Local friend and Fchat member bought a 1989 328 yesterday locally. Car has a January 1989 build date, Red / tan GTS with red carpets. His is in fact an ABS car, with the correct ABS wheels. I know they incorporated changes at some vin # making the cars 1988.5 and later "updated". We were discussing what really changed other then the ABS and suspension. Did anything in the engine and gearbox change? Does a true 1989 built car incorperate all the updates? His vin is in the *80xxx* range, assy no is 212. Mine is a 1987, should we be able to drive them back to back and "feel" any differences? Thanks.
His VIN is well into the ABS production run (mine is 79393) so it should have all the updates. AFAIK that means the ABS & some suspension geometry (wider track at the rear). My car also has Bilstein shocks on it while I think the earlier cars had Konis. Whether that's common to all ABS cars or not I'm not sure. The seat mechanisms in the later cars are different too but not sure when that came in. Not aware of any differences in the drivetrain.
interesting. Can earlier 328's use Bilstiens? I dislike the Koni's, and they are expensive to rebuild / replace. Shocks are cheap for the 84-89 911's i am also fond of. Not so for the 3x8 series. Thanks for the reply. We are looking forward to playing with the two cars and compare them.
I don't think that the drivetrain has differences between the "série 1" and "série 2" (before and after car n° 76626); the only one I am aware of is the slight different form of the tube collecting the oil in the sump, but that change was well before the introduction of the revised suspension. Last mod I can remember is different Conolly leather for the seats, after about car n°79650; As for the Bilstein/Konis shocks, this a mystery I would like to understand, someday...if there is something logical, of course. So I think that, with a construction number which should be around 80250, the car in question should have about all the latest mods. I have a late February '89 GTS (C/N in the 80500 - 80600 bracket) and an early April '89 GTB (C/N in the 81000 - 81100 bracket). My "twins" are almost identical, but not exactly... except for the fact that you can take off the roof of one car, and not of the other, of course! But the differences are minimal, on small, minutes details. Both are standard european cars (no catalysators) and not modified; for instance, the GTS has a metal sheet protecting the exhaust, the GTB has none... A part from that, they seems identical.
One minor difference I've never seen discussed before is the font size on the odometre. The earlier cars have slightly bigger numbers...... Bob.
i think the inside door handles / latches are different on my 89,,than in earlier years,and the inside door panels are different,my car also has konis and its a late model 89,,,,so im not sure which cars got the bilstiens or why,,,i also heard that the valves were upgraded on the 89 s i think i read that on here,,,,but im actually not sure...with that said,,..looks like the 89 s were the absolute best 3x8 s in the 13 year run
You are right, there are different door cards - not sure when the change was made though. Maybe it was done at the same time as the seats? The air ducts are also sifferent on the later cars (and very fragile ). Also the Euro cars (at least the later ones) have what is also now very fragile foam insulation on the firewalls. Mine had all disintegrated so I just had my engine out to replace it all. From the pictures I've seen a lot of the US cars seem to just have aluminium panels there.
interesting. my car is an 87, *72249* and it has the same late style door handles as his car. My car was a 1 owner until I bought it, so i doubt its been messed with, but who really knows. He is ordering a pile of parts for his car, and we will be playing with it for the next week or three. Thanks for the replies. Congrats to JFrazar on his 5th Ferrari. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Guys, I am sure this has already been covered in some other threads, but for those interested, a quick check among the service bulletins gave these: (only major change is of course the new suspension with car n° 76626) New suction pipe in modified oil sump: from car # 65001 New chrome plated valves: from car # 71381 New valve seats: from car # 76666 New oil cooler duct: from car # 75272 (Europe) and # 76726 (United States) New front bonnet with relocation of the lifting jack to pass. side: from car # 75592 Steering whell offset from center by 10mm: from car # 77451 New air box duct: from car # 78069 New conolly leather: from car # 79662. (change in the seat mechanism about the same time frame??) So yes, Brett, the valves were changed, but before the ABS mods... Change in the design of door handles: first from car # 71597; further change from car # 75929 Among other thing, I seem to recall that the design of the handbrake handle is different: earlier car do not have a leather sheath of the handle.
'89 also has the Ferrari emblems on the mirrors. Mine serial is in the 81xxx and it has Koni shocks, what serial number range came with Bilstein shocks?
As for myself, I have been trying to find some logic in this Bilstein or Koni shocks on the late 328 for some time, but so far, I have not find the key. Perhaps somebody really familiar with the production, and more knowledgeable as I am, such as Brian Crall (aka Rifledriver on this forum) knows? The only thing that I can state is that some european cars among the late 328 have indeed these Bilstein shocks (I don't know about american cars); among french cars, it seems to be mainly GTBs, but a small number of GTS have these as well... So should anybody be able to shed some light on this, it would be interesting... Best,
We will keep everyone posted on this one, bought from a farmer in the country outside of Savannah, Truly a barnfind - car is really dirty. Runs good and is way overdue for a major service. I drove up Sunday morning about 2hrs outside of Savannah. Car was at my dealership by 3:30pm. Major Service and I mean everything, Tires, AC Upgrade, and a serious detailing. Joe Frazar
hey Mr. in France..thanks so much on the valve clarification,,im glad they were updated,,,now as far as the shocks go,,,,when im ready to replace mine,,,i would like to go with the bilstiens that came on the other 328 s...is that possible,,,??? thanks,,,Brett
Brett & Carreaper, I am unable to positively attest that the Bilsteins and Konis are indeed inter-changeable and unable to positively attest that they could be swapped without problem. I wouldn't be surprised that the change is possible without too many problems, as it seems that some cars have one type, some have the others; but I cannot attest they are inter-changeable. As I have already said, I can't understand the logic - if there is any - behind the fact that some late production cars have Konis, some others have Bilsteins. BUT what I can do is: 1.look into my documentation - already done, not too much hope in this... and 2. ask the Ferrari technician that takes care of my cars; the GTS is in his capable hands right now and I should collect it in a few weeks. He is a guy in his fifties that is well versed in 328 matters, as he takes care of a lot of these cars from the different markets, so he should know. (I hope...) Best,
Another few differences: The exterior door handles are slightly different.There appears to be a gasket around the lever on the later model cars where the early model cars dont have this. The early cars have a differnt brake fluid resovoir to the late cars. I believe the Bilsteins only fit the later cars as the changes were dont to the suspension set up,slightly different A arms to accomodate the Bilsteins. The early cars have a differnt front bonnet strut to the late cars. There are may other changes as well.Whenever I look at the spare parts catalogue,alot of parts specify for the different series
The brake fluid reservoir is more to do with the ABS/Non ABS thing I would think. Indeed the whole braking system is different. ..and of course there are some differences surrounding the emissions gear - things like the oil cooler being in a completely different place. On my non cat car its underneath the expansion tank in the back corner of the engine bay whereas on CAT/US cars its located much further forward I think. But maybe that's straying from the point a bit.
Cool, i too noticed the door handle gaskets, as they are not noticeable on my car, but I thought it was because my 328 is black!
My GTS is an 81700. At a certain point the windscreen washer reservoir and the spare wheel size changed. Don't know the details, sorry.
My 89 GTS has a March build date is and is 809XX, and it has Konis. Also, the 88.5 and 89s have the foam air intake cover rather than the fiberglass piece. A small difference I've noticed on the interior is the color around the cigarette lighter, is blue/green on earlier cars, but its red on 89s. As for the Ferrari emblems on the mirrors those were added to 328s I believe on 88 model year cars. The gaskets around exterior door handles appeared in 88.5 model year cars. Best regards, Dino
My car (76289) is what I call an 88-1/4. Build date, Feb. 1988. It has some features of the 88.5 and the earlier 88. Relocated interior door handles, emblem on the backs of the side mirrors, little rubber trim around the exterior handles, single pneumatic front hood strut, some extra padding on the underside of the engine cover. Still had concave wheels and probably the older suspension. There is also some variation in the underside of the front hood. Some have a pad, some are painted black, some (like mine) are body color. The reinforcing is different between models.
