In case anyone is interested, this looks like a pretty nice car: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144355501561?hash=item219c4225f9:g:3bsAAOSwE8xh0nCd There is a link in the description with even more photos. I did a double take since this seemed like it might be a fiberglass car based on the year, but it's missing the proper cues and production was December 1976, so they had already switched to steel by then. Still, I wish I was local so I could go check this out. It looks to be in pretty good shape.
Seller seems to have sold two other cars with good feedback on ebay and looks legit. Seems like a good buy for that lucky someone.
That's a nice example and of course the "one owner" is a very rare thing at this point! A 1976 and 1977 are identical specification of course, but this one has the same uniqueness as #20405. Very early steel North American cars. While not reflected in current values they are as rare, as the more coveted plastic examples. I agree that's a very fair ask for a "needs nothing" example!!
I spoke to the shop, the car is a #3 at best. Looks great in the pictures, leather is hard and worn, yes it’s original, ac is inoperable, paint is fair. I offered $65, they declined. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Not that nearly every other US 308 of that vintage isn't the same, but almost every bit of the US emission equipment is gone (some sort of charcoal canister is there, but not hooked up and not right for that year IIRC), and running R1 only ignitions. Still wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers -- Bs are just so damn gorgeous! BT -- Did your 1976 have the gas springs on the rear engine bonnet? I thought that was a much later 308 change (circa 1979?). Also, that air cleaner housing also looks like a much later (euro) year (boxy snout and no air flap mechanism) -- yours the same or different?
Oh no, you are ciorrect the Rube Goldberg Prop bar, travelling base roller on a spring reel retractor on all of my 1976 77s.. My R2 points had been deleted, and my air pumps were missing as well. This car must have been carefully fettled, to even live in California. I would PASS gas testing without all of that, but you had to let it idle to 220 degrees and take it in glowing hot. Missing the thermo muffler I guess the wrapped headers at that point was shouldering all the work!
The charcoal canister I still have and while not "active emissions" it's the only safe way to vent the complex fuel tubing without blowing up your house!!! They say you can rebuild it with aquarium charcoal but I never bothered, my car is actually in an open garage, under a cover.
What jumps out from the pictures is the VIN plate is rotated 90 Degrees??? Mine reads as mounted horiznotally. The NON CAT sticker is also misplaced (you can see the corner where they peeled it off) and while mine has been as well, the original location is BELOW the VIN plate, and it's been so long I don't recall if it also was horizontal, or placed so you could read it from outside the car, (bottom to the right).. So this car appears to have been painted and to be painting that area begs the question "why"??
I don't think $65K will buy a NON CAT 308 anymore....witness the one posted to our ads at $72K, and then quickly retracted from the market!! Google instead my old car $22641, curently on market for $128K after fresh paint and interior.
No, the airbox went thru three versions... The 'glass cars had no sound insulation (skinny snout) and usually had a Firing Order graphic plate pop riveted to the snout. This car has an insulated airbox (boxy snout), Firing Order plate no longer appears, but YET there's not yet the snout closer flap, and associated operating bellows and tubing. The flap appears in 1978, when they ruin (flatten the lift, IIRC) the camshafts profiles....LOL!
Lesson learned, wire the flap open. My 308 had the flap shut while driving on highway in 1979. It sucked the charcoal out of the charcoal canister and into the carbs. Luckily, no damage. I have the dealer service invoice.
It should BE open once engine starts??? I thought it closed on cool down for storage. I would have thought the charcoal was larger than the tubing, interesting story!!
The airbox flap closes at engine shut-off to keep the fuel vapors inside the airbox while the small suction fan conveys them thru the charcoal bed (to be absorbed and held -- then they are reingested by the engine when it is again running). The charcoal bed is a granular thing so the (small) charcoal granules can escape if the bed is damaged.
My copy of the Hollywood Sport Cars dealer invoice on the airbox flap. The solenoid valve failed and caused the flap to shut while being driven. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Your word is good with me, you did an excellent job on your car to show...I need the intake bellows and a hose clamp assotment kit if you have extra!!!
My early charcoal can vents to atmosphere at the bottom so the filtering is a "one way" journey"...like at Jack Daniels.... Sounds like and the suction motor may have changed to closed system in 1978? Do part numbers support that?
Yes, the 1978-79 Charcoal Canister has four ports on it, rather than the three ports of 1973-77. But air can flow into, or out, of both thru that Hot Air Purge Tube on the bottom depending on the conditions. The system can't be completely closed because air has to enter the fuel tanks as the fuel level drops (or the fuel tanks would collapse) -- they just make sure on both that if air has to come out (usually for some changing ambient temperature conditions when the engine is "off"), it passes thru the charcoal bed (to remove any fuel vapors) before going out into the atmosphere (and then, during the next engine-running interval, the engine's vacuum is used to draw outside air back thru the charcoal bed to "dry" it out).
I owned #20583 GTB also with Dec '76 production. My airbox looked the same, but I definitely had the early style hood prop that BigTex described. I think the gas struts appeared on later cars, but not sure exactly when. My current '79 GTB has them. Image Unavailable, Please Login
BigTex you are the expert on these early cars, but my October 76 production car has the Vin and non-cat tags placed exactly the same way as this car.
