308 black trimline on bottom panel

My mechanic told me that he thinks the 308 had a black trimline below the doors running the full length of that lower panel between the wheels. My car is the same as the body color on that panel. I've tried researching it but it seems to be inconsistent.

My car is a 1980 308 GTS (Euro) carb car and from what I've seen the Euro cars in the 1980 version the color is the same as the body.

Can anyone clear this up for me?
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My understanding is the colour as per the pic is correct. Should be black as the sill/rocker panel goes under the car from the last fold. My euro 81 is being painted like this


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Your colour coded sill panels are correct. GT4 and mondial had black paint.


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Correct: the sill consists of 2 parts.
The upper part (directly below the door) should be body colour. The lower part (under the fold) should be painted black.

 

Can we continue this conversation for other years? MY 82 308gtsi has both upper and lower painted black.

 

My 81 GTSi also had the upper and lower parts painted black when I purchased it, I believe the upper part has been painted black for “convenience” when substandard repairs were carried out. Undergoing a full body restoration at the moment including new sill panels fitted and my research indicates the above opinions in that body colour should continue to final fold of sill panel under car. Close examination of Magnum Pi also indicates the same [emoji4]


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'83 308 QV USA spec has body color in textured finish directly below door. Below that it's black.

 

Look at these pictures I took over 30 years ago.

On all but the brand new QV it is body colored and I doubt, as new as these cars were then, they were all repainted and repainted incorrectly.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/vintage-pictures-i-took-of-308s-1981-1997.322953/

 

And in case it helps, here’s the 1982 UK main dealer model brochure that cane with my car:

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Although the last pic looks colour coded on the seam edge of the floor/sill lip there is a slight difference and as with the bumper and midline trim it is black. Nonetheless, the under door sill (curved part) is colour coded.

I thought the 288GTO was the only to duly ‘disappear in body colour, due to the position of the lower skirt ducts.

I was told by Maranello that the mondi was a black sill to reduce the eye impression of the cars height. Similarly the switch to the 328 colour create a more coke bottle shape. Wouldn’t class the anecdotes as scientific!!!


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This should clarify things:

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This matches my understanding but, what do you mean "no marker light on a Euro car"? This is a Euro car and there is a marker (side) light there?

 

In the pic it kind of looks like the lowest sill is painted black, it's actually painted red which was the concern to begin with. Thanks.

 

Yes, I eventually twigged that, rather than someone wanted to go 328 on your car!!! But we all got there in the end; and some good pics along the way LOL!! I imagine black paint was cheaper and easier to colour match than red, especially when main dealers were touching in!


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This is great! I appreciate all the info. The last question now is really esoteric. Is there a difference in the lowest panel color according to year and by GTS or GTSi, and from Euro to NA? It seems, from some pics I've seen (and these are not all realiable), that there is a difference from 1980 GTS and before, and with 1980 GTSi and after, particularly with the QV's.

My car scored a Coppo D'Argento at the Concorso Ferrari in Pasadena last week and I'm trying to get as correct as I can about the car's originality.

 

With the exception of the GTO - due to the positioning of its side skirt rear scoops and it’s curved finish - F cars were black until about 93 when later 348s etc started to be colour coded.


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Your attention to original detail is cool but unfortunately 99% of the judges out there - even FCA guys - don't have a clue about some of these things either.

Your best source - by far - is here, old pictures and looking at sales brochures.

 

Look at the 308s in the UK brochure posted by StuR - the Euro cars did not have a rear fender marker light, but US law required it (and a larger front marker light). Whoever imported your car to the US had the rear fender marker light installed, but unlike most gray market imported Euro cars in the US, your car retains the Euro front marker light (note in the UK 82 brochure posted by StuR, the front marker light on a Euro QV is a thin rectangle rather than the small round light as on your earlier car)

 

I've noticed the difference in the front and rear marker light between the Euro and NA. I think the small round light met the requirement as most of the grey market GTS cars in the US have that light. Now that you mention it, I've seen some US grey market cars that do not have that rear light installed. Not sure how that happened. The fact that the rear light was added also answers a question I have and that is why that rear light, on my car, is so poorly assembled. The black plastic lining is cracked on both sides in the same place and the light itself is a bit loose in it's mounting.

This particular car has an interesting relation to the importer. The importer was in Newport Beach, CA - Trend Imports. The owner started importing grey market exotics in the late 70's. He came under investigation for not complying properly with the federal smog guidelines in that he faked some of the testing credentials for some of the cars. The Feds started investigating him in the early '80's for this scam and he went to jail in the mid '80's for 6 months as a result. My car was one of those in the group that was suspect for it's proper conversion.

I've also been told that this is a Crepaldi car, having been exported by them to Trend Imports. So far no actual confirmation. I'll be at the factory after Monza so I'm going to see if they can help me with that info. It would be kind'a cool if it's actually a Crepaldi car.

 

This is very true. I'm discovering that it is even more the case with grey market cars. With that in mind the more detail I become familiar with the better I can argue authenticity.

 

So your one-end-only light conversion cost him pro-rata about a week of jail time!! Not every F driver can claim that!! Monday and the factory sounds like great fun. So is it to be euro spec, euro US official spec or historic accurate euro to some US spec? Nice to win at concours, but shame to lose a piece of its own history maybe? Looks great either way.


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