I may have detected suspicious activity on a 308 that I am going to purchase. What year did Ferrari have the 80 mph limit for the speedometer? What would be the reason for the speedometer being changed? not positive yet One ad has the vin number the other does not(previous seller) I look at the engine bay and there are several key elements that are the same. my belief its the same car until proven other wise. Need some expert help. thanks guys
Confirmation that the cars are the same explanation one: speedometer was switched BEFORE they got it explanation two: WE switched it because it was making a ticking sound but it was calibrated to the right mileage. And since its supposed to have the 80 mph limit they wanted the right one in the car They say they have the work order to substantiate this. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I wouldn't worry about which is "correct" --- the 85mph speedo is a useless POS, and a monument to US DOT policy stupidity of the era. Why would anyone want it in their Ferrari ?!
No, not right. I think 80mph speedo was used for all or part of US production in 81. Not certain about this. Certain that it was not used 79-81.
My '81 came with an 85mph unit. Bought another and had it refaced to 180 and put it in. All photograph documented.
My understanding was all 82's had the black instrument panel face and matching Nardi wheel. 81 had a silver Nardi. Applies to 400's and boxers too. As for the speedo who cares? If it's a clean car that checks all the other boxes don't worry about the odometer reading and if it's correct (unless you're buying a 900km investment car) I take every Ferrari odometer reading with a grain of salt and focus on the car itself.
The black facing and Nardi began with the 80 injected model. Some of the very early 80 models had a silver spoked Nardi but very few, therefore nearly all of the 80 models were black Nardi (the R&T 1980 test car was a silver Nardi) This black facing and black Nardi continued with all the 81's and 82. Of course this continued through 85 but with a MOMO. Trust me on this.
First of all it was an 85 , not an 80 speedometer. This was a Federal law enacted at the end of the Summer 1979. Every 80 model 308 had one. This continued until the Federal law was lifted in the late spring of 1982. I have seen many changed back to 180 by owners over the years as early as 1983.
Thank you all for your comments Though having no disclosure and finding out about the speedo this way is not comfortable, I feeling better
My 82 model year US GTSi's (DEC 81 production) speedo was an 85 unit which I sent to Palo Alto and had calibrated and refaced to 180MPH. I do also have a nearly NOS 85 speedo on the shelf as well with around 700 miles showing that I purchased thinking mine was bad prior to discovering the sensor was my culprit.
I busted a guy couple years back touting correct mileage on a 80 model he was selling (by then sold). It had a 180 speedometer which it did not leave the factory with.
Yes, and no. The highest notation on Ferrari's 80/85mph speedometer is 80. You can thank Joan Claybrook at the NHTSA for the law. Ferrari's application was uneven at best. My 1980 (model year and build) gtsi does not have the 80mph speedometer. I have service records from new. My 1981 400i (long ago sold) didn't have the 80/85mph speedometer either. I didn't have a lifetime of records on that one however.
Go back up there and look at that picture again. The redline starts at the 85 mark. It is an 85 mph speedometer. People need to keep in mind that having service records from new isn't the same thing as having ALL the service records from new. Swapping a speedometer is not something anyone is likely to discuss or keep a record of. I have my records going back to when it was sold new by FAF in Apr 1984 but how could I possibly know it is 100% complete? (for example, if I ever sold my car - which I would not - the new owner will have all of the original records going back to 4/84 too plus all of mine, except for that speedometer sending unit. I guess since the record isn't in that stack, it never happened. Same with that 8 year stretch with the Tubi test pipe. No receipt - didn't happen ) The new owner would claim the sending unit is original as is the Hyperflow - because he has the records going back to when it was new
My 1980 has the 85 spedo and black Nardi. Had intentions of changing both but decided I wanted to keep it original. Just me.
I was in a really bad hit an run accident the summer before my senior year in high school. I was an innoncent passenger in what turned out to be a stolen car that hit three other cars at about 90 mph and left the scene. It was a miracle no one was killed, including me. That stupid 85 mph speedometer thing came up in court when I was testifying for the state. I guess I still have deep seated issues with them to this day
