Old v. New.....

standing ovation .

i too can buy a new whatever, but i detest all the damn computer crap. i swear its cheaper, and more fun to have several well sorted older cars, paid for in full, than some new car that is going down in value all the time you have it. this old metal is "fun enough" on public roads. i do admire the newer Lambos and Ferrari's, i just dont want to own one!

 

+1.

One caveat. The only negative I have found to having an older Ferrari is the absence of factory support. There is a growing list of parts that are quickly becoming unobtainable (vents, consoles, fog lights, etc), and other parts which are reaching stratospheric prices on are old cars (front wheel bearings). Thankfully, I haven't had to deal with replacing any of these parts yet, but as time marches on, I anticipate eventually all of us will need a part that can't be gotten at any price, which will either cause us sideline our cars indefinitely until the part can be sourced at some ridiculous price or compel us to retrofit another part (think Cuba) to keep the car on the road, thereby beginning the slow and steady march to hodgepodge Ferraris. In 20 years, i wonder if all but the most common wear items will even be available. And what do we do then?

Just a nice Sunday morning thought

 

WHeel bearings are difficult? Forgive the question since I'm fairly new here but can't they be matched by any bearing supplier? No car manufacturer makes bearings and usually they are a standard part, used in a variety of applications. Surely these bearings were not specifically made by one bearing company just to fit 12,000 cars over 15 years or so...Can't imagine it would even be worth the manufacturing time for Timkin, Federal, whoever to make custom bearings for such a low number of vehicles.

But maybe they did!

 

You'd be surprised. Some of the standard catalog bearings in the Timkin book are NLA except in some cheesy Russian or Chinese version, or they're available but cost $200+ because the last production run was 40 years ago and nobody has bought one in the last five years. Some transmission bearings for oddball cars can be a bear to find.

 

Ferrari wants $1,100 for a front wheel bearings that fits the '89 ABS 328, but thanked to this guy who found the source:

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=138608247&postcount=36

But it still costs you 250 each.

 

It's hard to say what the future will bring; I can only hope that if it is needed, it can/will be made. It blows my mind that YearOne is now making complete reproduction 1969 Camaro's! Every single part is made by them. Buy it all complete or build it yourself.

But I too like the non electronic Ferrari's. I think the new tech is mind blowing and I like reading about it all and where it's going. Before buying this car I seriously thought about a new Corvette. They're fast as hell; I think they are still very sexy and reliable. I have plenty of new cars with every modern devise man has thought of. But when I get in my 83 308 I still like the fact that it's something I can understand (almost!) and can work on (almost!...I'm learning thanks to F-Chat). I'm not quite sure what it is, but I do like the fact that it is an analog machine and not a computer, almost like an analog clock or an old slot machine. I also like the fact that many owners like the ones above can have newer more expensive cars (I'm not one of them) but choose this model. I think it's a testament to Ferrari's design as well as Enzo's vision of what a sports car should be.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Concur completely.

I can just afford the 308 series. Nothing else until I win LOTTO (But alas, my wife reminds me I have to play to Win......... darn)

Anyway, even if I could afford it, the newest Ferrari I would ever own is the F40. The newest Lambo would be the mid of the series Contach. I just hate all the computer stuff on a "Sports Car."


"Sports cars" (to me) are supposed to be simple, loud, smelly, oily, dirty, uncomfortable, impractical, demanding cars that few really want but everyone admires and have more horsepower than most drivers have brains or talent.

But almost all "sports cars" from any manufacturer have either "evolved" into the "Boulivard Cruiser" (a sports car devolved with creature comforts) or died.


It is sad actually. In another gereation or two, there will be VERY few people on this planet who will have ever even seen a real "Sports Car" where they belong ... on the open road.

 

Unfortunetly that problem goes with every modern cars,
a few years back you could find and repair almost everything, now a days you can't even change a bulb yourself
and have to pay 300€ to do so.

 

Most of I've read is in direct disagreement with what a lot of others on this forum think. Like most of you, I do all of the work on my cars as opposed to taking it to a local 'authorized' mechanic. When I bought the car, it didn't come with a documented history and a stack of receipts like many believe is directly related to the cars value. At least 50% of my enjoyment from a sports car is working on it and maintaining it. After recently completing a major, full brake system rebuild, shifter seals, electrical system restore, full interior restore, etc. many would believe the overall value of the car has not appreciably improved because it was not done by a professional and I didn't pay my fair owner's share for labor. Grated I don't have a stack of reciepts showing I've saved thousands of dollars in labor costs, but I have piece of mind knowing that all the work was done and certainly won't whine about not getting top dollar for the car when/if I decide to sell it.

 

Again, I think that buying any "toy car", as an "investment", is not advisable. It's a toy. Something to enjoy, period. Worrying about it's resale value detracts from the enjoyment. I would speculate that the vast majority of F-cars are resold at a loss, not even counting the maintence expences. Just enjoy it and forget about resale. Remember, you're going to die anyway.

 

Agreed. Among all the reasons I've owned sports cars probably the foremost is just the shear enjoyment of driving them. My 308 and 911 are both of timeless design and although not extremely fast, are both a blast to drive around in. If I have a need to speed, I'll go track my blown Miata which is like a go-cart on steroids, but nothing compares with cruising around in a classic. Many of the same folks who think of these cars as an investment are the same ones who at one time thought of their homes as an investment. Homes are for shelter, cars are to be driven and stocks and bonds are investments.

 

Actually Dynacorn builds the Camaro bodies (and '67/'68 Mustang bodies) as well as many of the other sheet metal parts reproduced for classic American cars. Year One just sells them. While we're taliking about Year One - if you have a classic American car there are far less expensive places than Year One to buy the exact same restoration parts. Year One is the last place I would look.

 

Same here, I just love it when working on my cars. In some way, it's more fun than driving the cars. I enjoyed doing the researches, looking for high quality and affordable parts, buying them, then planning how I am going to approach the job step by step and also taking the safety into consideration. When I run into problems, I analyze then formulate ways to solve them,...

It's pretty fun as hobby but its give me great respect for good mechanics like Brian here.

To me it's perfectly OK too see others buying a $30,000 car then spend $5000-$10,000 on service because if not everyone can wrench or have the time, the tools or place to do it. My time it's free but these mechanics have shops to run for a living so you have to pay whatever it takes.

My other hobby is 4wheeling that requires I carry my own spare parts (these are on my truck now: spare stud axles, inner front/rear/left/right axles, front and rear drivelines, spare differentials with installed differential lock, wheel hubs, brake lines, spare carburator, wheel bearings, seals, transfer case parts, distributor, clutch master, brake master,...enough fluid for an oil change on the field, bleed the brake, fill up the radiator) and tools because if your truck breaks on the trails in middle of nowhere, AAA won't come nor your mechanics. Some of my buddy even have their own welders and air tools on their truck.

To share little story, on the way to a wheeling trip when we drove through the Nevada desert, I smell something burning, we stopped the truck and found out that my smog pump has frozen, guess what? I had a spare smog pump which my friend could not believe that I brought along. We change the smog pump right there at the desert and got on our way in 30 minutes.

 

Well put Ken. I also have respect for the professional mechanics whose aptitute, experience and talent go way beyound mine as a DIY. I'd love to have a TR or DB9, but if I could/did, know my pocketbook couldn't afford the maintenance and I don't have the knowledge or tools to do much of the maintenance as it should be done. I also understand the opinions of other owners who don't work on their cars because of the balancing act we all play with time, money, enjoyment, work, family, etc., but dislike hearing about the concourse quality of my car being diminished because I work on it myself.

Funny story too about the smog pump. Sounds like you and your 4x4 friends have been doing your thing long enough to know all the potential weak links.

 

Your an absolute mad man! Thats awesome!

 

+2

I can keep my 308 on the road indefinitely. Once you get to the 328s & newer modells, the exotic electronics & materials content starts to go way up. I'm sure eventually most of those unique parts will get sourced, but I like the elegant simplicity of the 308s.

Not to mention I still think the 308 is the sexiest production car ever "disigno di Pininfirina".

 

How much more exotic electronics and materials content are in the pre-ABS 328s?