1976 - 308 What's it worth?

I feel as if the earliest 308 cars (76-77), especially the fiberglass cars, are going the way of the dino. I do not think they will ever get as high as the dino, but I would not be surprised to see the fiberglass cars commanded upwards of $75k in the next few years.

If you think about it, Ferrari has not made a lighter production car since the fiberglass 308. How crazy does that sound.

 

PLUS they drive really nice, even the 1977 steel ones....

VROOM, VROOOM.......

Then they hang catalytic converters in 1978 and the party's over! LOL!

Last of the free breathers, I say......

 

I view the early to mid-seventies mid-engined cars as somewhat of a golden age for sports cars. A mix of old technology with new technology. BEst of both worlds if you ask me.

 

I agree 100%!

Ken

 

This car is pretty nice.

The guy that owns it took the car on trade for a vintage Corvette race car he had, painted up in Sunoco livery. He's just had most of the car repainted, as the original paint had some yellowing, and had some minor cracking. It wasn't anything severe. On the down side, there are tape lines and as a real collector piece it would have to be torn down and re-done. On the up side, you've still got some original areas to see what condition it's really in. I'd say the paint is about a 7 out of 10. (but it's not like the Italians are known for great paint jobs..)

The guy wants us to price the car at 49k, and will have the belts done at that price. The oil changes and other services are current, and he supposedly has the records - I haven't seen them yet, but he said he's bringing them.

After we quoted him about $6500 for a complete service he checked with the rest of the guys in town that will work on them, and they told him he could get by with only doing the belts, which runs about $1500-2000, after 15-20 hours of labor and the necessary parts. Personally I think considering the vintage, it would be a better safe than sorry type thing to just go ahead and do the full service. Thats not really up to me though. The engine sounds good (no belt noise, vs. a couple cars that have come in to have their belts done that you could actually hear - F****n scary!). I know a guy that had a Dino that a belt broke on, but he seems to think thats a myth.

Either way the miles are just under 14k, so the full service might not be necessary. It has new tires, but the rest of the belts and hoses should definitely be done too.

Joe has been the only customer that has driven the car, and that isn't going to change unless the belts are done first. We certainly won't sell the car unless the belts are done first or the servicing is arranged at the same time.

The interior is in good shape. No excessive wear or cracking in the leather. It has this crazy upgraded Blaupunkt stereo (I believe a dealer option) that doesn't really work. (I think the amplifier is out - if you have a stethoscope you can hear music..) The choke lever is broken. (looks to be in the cold position, but when I looked at the carbs, the choke is definitely off) Other than that the switches and gauges all work. I'd give the interior an 8 \ 10.

The car is complete with books, tools, etc and I'll finish getting the pics up on our website tonight.

- Mark

2NA - I'd love if you came in or called me sometime - I'd love to convince you some of us are enthusiasts just like you, and not just out for a quick buck..

 

Joe, I definitely think it sounds like a potentially fantastic purchase but be prepared to put a lot of money into it to make sure it's mechanically sound. Every comment about replacing the belts and tensioners right away is mandatory. I am somewhat skeptical that the mileage is as low as they report since it is very easy to disable the odometer in the 308's but if it's in great shapre, it's a good investment no matter what. I'll look forward to you bringing it over to visit my '85 QV this summer. Yours would be the first and mine the last of the model line!

Paul

 

apparently I lost the pics in that last post..
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A few more pics

I think the mileage is accurate looking at the car. It sounds like its documented with the service records too.

The protective plastic is still on the door cards.

http://www.maseratiofminneapolis.com/preowned-details.php?morriesid=76GTB
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I notice alot of add ons in the interior. Before you jump on this have it checked out correctly. The last thing you need is to spend..39-45k and then spend another 30K because of eletrical, full out engine out, tires, ball joints...leaky gas tank....and the list continues.
I have yet to see anyone steal a ferrari at the initial price and not pay through their a$$ at the back end. Make sure you know what your getting into. Make sure that frame isnt twisted either.

 

Is that shift knob original for a Glass car? Sure looks funny.

The car sure does look good though.

James in Denver

 

Looks nice, a bit understated in silver.

 

That "taxi meter" Blaupunkt thing has got to go. What else was added, other than the ugly American shift knob? Looks like some stick-on shields - might want to check the paint underneath to see if it's OK.

No, the shift knob was a plastic ball.

 

$50k is a lot considering it's only an 8 out of 10, the choke lever is broken and it will only get belts and not a complete service. For that kind of money the car should have every known issue taken care of IMO. Of course, if someone pays that price I will be proven wrong.

Ken

 

Definately strip the wonky radio, and the knob!...I'm running a detachable face Blaupunkt now, but had the recut the dash for a CD obviously.

VERY nice color on the car, engine shows great that's how they should look, knurled air box knobs.......oops, your air pump belt has "fallen off"!! LOL!

I give it an 8 of 10 and there aren't any tens!!

Interior looks nice...

Well, 39K was a good deal, 49K is all the money, IMO...and if you do a FULL service, valve adjustment, all rubber lines, etc....

This appears to be a solid original car....

 

Choke was probably intentionally undone...that's easy to remedy....

 

Would be a good buy at $39k. IMHO, I would do the following:

belts
tensioners
valve adjust
rebuild carbs
renew suspension bushings
redye leather
plugs
wires?
extenders?
clean up the valve covers
gut the airbox for uber airflow
place an original shift knob onto shifter

the above would make it right I think....

 

I noticed TRutlands has a nice package of wires, extenders and plug well seals......

 

OH, the bumpers are pushed in to shorter extension, a pretty common mod, but the bi-color lenses in the front are Euro style, North American ones are solid amber......


No to nit pick as I feel this is a good car, just making observations.....

That's also a very odd crack in the Speedo face, running left from the odometer window......you have the full books it appears, look in the back of the warranty coupon book, for the original selling dealer info....it will have the first owner's name written in there.

 

Wow - good catch.

I missed the part about the respray on first reading. I think I'd be reluctant to spend $49K on this, given that it needs a proper respray and catch-up maintenance, as well as interior de-accessorizing, to put it right.

If I bought it, I'm pretty sure I'd have $70K+ into it right away. The low mileage and sparse maintenance takes it out of the 'driver' category, and the mediocre paint and add-ons kind of keep it out of the 'show' category. Interesting conundrum, for conundrum enthusiasts.

 

If the car had the catch-up maintenance performed, and all accessoriues were put back to original, would that not make the car show category for an original car?

 

I definitely agree on the radio. Supposedly it was a dealer installed option, but I've never seen it before. Either way the amp is not working right, so if you want a stereo it would have to be switched out.

The shields are pretty strongly affixed, and I believe they were put on before the car was painted, so pulling them off at this point is probably a bigger hassle than its worth for a while.

>>
belts - yep
tensioners - yep

valve adjust - we originally advised him to do this and the owner balked. He was further advised by other Ferrari guys in town that he shouldn't have to do this with <14k miles. What do you guys think?

rebuild carbs - probably a good idea
renew suspension bushings
redye leather - It's pretty good as it is, very minimal wear to the seats, and the dash looks good.
plugs - we've got the new ones waiting to go in
wires?
extenders?
clean up the valve covers
gut the airbox for uber airflow
place an original shift knob onto shifter - I agree. It's got a momo "upgrade" but the original is much better.

 

The nitpicking helps Joe, and me too, so I appreciate it. I want to know all I can on this thing, so I can pass that on to someone that might not know what they are getting into.

I agree the speedo crack is a bit odd. I'm hassling the owner for the paperwork today so I can verify this stuff.

 

If a valve adjust has not been done recently, I bet there are at least a few that have tightened up.

 

oh yeah, and if still has points, give those a renew.

 

Does anyone know what the actual production numbers are for the 76 GTBs?

I've read 712 and 808 for the glass bodied cars. I've also heard only about 100 of those were for the US market, and nearly 90 were red. I'm having trouble finding actual production \ import numbers so any help is much appreciated.

- Mark

edit: looks like I answered part of my own question

'The early cars were built with lightweight fibreglass (vetroresina) bodies, from mid-1977 the bodies were made of steel. It is believed that the first 712 cars were fibreglass, the rest of 2185 cars had steel bodies. But the official factory number for fibreglass cars is 808. One of the many Ferrari mysteries.'

But does anyone know how many were for the US market or color production?