If you look at an '80s Corvette, the body has a lot of waviness to it - it's very obvious that you're looking at a fibreglass car. When you look down the side of a fibreglass 308, how does it compare to the steel-bodied version? Secondly, have you ever hard part of the car resprayed, and how did process/expense/result compare to a 'normal' steel car?
It's very hard to tell a fibreglass 308 from a steel one based on the finish. The give-away is the seam groove at the top of the front roof pillar on the 'glass cars. However, I've seen one 'glass car that apparently had had the seam filled in. There's no reason that refinishing a 'glass 308 would be significantly different from a metal 308, except that 1) you wouldn't have to deal with body rust. 2) You have to sand the old finish off more carefully, as once you cut thru the primer, you can be cutting into fiberglass. Just take a look at the fibreglass front valence & lower boot panels on a metal 308, those are fiberglass. IMHO, those wavey '80s fibreglass vettes were poorly refinished as I've seen some similar vintage 'vettes with flawless finish, also have seen several metal bodied 308s with waves in the finish from improper sanding during the refinish.
The fiberglass panels were praised at the time for their trueness and finish. Apparently, they've held up well for 30 years. There is just a hint of waviness when you sight along the car at an acute angle. Just enough to let you know there is something different about the car. As Verell mentioned, paint repair is not all that different. Minor panel repairs might be a bit easier than with steel panels. The technician needs to be understanding of composite and fiberglass material repairs. The contours of the steel rocker panels allow water to drain away pretty well and are really not prone to rusting unless they've been bent by improper jacking techniques or if you don't repair road rash. Mine's due for another shot of flat black. It's been five years.
I do have one area on my car where the waves are visible. On the rear between the tail lights you can see some of the pattern. But it'll be taken care of during the repaint. The rest of the car shows no sign of waves bumps or weaves.
The waviness of fiberglass is there because nobody took the time to sand and fill meticulously to make the surface smooth. I'm restoring a 1964 corvette stingray right now and I gave them the green light to spend a couple extra grand to take their time to make sure the body is smooth without the waves. My car will be better than when it left the factory 43 years ago. The finish on my '85 QV is really exceptional and it's all original. Ferrari did a very nice job on these cars at the factory. Paul
Umm, It's a case of 'your mileage may vary'... While the overall finish quality generally improved from the mid thru late '80s, the finish varied widely from very good to lots of orange peel during the 70s into the mid '80s. There's been speculation that the paint quality depended on how much wine Guido had with his lunch...
...with the better 'flow' happening when he was REALLY into it.......LOL! *feel the paint Luigi, be at one with the car...*
There's some original orange peel in the original paint on my April 1987 328, so I'd have to agree that Ferrari wasn't doing museum quality paint jobs.
