Please rate your 308 experience....

SLOW, but beautiful. Kinda like a rebodied Kia, but without a warranty and expensive to maintain. Don't get me wrong, I love the 308. My first Italian car badged as a Ferrari was a 1986 328GTS which was also SLOW but beautiful.

 

Ah, Frank, we all know that if it had four more cylinders, you'd love it to death....

 

1700 miles driven in 2 years, one partial engine rebuild, one full engine rebuild, 1 clutch, 2 sets of tires, 1 set of brakes, almost enough expenses in repairs to buy 2 used 308s, 99% PITA...oh but when it runs....almost as good as sex...

 

i rate the 1985 308GTS QV two snaps up

 

OK, now that's going too far! I know everyone likes to give the 308 a hard time because it's not fast by modern standards, but it is not SLOW. I don't care what your definition of slow is. I drive a 2000 Toyota Celica as a daily driver and it's pretty peppy and very fun to drive. The 308 will stomp it into the ground without even trying. Is a 308 as fast as a modern fast car? No. Is it fast compared to most cars? Absolutely. Just the roll-on accelleration on that sweet little V-8 is a blast on the highway. If your 308 is as slow as a Kia, you better check your compression! (I can't even believe you made that comparison!! )

Birdman

 

I think he forgot to take his meds again, but owning both a V8 and a V12, I know where he is coming from (and I have the slow examples of each!).

 

Birdman,
He thinks it's slow because he shifts at 3,000 rpm.

 

This is every 308 owners list!!!

 

Also, I'd like to think of my 308 as a 70's muscle car with handling. It's loud, raw, there's nothing creature about it, save for the a/c. My car has 16" rims and spacers and I don't think there is too much out there on the road including modern cars that can outhandle it.

 

Jimangle,
If you ever took your 308 to a track with other makes, you will quickly learn that stock 308's are pretty slow and, although they have nice balance and are a lot of fun, they don't handle very well either by modern standards. The chassis design is good enough that they can be modified with stiffer suspension etc and handle great, but not in stock form. As I stated above, I owned 3 and loved them all but harbor no illusions about their performance.

Dave

 

I'm not too sure mine is completely stock. The way the car is set up, I think the previous owner tracked it. I drove a formula 2000 car, and my cars handling is pretty similar. 308's might be slow compared to newer Ferrari's, but they should be. Now if you're comparing them to other makes, as in AMG Benz's and tuned BMW's, Evo's and Wrx's even the new ferrari's have a tough time at the track with them.

 

Simple exchange of the sensor, that's all.

 

Mark, Parts cost me about $1,900. All original bushings and 4 shocks w/ new bushings and boots. Did not need tie rods or ball joints. Labor to change everything and clean things + alignment $2,100. This was all done at a race prep shop where they work on high end vintage race cars and he use to be a Can Am crew chief., so the car was corner weighted correctly.

I will double check my maintenance schedule in my owners manual and make a copy of the 60 K schedule for you. I believe it is in there. Plese don't tell me the bushing were not need of a change at 52K, as you already said you wanted to bring the car back to original spec - precisely old bushings dry our and crack which no longer gives you the correct ride and handling wheather its age or miles they wear. You don't drive around on 10 year old tires just because the tead is still good do you?

 

Birdman, you have it right...

ANY car greater than 25 years, that was not completely restored will require some attention. Some forget that these cars (308s) are old and have NOT been completely restored mechanically. Try to separate what the car needs because its a Ferrari and what it needs because of its age. Imagine a car, say a Corvette, from '76 with original evaporative emission lines (like most 308s I have looked at during my 2 year search) or original half-shaft seals, or original head gaskets (although head gaskets are usually pretty robust on 308s). This stuff must be replaced as it will not last forever! So, keep this in mind when you are looking for a 308.

The carbed 308 (which I favor over the others), like all Ferraris, needs to be maintained. But, they are fairly reliable once brought up to snuff (i.e. get rid of old hoses, replace original seals, rebuild carbs, ignition, etc).

I would not worry about having carbs - get them set up and then do not touch them! Do not let anyone touch them who does not know what they are doing either! Don't let them gum up - i.e. drive the car! Also the breaker-point ignition, if properly set up, is reliable - crude and not conducive to getting the most power out of the car, but pretty reliable.

I have had my '76 carbed car for 1.5 years. It fires right up on the coldest of days and has been reliable so far. Even after all the work done to my car before I bought it, I still replaced some things that were never addressed (half-shaft seals, hoses, oil lines) - but these things were not a surprise to me as I knew (based on receipts) which items were original. That's why it is important that the car has receipts. Now, I think I am good for a while. So, you may pay up front more than you want to in order to sort the car out, but its better than "finding out" the hard way - like getting stuck somewhere because of a 25 year old oil line decides to fail.

Get a PPI done too, of course........

Finally, enjoy your new purchase - nothing like a early, carbed GTB!

Anthony

 

My choice, euro 308 gtb fiberglass drysump car . With a proper rebuilt engine (300 hp) and suspension, it will shame all 12 cylinder ferrari's. The only other car you will need is an f-40. The glass car is so light
that it feels like it has power steering. The doors feel like cardboard and the euro car is so clean and simple (timeless).

 

All of these maintenance above are the normal for classic car restorers. These are all expected. We as Ferrari 308 lovers are developing ourselve to become classic car restoreres without we knowing it. Of course, the classic cars guys don't drive their cars as hard as we do but the maintenance is the same. We would not be discussing about how reliable the Duesenbergs or the Bugattis are. We just respect them as work of art. The 308 is developing itself to be come that work of art as well. But it is great that we can have fun with this art work pieces...