Were Ferrari 308's handmade? | FerrariChat

Were Ferrari 308's handmade?

Discussion in '308/328' started by briankmagby, Jul 13, 2005.

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  1. briankmagby

    briankmagby Rookie

    May 12, 2005
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    Brian Magby
    Ok guys, I'm trying to learn as much about the Ferrari 308's as I can, and I hope to buy one in the next 10 months. Anyway, first question: was the 308 "Handmade". Also, are all Ferrari's made in the same factory in Italy, or are there other Ferrari factories? If so, where were the 308's made? I know these are dumb questions, but before I start discussing Ferraris with other people, and possibly passing along bad information, I would like to make sure that I have my facts straight.

    Thanks,
    Brian
     
  2. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    They were mostly hand made but along an assembly line.
     
  3. briankmagby

    briankmagby Rookie

    May 12, 2005
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    Brian Magby
    Were they all made at the same Ferrari factory in Maranello Italy, and is that the only factory that Ferrari has?

    Thanks again,
    Brian
     
  4. sparta49

    sparta49 F1 Veteran
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    Yes.
     
  5. Steve B

    Steve B Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
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    Steven L. Biagini
    "Handmade" is not a technical definition. The 308 body panels for the 308 were machine-stamped but they were hand fitted to the car. The Boxer was the last car whose body panels were hand beaten into shape over wooden bucks. That work would have been done at the Scaglietti shop (which is now owned by Ferrari but wasn't back then).
     
  6. Dane

    Dane Formula 3
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    Apr 25, 2002
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    This is a good 308 site, too.

    http://www.ferrari308.com/

    Good luck and welcome,

    Dane
     
  7. briankmagby

    briankmagby Rookie

    May 12, 2005
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    Brian Magby
    Thanks everyone. I knew Ferrari had been building cars for a very long time, so it is very impressive to learn that they have been doing it at the same plant and location for all these years.
     
  8. Dave

    Dave F1 Rookie

    Apr 15, 2001
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    Steve, I have pictures of the wooden 308 bucks,
    with records indicating the switch was made in 1985.
     
  9. Steve B

    Steve B Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
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    Steven L. Biagini
    I have numerous sources that state that the Boxer was the last car to have its body panels made by hand. One of these sources is a magazine interview with Mr. Scaglietti himself. You will also see various other posts on this forum stating the same. The 308 panels were not hand-beaten. The Boxer was produced this way because the factory originally planned to make only a few hundred cars. The 308 was planned as a large production car from the start. If you have records to prove otherwise, please post and/or reference them.
     
  10. westmfg1

    westmfg1 Rookie

    May 1, 2005
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    Deadwood
    The wooden 308 bucks were for the prototype tooling. 3xx series cars have stamped steel panels. Boxers were the last Ferraris to have hand hammered panels.
     
  11. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    That is what my information (reference books) state as well.
     
  12. bert308

    bert308 Formula 3
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    Not entirely true, if that was the case they wouldn't have started making them in glassfiber. That also answers the question, no handbeating on fiber panels, of course the glass panels are handmade in a mould and hand-joint together at the car.
    When demand for 308 seemed high, and for export to USA, they started making them entirely in metal.
     
  13. sparta49

    sparta49 F1 Veteran
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    The Boxer was produced until 84 and 308's until 85 so they were in production at the same time why stamp one and beat the other??
     
  14. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
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    very good question ! i also wonder about the metal vs vetroresina bodies....... why make both side by side for so long?
     
  15. JTR

    JTR Formula 3
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    Maybe because the Boxer was more top end, and the 308 was entry level? Just a guess.
     
  16. PINNIN512

    PINNIN512 Formula 3

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    Tooling would have been too costly in mid production for the Boxer. I can understand the 308 as the transition phase for stamping.Also the Boxer shape wasn't originally planned for 2k + units.I think the injected cars were not in the production lineup and a last minute decision was made.
    I remember reading this somewhere??? Somebody correct me if i am wrong.
     
  17. westmfg1

    westmfg1 Rookie

    May 1, 2005
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    Up until about 81 Ferrari only made around 150 Boxers a year, a little over 3 a week, the BBi they increased production to about 300 yearly so each Boxer could be hand made from scratch and fill production requirements nicely without needing mass produced bodys.
    308s had production around 1500 which is too many to make completely by hand for demand requirements plus the added cost of doing so, the Boxer was double in price to the 308 so it was cost effective for the added labor and exotic materials such as the aluminum alloy body panels among other items.
     
  18. Steve B

    Steve B Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
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    The best source for this information is the book "Inside Ferrari" by Michael Dregni. It contains numerous photos of the factory (and Scaglietti's shop) over the period of 1950 to 1990 and the information is based on interviews with Ferrari engineers. It confirms that the Boxer was the last Ferrari made with hand-beaten body panels. It also states that Ferrari started machine-stamping body panels beginning with the Dino. Dregni claims that the early Dinos (not defined) had hand-beaten panels but that most of them had machine-stamped panels. Here is what the book says about the Boxer:

    "The move to using pressed bodywork was again bypassed in 1971 with the introduction of the 365 GT4 BB. Ferrari planned to build the Berlinetta Boxer as a limited road racer; however, customer demand eventually drove the series into ongoing production through the 512 BBi, discontinued in 1984. Based on initial planning for the car, the bodies were handmade at Scaglietti, even in the early 1980s when 512 BBi annual production reached 200 to 250 cars. Thus, as of 1990, the Berlinetta Boxers-and the 275 GTB/4 and 365 GTB/4 before them-were the last Ferraris with hand-beaten coachwork."
     
  19. westmfg1

    westmfg1 Rookie

    May 1, 2005
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    The Dinos with the hand beaten panels would have been the early 206 models which were aluminum.
     
  20. patpong

    patpong Formula 3

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    I think " hand made " means quality over quantity, not neccessary hand on work. It could be machine work but with specially care. I see some hand on work but result in cheap production. Many hand made watches uses machines for more precise work than human eyes, that's still considered as hand made. So, I believe all Ferrari are hand made...
     
  21. DGS

    DGS Six Time F1 World Champ
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    In used car salesmans' parlance, "hand made" is the way to explain a fender fitment made by, say, an econoline van in a parking lot.

    Caveat emptor.
     
  22. Jdubbya

    Jdubbya The $10 Trillion Man
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    Hand-made would imply that the panels were made by hand and then assembled by hand. Hand-assembled would be the technically correct term for the 308's since the panels were stamped but then hand assembled!
     
  23. Sean F.

    Sean F. F1 Rookie

    Feb 4, 2003
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    The glass and steel overlap lasted for about 3-4 months at most. There are a few '76 steel cars and I believe a few '77 glass cars (could be wrong on that one).

    They switched to steel b/c the glass was harder to deal with than Ferrari originally thought it would be or they would all have been glass. The steel panels were easier to deal with cost/labor wise.
     
  24. Kingpin328

    Kingpin328 Formula Junior

    Nov 7, 2003
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    #24 Kingpin328, Jul 16, 2005
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  25. BillyD

    BillyD Formula 3
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    Great picture of the panel shop. Any chance of a higher resolution one sent to me?
    thanks
    Bill
    ps I recognize the middle nose shown as mine!
     

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