How bent is too bent: 348

What do you intend to do with the car?

 

Are we talking about a bent yellow car in the desert southwest perhaps?

 

Hey,

I say if you have the skills and want to save a car destined for the scrap heap I say more power to you.! So many guys modify their cars more than I think is right, me being a purist, especially guys stripping GT4's for race cars which there are many. I would rather see someone take a car no one wants anymore and fix it up however they want. Keep us posted.

Rob

 

Wow. What a crock.

 

Really? How about a point by point rebuttal of what he wrote?

 

No thanks. It's already been done over and over. Take the time to go to the 348 section and do your own research.
The poster of the quote did nothing more than parrot all the old and tired knocks against the car which have been proven by time to be bs.

 

I was going to say it's the same BS with the 360. Oh the timing belts, oh this and that won't be updated.. etc. etc.

The problem is that over 20 years anything mission critical HAS been updated or fixed. Unless it's been a one owner car sitting in a garage with 2000 miles on it... in which case it belongs in a museum and not on a road.

I still wonder putting more than $5-10k in a 348 rebuilding it, since there are sub $40k examples and some for even under $30k with higher miles that haven't been in an accident. Which means you'll never get that money back or have trouble selling the car and might not even get the parts costs back...

 

It has been tried and reproven over and over and over

You cannot save yourself into a cheap Ferrari even if you do everything yourself and count your time as having zero value.

There are a great many unfinished Ferrari project cars in history to show for it.


The parts sellers love these guys.


And the harder you tell them it can't be done, the less they listen.

 

Three questions everyone needs to ask themselves (and answer honestly) before they embark on a rescue mission:
1) Do I have the skills, tools, and time to do what I'm not going to pay for and the dollars to do what I am going to pay for?
2) Do I mind being upside-down when I'm done?
3) Will I count the time I spend as entertainment?

I answered these three questions "yes", "no", and "yes" when I took on my 308 rescue mission, and it turned out pretty much the way I expected... Far underwater dollars-wise, wouldn't trade the hours I've spent on the car for anything, and enjoy the car much more than I would if I didn't have skin in it.

If I had gone into the exercise thinking I'd get a Ferrari cheap, I'd be one seriously unhappy person now....

 

You could probably boost your kitty by parting it, then buy the high mileage one to modify and go canyon carving.

 

Obviously you know what the pitfalls are. If the car is really, really cheap, go ahead and buy it. If it can't be fixed, part it out. You can use the profits to help purchase a decent example.

Good luck,
Dave

 

KJ, I didn't see anything about where you are located. But I thought I'd relate this story to you. A close friend of mine has an '83 308 QV. He stuffed it into a wall at Watkins Glen a few years back, rear corner first. The right rear corner was mashed up pretty good. We did a bunch of preliminary work, like removing the engine, ourselves, and then he took the car to Classic Coach in Elizabeth, NJ. CC is a major Ferrari shop and has all of the jigs for all of the major models. They put the car up on their rack and realigned the chassis and frame back to factory specs.

We then took the car to a local body shop that does a lot of restoration work on older cars. My friend picked up a rear fender and back piece for the trunk, and the shop cut out the old bent metal, welded in the new fender and back piece, blended everything and repainted the whole car. It ended up looking better than new. Once the body was finished, we got the car back, reinstalled the engine and did a bunch of other work, and the car is now absolutely beautiful.

If you are anywhere in the Northeast, Classic Coach can straighten almost anything back to factory specs. If you are elsewhere, chances are you can find a place that can do it for you.

 

Buy the 348 and part it if its the steal you think it is.
I've done that with a Porsche 911 and made a killing.

Plus you can tell your pals; "think I'll work on the Ferrari today"

 

A recent forza magazine had a 250 SWB that an owner restored and now had a great car. Sometimes half the enjoyment is doing the resoration. I am working on a 82 Porsche Targa that professionals have just about destroyed. At the risk of offending 308/328 owners: The 308 is an ugly POS car that is cramped, underpowered, with too much body joll! After driving one, I can't understand why they are not all crushed! Hopefully, this is burried in this thread so I won't get hate PM's. Anyway, almost every person that has driven my three cars likes the 348 the most. It's a 89 with the 2.5 Motronic, about the only thing that I added is 1" spacers on the rear hubs and I have put 35k miles on it. Remember: every poster is an expert on this site, even the people that don't know what they are talking about.

Jeff Pintler
89 348tb, 86tr, 99 360 3-pedal
---------------------------------
Will I get banned for sayin this?

 

Where do you live!

 

You've stepped in it now

Just woke up one day and decided to dump on the 308/328. Did that feel good? I'm not all that fond of the 410 SuperAmerica, so I just leave it at that.

 

Last night i jacked up my 348 and changed the small passenger side radiator (thanks Riccambi!) in a small storage garage in Vegas.

This car is so easy to work on.

 

Amen!

Why does the OP ask the question if he is not going to listen anyway? Time we move on I think.....
Good luck with the resto, your gonna need it!

 

If you need to ask this on a forum then I would say run as fast as you can..