$12-15K maybe. i would consider the ugly white gt4 that Gullwing has for $17k, before buying a needy GTBi, as you can at least get some of the $$$ back out of a well sorted GT4 later on. pass and get a early carb car or a QV. 78-79 308s, and the GTBi's are not a deal unless they are clean and well sorted car that are priced right. dont forget the 2v valve cars have sodium filled exhaust valves, and that they are all pushing 20-30 years of age now.
Nope; I think you're spot on... Even at $10K, you'll be in far too deep before this one's a keeper! David
I'm thinking that you said it all right there. It is a shame to see them in this condition and there's no sense getting upside down in a car of any kind no matter how bad I want it or the current "buyers market" economy we're in. I'm not a rich man and don't want to be a poor one either. Luckily I do look at these things objectively and keep emotion out of the picture. The right one will come along soon enough, this just ain't it... When I look at a car and negotiate, even though I can do all the work myself, I deduct as though I would have to hire it all out in case I decide against finishing it or something happens to me to where I couldn't finish the job. This way I haven't given more than the car is worth to any Joe blow that comes along that may not be able to do more than put gas in it. I still realistically have to count my labor, time ain't free. I originally thought about finding a project at a certain stage of need for two reasons. First to get into one less expensively and secondly, to involve my son who just turned 14 in the repair work. This would give me the chance to teach him how to do some things on a cool, worthy automobile that he would enjoy as much as I and spend that kind of time together which is more important to me than any car ever could be. This car seems to have too many needs for the asking price. I told him that T. Rutlands would part it out if they just wanted to get rid of it.
The car is effectively 30 years old, all of them. Any car you buy of this vintage will be a project car unless it has been completely restored. If you buy one that is a maintained driver you can still do the body work, dings and one rust bubble instead of skins and quarters. You can still refreshen the interior, but will have a good base. Then you can do a service yourself and replace the fuel and coolant lines. Do the fuel injectors, etc. But between each project you and your son can drive it. Just maintenance and upkeep on these cars can be a lot of work, and the kids grow up quickly. It would be a shame to take a car for it's first drive when he comes back to visit from college. Buy a good one and enjoy, or drive and fix. I say project car loosely, but they are needy vintage cars at this point. Lots of fun though
I agree that it is also over priced. Its hard to say what you should pay for it because if the seller wants that much He will laugh at you when you say 15K let alone 10K no matter what because they are already trying to screw you. When nice cars can not get $25-30K unless you got it cheap and really can do the work yourself then it would be a fun car to have and work on with your son. Having said that I bought a project GTBi but it was in the color I wanted and the body was in good shape, I paid just over 20K for mine. This one needs lots of body work not something I would shy away from but its the bigger issue, then you still need to go and test drive it before you make any desisions don't fall in love with it until its in your garage!
Like the previous posts, buying a good driver quality 308 IS a project, and will be for the life of the car. Might as well buy a project that you can take out and enjoy once in a while. Same goes for a TR.
If the cosmetics are this obviously neglected and abused, imagine what the condition is of the stuff you can't see.
And even after sinking the money into it, you've still got a 2 valve, injected car. I wouldn't pay more than $10K for it in today's market, and honestly, even though I'm also a DIY, I don't think I even buy it at that price. There are much better fixer-uppers out there in the same price range.
Just as a suggestion: how about an early 70's Alfa Spider? I had one and fixed it up a while back, they can be had for small money and parts are reasonably available and inexpensive. Great project car for you and your son, you won't sweat the small mistakes he'll make, and he can drive it when he's 16. Again just a suggestion......
I have the whole story on this car. It was originally a Virginia car (I have the Carfax if you want it). It was for sale by Mike and Jim at CARS: http://carsincstore.com/index.php?Pid=3&stockno=1020 They sold it to Juan for $13,500. Mike would have taken $12,500 for it, however (I know, becuase I threw a loose offer; i.e. "if I were to offer you X" and it was accepted) Now a broker is listing it for Juan. His name is Mitch. http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/clt/1687010840.html I thought about buying the car for $12,000 but it was just too much work involved. Let me know if you want more info. They claim it has a bad throw-out bearing. Buyer beware!
Here is the Carfax, if it helps: Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
AUGH! There's no such thing as a "GTO Conversion." There's a re-body, which looks on the whole pretty dreadful because the proportion is off; the height is too great in proportion to the wheelbase. . . and you need that extra room for the rear vents to really look good. . . That aside, if this car has rusty body panels, it probably has a rusty frame. Notwithstanding the mechanical defects (and there are probably more hidden than you know about already), any vehicle with such a rusty body must have a rusty frame as well. The more I know about this car, the more I think that the current owners should remove every last serviceable part from it - if there are any. The combined value of the steering wheel, bumpers, dashboard, miscellaneuous engine parts, etc., must exceed by a factor of ten the value of the whole car put together.
How about a conversion to an aluminum V-8, massaged to a mild 400 HP. Mount it longitudinally, using a Hewland transaxle, a quick and easy paint job and interior, good rubber and wheels, and a revised suspension. Then one could tool around town. surprising a good number Porsches and Corvettes (and the occassional 430) when they least expect it. TN
The doors need new skins - this is COMMON for 308s, as many many cars rust along that outer edge/seam. And they can rust there just from washing the car, and water dripping down the windows into the inside of the door and getting trapped. I've seen it on 308s of any model year from the 70s to the 80s, and even TRs. Superformance has lower door skins, or whole door skins, depending on your needs, for not-huge dollars. As for the hail damage - I wouldn't sweat it TOO much. A friend had similar 'dents' on his roof when a PO mounted a bicycle rack on his 76 steel GTB and put four deep dents in the roof, deeper than the ones on this car. A paintless-dent-removal guy paid a visit, and in an hour or so, you NEVER knew they were there, and even saved the original black lacquer. The interior is a DIY exercise with a few phone-calls to Leatherique and maybe an upholsterer. The engine needs some service- don't they all, at this price-range?
You'll need to stretch the frame to drop a V-8 in there lengthwise, just like on the 288, 4.5 inches or there abouts, and even then the engine encroached into the passenger compartment on the 288. For the same amount of money invested after all those mods you could be driving a decent Pantera.
For the same amount of money invested after all the work it needs, never mind modifications, you could be driving a better-than-decent Ferrari. Okay, maybe - as the previous poster stated - it's just a matter of paintless dent removal, door "skins," Leatherique, and a bit of the mechanical maintenance typical to all these cars. But I'd want my mechanic to check it over VERY carefully. How much are used 308 mirrors? Bumpers? Interior switches? Lights and lenses? (I know the 390 wheels are almost worthless to most people; I just sold the ones off my own GTBi.) But even center caps are selling for $40+ used on eBay. I hate to say it, but the total price of the small and still very serviceable parts that remain on this car must greatly exceed its value as a whole, perhaps even after restoration. My first assessment, admittedly just based on the photographs, is that this is probably best put to use as a donor, sacrificing what's left of its life so that other 308s can live on.
Okay, I exaggerate. I've done it a hundred billion times. I'm just considering what I've seen used 308 parts offered for: Used bumpers, $1000 each; steering wheels, $450 - 500; switch surrounds; $100 each; fusebox covers, almost $100. . . Add up the value of the still good parts you can tear off it, and I imagine it's somewhere around $30k, maybe more.
Been thinking of getting a 308 for a track car, this could be a candidate but would prefer a GTS. Buy for $12,000 - $15,000, part out almost everything: glass (would use plexiglass windshield) headlights, AC stuff, rims, almost the entire interior (seats, console, ect) do basic boby work, the mechanicals. Put in some racing seats, fire extinguisher, straight exhaust pipes mabe a roll cage and have some fun. You wouldn't be doing a "restoration" but would be keeping another Ferrari on the road. But like others have said, this one will take a lot of money to put right, even if you do all the work yourself. The stuff you don't see/ plan for, will almost double your costs. Unless you have something special about this car, buy one in better shape for a little more money, you will be way ahead of the game.
