308 GT4 owners - what to look for?

I also did all of the suspension work, engine work, currently the interior is getting completely redone and the rust is not too bad, mostly on the lower doors and the rear trunk area. All of the body work is running 6500 and the new interior is around 4,000. Not bad, work would have costed me alot more, another 5K if I did this work in SoCal.

 

If you can get that, it makes restoring them a lot more sensible. I can see you *almost* breaking if you bill your time for free. Even *only* losing $5k or so would help keep these cars from disappearing forever. The GT4 is a very important car IMHO...the first of the "new" Ferraris.

Ken

 

Exactly. Hope Ken will get that amount, he most likely will with enough time. Lots of GT4's have already been parted out like gangbusters with more on the way. Not mine. F-car ownership is a passion, I am a huge Bertone fan since my childhood. And Bertone has designed some magnificient cars so far (Countach, Miura)Alot of GTB's and S's also facing the same dilemma with having an aging car with crappy rust protection along with a suspension needing rebuilding and other issues.

 

Ad de Koster, Mitchell and 1975gt4don,

Thank you for the information. My 1976 GTB came with the same heavy "boat anchor" thermal reactor muffler, but in that year the US allowed the exhaust tips to project straight out. A previous owner mounted an ANSA exhaust, the original muffler resides in my garage.

Here's the original muffler and the ANSA which has replaced it:

Barry

 

Nice restoration, Burnell and you're doing a fine job 1975gt4don. I've always liked this Bertone design.

Barry

 

Barry, from what I know about when I had my thermoreactor on mine---the wall thickness of the thermo is built to take the hotter combustion temps caused by the dual airpumps upstream in the exhaust sys. Any unburnt fuel is ignited in the thermos. Mine eventually started coming apart literally at the seams, the thermo would glow bright orange in the dark at night while I would park it at night. This heat in turn caused the undercoating around the trunk area to bake and lose its flexibility, causing moisture to come in and make my day in fighting this rust problem in the trunk and rear wheel well area.
The ANSA system would not be able to withstand the airpumps added temps.

 

1975gt4don,

The air pumps are nonfunctional and the injection ports plugged. That's why this ANSA system has lasted 20 years. The muffler still develops a hot spot at the center which melted a small hole in the fiberglass panel just above the muffler body. That area above the muffler is now lined with a heat resistant/reflective material as used in the engine bay of F40s.

Barry