars any way he could to extract better performance, and famously cared more about engine performance than aesthetics or aerodynamics. You always can console yourself under scrutiny from purists that Enzo would probably have opted for the extra performance.

 

Depends on what you want to reverse, I guess. Some things are a matter of personal taste like my 80-82 headliner (the real material which I was able to source in 2001) and the 1-4 and 5-8 slow down lights installed on each side of the steering column along with my Nardi wheel circa 1981. I remember those things vividly as a kid and wanted my car to be like that and no one has ever noticed they weren't original to my QV in the last 15 years. The Tubi would be an easy swap for someone that wanted a stock muffler. The aluminum radiator would be easy. I still have the factory deep spoiler front end if someone wanted to swap that back. I could see that happening. I may even go back to it myself

Then there are several little other items that fall into the "why would you convert back to stock?" like the little relay I installed so my parking lights can be turned on without the headlight buckets being up (why would Ferrari even wire it that way?) My Brembo front brake kit also comes to mind and, of, course, my fuse box I made - far better than stock. There are a couple of 12V outlets under the dash no one can see. But the one thing that Ferrari didn't do and NO one, even the most ardent "stock" lover would ever remove is my windage tray. Not installing one of those was just a flat out screw up by the factory and it is also one of the very few items that absolutely 100% totally cured a common problem. I also doubt that someone would bother to remove the brighter dash lights that look completely original (not LED) but are actually visible in the evening.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

 

I can not think if of any mode to an all original 308 that would enhance its value to a collector.

 

outside of a vert, Id say a properly done gr4 michelotto tribute by those guys in Scandia or Italy would be worth more.

 

On the other hand, even though I am an 80's kid and mods don't generally bother me, you can keep any solid color (I mean bumpers and everything - that "dipped in paint" look) Koenig bodied 308.

I would just turn around and walk away.

 

Again - I am an exception to that rule, but my reasoning is a bit unique to me only

Back in 1982, the very first red tan 308 GTSi I ever laid eyes on and still remember the moment like it happened ten minutes ago - sadly was hauled off for a V8 conversion back in about 1994. I have no idea where it is today but the man that bought it and planned on doing the conversion still lives here in Birmingham. I have been meaning to contact him, literally, since 1994 but just never have. I am sure he no longer has the car but he may still have the chassis number written on something somewhere. You never know. That is how I tracked down 21277 back 3 or 4 years ago. An owner from 30 years ago called me after finding the chassis number and Fchat did the rest in just a matter of days.

I want that red GTSi just for sentimental reasons. I have found all the other cars I took pics of as a young teenager, but this particular one has been elusive to me.

I may get off my ass and finally do it now.

 

I think you mean, "peculiar"

Nothing about me makes any sense sometimes and I have a sentimental streak a thousand miles long for crap - especially Ferrari 308 crap - from when I was a kid.

 

I chose this performance mod, but it is easily reversible.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Does the alteration of a Ferrari enhance or degrade it's value?

I think Steve pretty much nailed it but I think it also depends on what the car is and what someone is looking for. A highly performance modified 308, like the Norwood turbo examples already cited, could be worth more but it's going to take the right buyer to come along. I think at auction a highly modified car would likely bring less money than a same year/model yet very concours correct car. Maybe.

You know what they say, the sale price IS the value of that car on that day! Other than that it's all keyboard speculation.