Thanks for the compliment! That means a lot. I like the C4... it's a fun drive and looks pretty cool, too!
A black 328 GTS has a great look to it I feel unlike any other color. I think the difference is the fact that the black trim pieces (rear window shades, spoiler over the back window, and targa top) blend into the rest of the body color. Mr. Bullfighter, congratulations on having one of the best looking ones out there.
I am a strong believer that any car looks best in black. My only thing against it is that it's also the hardest color to keep clean, but it's worth it.
A C4 is a great era for Corvette. Here is the 40th anniversary convertible I bought new in 93. I sold it about 7 years ago. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You can have a nice Ferrari for the cost of 2 Corvettes. What do you really want? My modified Datsun 240Z will easily suck the paint off most any stock Z Corvette. Yeah, it’s all about art & racing & Ferrari doest it like no other.
The 308/328s were a true evolution. While the glass/carb purists would say they messed it up, the later cars did get easier to live with. I went the 328 route myself, but having gone over the parts manuals, I'd have to say that many of the engine improvements you find in an early 328 are also in the QVs. And there are those who feel the 308 and QV coachwork is still prettier. I mostly went 328 because of the updated interior. People today say that the 328's interior looks "dated", but I look at a 308 or Boxer, and see a lot of elbow snags on that center console. (I rarely see one that isn't missing a pill from the top of one of the toggle switches.) ... And, because the 328 has an extra half-inch of headroom. For the OP, the series went from the carbed 308 to the 2v 308i to the QV to the 328 to the 88.5/89 328. I like the exterior looks of the 308s, but the 328's interior was a large change from the 308s, and that's the part I'm looking at when I'm in it. The later 328s have a number of suspension improvements, but most of them also have ABS. IMnsHO, '80s ABS was a disaster, and a textbook example why street technology shouldn't be banned from the track: let the race teams wring the bugs out of the gizmos before inflicting them on the public. But then, the emissions controls also got more involved as the years went on, so for the home mechanic, the 328's injection is a bit of a rubik's cube. The CIS/Lambda is nearly bulletproof, but without OBD, when they do go wrong, even ${DEITY} can't fix them easily. (Great MTBF, horrible MTTR.) And since CIS was only used for 10 years on Ferraris, most classic Ferrari shops are more familiar with Webers than with CIS. But then, the other reason that Ferrari shops don't have a lot of experience fixing CIS is that they rarely break. (So far, at least.) (Of course, you could resort to looking for a VW/Audi mechanic. ) But any of the 308s/328s are a hoot to drive, once you get the feel of it.
that is a sweet 93! I love the exterior colour, but was never a fan of the matching top and interior. I always felt that would look nicer in tan. White woulda been REALLY cool
I have always preferred the look of the 308. I thought the frontend was just more subtle and delicate. The ABS systems in the mid-80s Corvette is actually a good system. It was made by Bosch and has proven to be VERY reliable. As for the setup on the Ferrari, I can't address that. I donno who makes it. I have heard some about the CIS they used... but don't know much about it. It is a Bosch system, IIRC. Aren't they using a Weber-Marenelli setup these days? The biggest issue I have heard of with the 308 is with the gearbox... the gated shifter, the long linkage, the slowish synchros, all conspire to make for inconsistant performance.
that does look nice! I donno... the 308 still looks more pure to me. now... putting a 328 engine into a 308, that would be cool.
Hell, I may never be able to, but it is a dream...... I am 48. Almost 40 years ago I dreamed of owning a Ferrari. In my teens I wore out pages of R&T magazines reading ads almost as much as I wore out other kinds of magazines. But cars over $2000 were a lot of money. And I always had my dads silly voice of reason telling me it was stupid to pay $6K for a 10 year old car. When I seen a Ferrari 250 GT roadster in the local paper for $10K needing a starter motor, danggoneit, at 17 there was just no way in hell. Yet I was laready smart enough to know all that car would do was appreciate. We had this toothy peanut man for Pres back in the late 70's, and interest rates, inflation, and unemployment soared. Cars like Ferraris went through the roof. By late 79 or early 80's, Ferrari's that had been $10K were passing $100K. By the mid 80's they were well over a $million with no end in sight. I was born a gear head I guess, but as I aged and seen so many sucked into worshiping cars, and treating them like golden calfs, my judeo Christian upbringing looked away. I became disinterested. I stopped reading car magazines and stopped looking at cars altogether. I felt like I had been led down a dead end like a donkey following a carrot. I was never going to own a Ferrari, and I might as well just face facts and be a man about it. But I WAS a gearhead. God puts stuff in your head and your screwed man. I remember sitting watching TV about 10 years ago and an old Magnum PI rerun was on. GDit thats a pretty car. But I dare not look. But I was at a store and found a Hemmings motor news. Hmmm, WTF happened to Ferrari prices? This artsy women out in Northern Cal. in this Porsche club I used to chat with told me as how I should get on the Flist and talk to those Ferrari guys. They sucked me in. I made a few friends. I went for rides. I drove a Ferrari. I brought the first one home in June of 2004, and joined Fchat soon after. I brought the second one home early last April a year ago. If I ever learned anything at all listening to the others who have owned these cars, its that you never need to tell yourself what you cant do. You cant own a Ferrari until you tell yourself you can, and its really just that simple. Telling yourself you cant is the dumbest damn thing a person could ever tell themselves. And you dont even have to try and justify it, because you cant. There are sure lots worse things in life to throw money away on. Only with these, I dont really think ive lost a dime. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Bogus! Good to see you over here, brother! Was it Lars' recent purchase that finally made you "cross over", or something else? At any rate, *please* consider making whatever concessions are necessary in the next few years and get yourself into a 308. I don't know if you remember my thread(s) on CF or not after I purchased my GT4, but I picked one up about a year and a half ago. It has been the absolute *best* garage companion for my C4 I could have ever imagined. If you're ever up Bay Area way, drop me a line, and we'll go for a ride. Aaron
My issues with early ABS isn't the reliability, it's the tendency to come on when you don't want it. Straight line stops on slippery surfaces (e.g. gravel) are much longer with an early ABS than with manual brake modulation. The ABS in the Celica virtually disabled the brakes completely on ice. (Many owners yanked the main ABS fuse to permanently turn the @#$% thing off.) Also, weight transfer in turns tended to confuse the ABS, causing more premature activations. I found I can modulate the brakes myself better than the early ABS systems did. The CIS ("Continuous Injection System") is aka the Bosch "K-Jetronic" injection system. In its basic form, it's a pretty clever use of fuel as a hydraulic fluid for injection control rate -- from the days when microprocessors were still pretty new, and none too temperature hardened. But as the emissions requirements got more complex, the added "bells and whistles" started to add up. I don't really know who makes the current ECUs in the modern Ferraris, but Weber made the carbs in carb'd 308s, and Magneto Marelli made the ignition computers in both 308s and 328s. I've heard differing stories about the infamous "cold second gear" shifts -- some about "beefed up synchros" and others about a rod recess pocket But with the cable operated clutch, my 328 is still a lot easier to shift well than my EVO (which has an anti "drop" damper in the hydraulic clutch which slows clutch operation annoyingly). The 328 practically begs to be heel/toed. And putting a 12cyl in a 308 would be ... a 512BB.
Though the 308 is visually slightly more agreesive, I think a 328 is more of a "clean", or pure shape. Colored bumpers and all. -F
I was thinking the same thing...ditch the corvettes and buy a Ferrari. You'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
Just saw a few red 308/328's and a white Testarossa so I just thought Id post a pic of my 348 while im here. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Pap, I just noticed that on your right-hand-drive 348, the windshield wipers are also mounted opposite of the U.S. cars. Is the center console flipped also? That is, the gated shifter near the driver (right-hand-side of the car in your case) and the switches toward the passenger? And, I like the "8-Ball" mail box you've got there. .
Such the postwhore you are PAP! But I must admit, it's a great looking car... I'd take 348 over a 328 or 308 anyday! I love those cheesegraters...
Thanks mate. The gearbox H-pattern layout, centre console and buttons are all the same. Only steering wheel, steering rack, wipers, h/brake handle, pedals and door trims are swapped over.
Cheers mate! I love my car!!! Beautiful from every angle! Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login