Converting 80s Ferrari into Automatic

Take the time and learn to drive a manual tranny car.
The first time I drove a car with a manual transmission was on the way to take my driving test at the DMV.
I passed the test by the way.
When I bought my daughter her first car, which was a stick,
I took her to the parking lot of a stadium, and she practiced starting and stopping, shifting, parking and so forth.
After a short while she got very smooth and I turned her loose.

If you really have your heart set on a 308 or a TR,
learning to drive a stick is a must!

 

No nevermind the conversion idea. I didn't realize it was so hard. I also didn't realize there were some hardcore freaks in here that freak out if you even mention it. GARY!

 

Here!

 

But keep in mind the Ferrari double standard: If YOU modify a Ferrari, it's a lousy chop job and will earn a turned up nose from the Ferrari snobista. If the Ferrari FACTORY created the same lousy chop job, then your car gets invited to Pebble Beach so everybody can praise and worship it.

 

So TRUE!! Add Bertone and Pinninfarina to the list too!

 

Flames etc. removed, please continue with the technical discussion...

 

Funny, as I was reading this post I was also watching Life Styles of The Rich and Famous..Kobe Bryant just bought his wife a Lambo and had an automatic installed.....$100,000 just for the tranny! Also had DVD and GPS installed.

 

if you NEED an automatic, wait to afford a 355F1? cheaper than destroying a 308 to auto/caddy, or whatever.

It'll take some time and swearing, but learning the 5spd can be a whole lot of fun - and can be a huge PIA in an hour of inching/stoping traffic.

I'd take more than a weekend on a stick before swapping - maybe 6 months and see what you think then. When it comes "automatically" to you, then you're ready.

 

Suppose somebody took one of these 308s and dropped in an American V8 and some sort of transverse transmission:
http://mysite.verizon.net/res1la3r/id34.html
Would they be "destroying" a Ferrari or "saving" a Ferrari by putting it back on the road?

 

Without a "real" engine?

What was the Lancia Stratos' claim to fame? A Ferrari engine. The selling point of the new Maser: A Ferrari mill.

A Ferrari is the engine. The coachwork came from elsewhere (e.g. Farina or Bertone) on classic Ferraris.

Nobody woofs when people upgrade the suspension on Ferraris. Swapping out CIS for an aftermarket injection is only a matter of logistics (shop support).

But remove the Ferrari engine, and you've taken the "Ferrari" out of the Ferrari.

 

No offense, but I can't believe someone wouldn't at least try learning to drive a stick before spending insane amounts of money to convert it. There were enough automatic Ferraris made over the years that you don't need to ruin a nice 3x8/TR.

 

Would you be drinking coffee or smoking in the Ferrari.......?

 

Aside from all the "heresy" stuff I think you'd be missing half the fun of the thing - there is nothing but nothing like double de-clutching your F car from 4th to 3rd and putting your foot to the floor.

Sticking it in drive & just cruising would be rather missing the point IMHO.

I.

 

I can certainly understand the appeal of an auto tranny in the city. Whenever we need to drive in traffic, we take my wife's car with the auto. It just sucks to be in stop and go traffic with a clutch for an hour. Even worse in the Ferrari with a stiff clutch.

But other than that, I love my manual tranny and I feel that you are missing out on half the experience of "driving" if you don't shift.

Oh, and I'm one of those guys that feels putting an auto in a 308 is heresy. Unless you have some kind of handicap that prohibits driving a standard tranny, it would be a lot easier to just learn than to convert a car to an auto!

I've seen women putting on makeup, talking on the cell phone AND holding a cup of coffee, so I think it's possible to bring a drink in a Ferrari.

Birdman

 

I use an M5 with a 6 speed as my daily driver and rack up 20k+ miles per year in Atlanta area traffic with no problem. You get used to it after while . Even my wife's new Mustang GT convertible has a 5 speed. NEVER drive an automatic!

 

Maybe, but not a good option. On a 308/328 the trany is the oil pan too, so it would be a huge job.

Years ago I put a 500 ci cadillac engine/trans in a fiat x1/9, so I know it would also fit in a 308/328....but you would lose the trunck and have a very very different car than what you started with.

Any modern transverse engine/trans could be dropped in with very minimal effort, I guess even paying to have it done, it would be under $5k including the engine/trans...but again, driving it would feel NOTHING like driving the original car.

 

You put a 500ci cadillac engine AND transmission in a Fiat X1/9?

Do you have pictures?

 

Here are a couple I found. One shows the caddy frame going in and the other the body work welded back on around the engine....I had to make the car 13" wider and 6" longer as I recall....young and stupid sums it up best I think
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http://www.v8mr2.com/index.asp

This guy's been working on putting a Northstar V8 and auto in a 1st gen MR2. If it fits there, it will fit in a Ferrari.

Mark, what ever happened to the X1/9?

 

It turned up on ebay about a year ago, looking very much the way it did when I sold it in maybe 1995??, but I didn't know until after the action ended....the pattern seems to be somebody buys it because it sounds cool, drives it once, it scares the heck out of them, it sits until they decide to sell it. It is pure evil. I think it has changed hands several times since I had it.