Welcome to ownership You'll find the handbrake behavior varies per car, ranging from "useless" to "works fine." It's not a great design in the first place. I don't even use mine; I just park it in gear. No. You'll get used to it (and the ...odd... driving position) after awhile. 1. Remove some very small screws - don't lose them. You'll put them back where they came from. 2. Drill out a lot of rivets. Not a huge job. 3. The really fun part: there's a bead of glue/sealant that you have to cut through, to pull the well out. I think I mostly used a razor knife, but it's been a long time since I did it. You'll want to use something like a dremel wire wheel to clean up all that dried glue from the edges. If the well is all faded, stained, and poor looking as mine was, it's a quick afternoon to spray with a satin matte black. If you're up to it, I highly recommend it. The access you gain to hoses, electrical, rack components, etc. is so, so much better. You can literally pull the rack out of the car with nearly no effort. For reinstall, I recommend small screws (slightly larger than the ones removed in Step 1) through the former rivet holes. My car is an '85, and doesn't have these bumpers... so, can't help here.
I used an Antigravity battery on the 308. I have also used the Shorai Li-ion on one of my ATVs. Just put it on a proper trickle charger if the car will sit for extended periods. you can't bring a Li-ion battery back like a lead acid battery, if it goes way down in charge. Doug
Don't recall seeing those "bumpers" (nor a threaded one) on any 308. My ex-'78 didn't have anything like that there (it's more like the trunk gasket is the "bumper" and the trunk gasket gets compressed to latch the latches): Image Unavailable, Please Login What is the issue? The latch catches should be adjustable for up-down (if needed).
The left side was riding a bit low, pulled down by the latch. So I adjusted the latch a couple of turns to allow that side to be even with the quarter panel. But it needs something to hold it there. Perhaps a new trunk gasket could help, though the one on the car looks pretty fresh and pliable, not at all flattened out. The factory parts manual appears to show a threaded adjuster in that corner, but no item number is shown to correspond with the PN list.
I checked an online version of the parts manual (allferrariparts.com) and what I thought was an adjuster is actually the bolt(s) that hold the rear apron to the quarter panels. So what I have is apparently not stock. Not sure how the rubber bumpers I have are attached, will check tomorrow.
Another (perhaps rhetorical) question: why is the engine cover so dang heavy? I would have thought they might have continued to use the GRP lid from the earlier vetroresina cars.
How many times have you had to change a tyre on your 328? I suspect it's to do with the cost of manufacturing a GRP cover compared to a steel one, and the weight saving is probably not as great as you might think, due to the size, and the rigidity required. It's a big old panel, and it's a complex shape, so I'd say the possible savings to be had making it out of GRP simply weren't worth it to Ferrari.
On the Ferrari, I've never had to... so, knock wood. On my other car and the GF, I'd say at least every 2-4 years each, depending on how lucky we are at avoiding random screws and nails that seems to find their way to us.
I guess I must be lucky - In 36 years of driving, I've had to change 3 wheels/tyres on all of the cars I've ever owned, and they've all been changed on driveways rather than at the side of the road. I have the full size spare in the nose of my 328, and yes, it does take a fair old bit of effort to lean over, and pull it out (thanks to gravity, putting it back is slightly easier), but so far, I've only had to remove it twice - Once to attach my permanent C-Tech battery conditioner connections to the battery terminals, and once to trace an external Earth wire that had been added at some time, to make the drivers side dip beam work. My point is, the spare tyre isn't something that you'd have to take out and put back in the car on a regular basis, so having the space saver spare isn't THAT big a deal. (I wonder if having the full size spare, with it's extra bit of weight, actually helps the front axle slightly, by pushing it down a bit more, along with the battery beneath the spare wheel? )
It appears I am locked out of my glovebox. The one door key I have (which works on both doors) has no effect on the glovebox lock. I’ve put in a couple of drops of ACF50 (light oil), and tried as much force as I dared but still no satisfaction. I’m open to ideas.
