Perplexed!

A matter of preference. Carbs just sound cool and they have good power, avoid one with a Cat for convenience. You need a mechanic who still knows how to manage carbs. It is a skill that is slowly dying. Of course I've seen an owners rebuild and sync their own carbs, and that was on a 12 cyl. It is possible if you have some natural skill and a good ear. I don't have natural skill or a good ear, I got a FI car.

 

I was a carb guy from way back in the 60's so the choice for me was rather easy. I never played with webers but have been into SU's , Zenith Strombergs , carters , holleys and a few race types. They are pretty much the same so you need to understand how they work. When I got my 77 the carbs were all running rich but after going through them they are pretty much dead on. The tuning was interesting but eventually it all came together. The performance is the pay off. I last touched them back in 2003 so they have been good ever since. I understand the FI system is pretty stable so it would just be a matter of taste.

 

This seems to be a very common question and yet not many threads come up quickly - here's one

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185014

As noted above carb is best (!) but it depends on having either yourself or at your shop the knowledge to set them up correctly (and therefore infrequently) - the most recent discussion suggested a qv would be easier for home maintenance - the i is discounted because it is a little slower rather than any other reason - but since the cars are not fast in today's terms does it really matter ?

Oh and I know you seem to need reassurance having been asking the same question in effect for several years but really all 308s are fine & fun to own - very few folk regret signing that check

 

GTB
1976 gtb glass body + carburetor
1977 gtb steel body
GTS/GTB
1978-80 cats added
1980-83 fuel injected csi
1983 4 valve csi
1984-5 lambda fi
Early Euro had dry sump - last Euro 308 had csi not lambda

Each year has merits as well as NA vs Euro differences
Power varied with each, earlier cars had most.

About 200+ of each imported into US and ~40 Euro
When you add color choices, virtually each car is unique and owners of each are happy with their choices. There is no best unless you add 328 cars for the 1989 but then maybe the 355 would be...no the 360!...when does this stop? It starts with your first purchase and never stops.

 

i suppose guys are going to mostly vote for what car they have. Originally, when I went shopping for a 308, I had the 2v injected models in my sights, mostly due to budget and unfamiliarity with carbs. If I could get into the QV I would have done it but didtn find any in my price range.

I would up buying what I thought was an perfect condition 308 carby, and it turned out to need a whole mess of work. The $ associated with that forced me to pick up a few books, some good tools, and spend plenty of time on Fchat.

All that said, having a carbed car was certainly the right choice for me, and I have really enjoyed the process of making it run perfect, and when it does run perfect its a real thing of beauty.

I am sure that doesnt help much. If i had it to do all over, I would get a carbed car, then second i would get a euro QV

 

That's me! black and saddle 85 QV. I recommend that - US or Euro primarily because a QV is going to be 5 - 8 years "newer" than a carb car and has the rust prevention galvinization. If you can find a good one all that stuff like hoses, electrics etc. is not quite as close to failure as on a carbed car. The carbed cars are, I agree, probably the ultimate for sound, performance and so on but with the QV you're only giving away 5 to 10 HP and you won't spend as much time working on it. I prefer driving to fixing but that's just my $.02

 

Even a QV is 25 years old, and is still going to need basically everything a Carb car needs replaced. It has nothing to do with model and everything to do with time.

Bottom line, buy the best example you can afford!

 

+1, don't worry about year or top style. buy the best car you can find from a real enthusiast and you'll love it.

 

+++ the carb cars had sodium filled valves, which are time bombs. the 4v cars did not.

 

Yep!

We could have endless debate over the "sound" of carbs versus the "convenience" of fuel injection, and never fully resolve the point.

But there were other evolutions over the course of the 3x8 series. Improved bearing seals, improved suspension elements, etc.

Of course, after the 328, they messed it all up. (Why, yes, I have a 328. )

But somehow, they never did get the electrics quite right.


I suppose the choice will come down to how you expect to use the car.
If you want a weekend toy, a carbed car will be a visceral experience --- that also gives you lots of chances to fiddle in the garage.
If you want a racing kart you can drive every day, get a later injected model that's a bit more "fire and forget".

 

i've always wondered if they fixed the slow windows on the 328. just tonight i had to wait a almost a full minute for my windows to rise...