Hi guys, I'm new to this Forum. I currently have an Alfa, Corvette, and a couple of Muscle cars. I really liked Ferrari's but was always scared of them, and the few Dealers that work on them. But.. I saw this 1979 Ferrari at Leading Edge Auto in Woodbridge Ontario Canada for like $26000.00 and from what I gave the windows don't work, and the rubbers around the targa needs to be replaced. They have service history on the car... but they say it runs a little rough... Maybe the carbs need adjusting? Anyone know about this car? I'm really tempted in buying a 308
RUN AWAY. Too many GOOD examples at good prices. THIS car does NOT sound like one of them. PPI..... PPI..... PPI...... [repeat as necessary] Jedi
In Canada $26K is about rock bottom for a running 308 regardless of the condition. That said from the description for the $40K a nice driver will cost you, the more expensive car is a much better deal. You will sink $14K very fast into one of these cars so unless you are a motivated DIY guy I would steer clear on this one.
Good day Tazio, Have a PPI done at a reputable shop so you can see what other needs the car may have. If you are DIY'er and the items needed are minor it might be a good buy. Personally, I would be most concerned with any rust issues and major mechanical problems. As another poster stated, $26K CAN is about the lowest I have seen for a carb'd 308 GTS. Cheers, Sam
The camshafts are 'better' on the NON CAT cras so see if a 1977 or 1976 presents itself.... It'll be basically the same car, different engine specs.....
Thanks for the reply guys. So look for a 76, 77 car but those must be harder to find, and probably more expensive.. But atleast I'll have a car running in better shape. So really the price should be around 40K mark for a decent one. I'll have to do much much more research before I buy one.
You might consider even looking in the US for one of the others. There are a number of good cars for considerably less money. Supply and demand being the big thing - there are a LOT more cars in the US that Canada. I dont know what the import rules are for getting a car into Canada or out of the US, but I would imagine that it couldnt be that hard. Simply look down this forum and there are some for as low as 16.5k US and even a QV with a buy it now of 25k US. It looks to be a good car with a fresh major. Thats a killer deal IMO. I am not 100% certain of the exchange rate, so keep that in mind. I have no association with either of the cars I just mentioned, but just look around. If you find a car somewhere else, simply post and ask someone else to go and take a look at it - you have people here from all over the world and chances are someone is nearby that can visually inspect it for you before you hand over cash. Good luck!! PDG
Amen to that. I would guess that if you drove a 78/79 and then a 76/77 you couldn't rationalize the difference in performance (if any) to the difference in price. I just purchased a 79 for $16,000 (including a major service!). It runs like a bat outta hell for $16,000 and sounds absolutely fantastic with a tubi compared to my 328 with a tubi. All of the carbed cars have a "special" sound that even today can't be replicated. I think that the early carbed cars beat the late carbed cars on paper only. If the 78/79 is in reasonable shape and affordable, go for it!
I own my carbs car now near since 15 years. If I would sell my soon ready restored car, I would must have a lot of more than $26K... Fine car, fine price! But indeed one have to see for the development of the prices. It seems those fun cars - just in the US - get cheaper and cheaper. Here in Europe market to watch in not simple at the moment. May be in 12 months its more simple to analyse that. Cheers
I would actually agree, but the difference in cost isn't that much I'd think at this point..... There's major differences in the other smog equipment too though, all that air box fume pumping crap.......
The dangers of fires on a catalyst equipped carburated car is considerable, given the dual electric systems tendency of "single bank firing".....IMO. And while I'm no saint, reworking CAT cars to NON CAT is still technically illegal. That's why I tossed out my opinion, and that's all it is...if a GTS is desired it's a non issue as they came out in 1978....
Importing a 308 from the US is easy and given the age the car is exempt from the 6.1% foreign import duty. Just pay your GST at the border and your PST when you register and that is about it. There is no federalizing or emissions testing on these cars.
Should have mentioned that the car was converted to a single distributor set up with MDS ignition added. "Rationalize"...if you own a Ferrari you have to rationalize every now and then!
The cam thing is not way overplayed because it is these earliest cars which will be the most collectable. Also, if one knows what they are doing, the early cams can be dialed in to produce a good difference in tuning/running compared to that of the later cars. Last but not least, these cams are much more responsive to a change in compression than that of the later cams. If one were to only up compression with later cams, the engine would not be near its potential than that of what the early cams would be capable of. The .50 extra lift and extra duration on the intake alone is a huge difference if one knows how to dial them in right. The US and AUS cars used these good cams but dialed them in so the power band is maxed at 6600 which is not optimal settings. Euro cars used the same cams but retarded the intake a bit more to provide a slightly higher power band which maxed at about 7k+. Not much experimenting done here on fchat with this particular procedure, but on paper it makes perfect sense to do and is a cheap 10-15bhp at the flywheel. Can't do this with the later cams.
And both the 76-77 GTBs, as welll as the 78-79 GTSs and GTBs are Suh-low by today's standards, as are 328s. I understand wanting to dial-in performance but, again, none of these cars are going set the asphalt on fire. What is the 0-100 time in a 77 GTB?...2-3 days? Seriously...15-16 seconds? Might as well be 2-3 days. It's the overall vibe of these cars -- the sound, smell, history, etc., that is so cool. Performance-wise...better get into 355 territory.
If you're going to go in as deep as to change pistons to raise compression, then why keep the original cams in there anyway?
Hi Tazio, Welcome to the site! I bought a '79 308 GTS 3 summers ago and just love the car. As previously stated, the carb thing is way overrated. I'm in the north end of Toronto and not too far from you. PM me if like and we can meet up. I'll show you my car and we can chat a little more about what it's like to own/maintain one of these cars.
