Blasphemed 308 gets redemption with upcoming F355 heart transplant

Hyenahf, where did you post the pics of that 308? I would love to see some close ups how that one came out. As I recall you had to be a member of Blackhorse's thread.

 

I'd like to know how the cooling system is going to be modified to keep the 355 engine from running too hot. As it is with a standard 308 motor, the 308 cooling system can barely keep up. The 355 motor will be much more difficult to keep from running hot unless some significant capacity and air flow is being added somehow.

If it all works out, the car is going to feel, and sound, so much more alive.

 

my post history goes back to only 2015? i will try to find the post...

when i was at the shop, carl told me that they put the whole 355 subframe and rear suspension in on that car. the wider track with positive offset type wheels looked odd to me on a narrow body 308.

the car came out much lighter despite the larger displacement motor much stouter suspension and subframe. i think it weighed 2600-2700lbs or so, much lighter than a stock 308 gts.

308 drivetrains are tanks!

 

cirorsi

apparently the post and pics were lost in the server infamous server crash...

"Why? It's been discussed here before (pics gone, server crash, yadda) Darned cool mod, and surely less pricey than the 4.1 conversion"

 

Phil, keep in mind that my car had a 5.4 liter GM engine so the radiator (16"x 26" x 3")was already upgauged from the original. Currently I have two pusher type, 11" electric fans with a Moroso water pump. However, to answer your question, Tim is not at that phase yet so I don't know if my existing set-up will work or will require something more aggressive. This far he doesn't see any concerns.

 

Exactly why I didn't want to use the 355 subframe, it's just too wide for the narrow bodied 308. Thank God I was able to use stock half shafts and the current suspension without crazy mods to make it all work out.

 

Pardon the interruption and butting into this thread!

I have a fabricator buddy named Carl out in Ontario, CA who also did something similar, and am curious if it's the same guy/project noted above by wildcat326 and hyenahf.

It was maybe 6-7 years back when I was eagerly getting e-mail updates on a project involving a 348/355 motor in a 308 (that also got a GTO body kit). I recall that there was a lot of custom work and welding involved getting the intake runners correct, and they needed to be swapped left to right.

I can see if I can get some pictures of that build, it might prove useful.

 

Matt - The head tech at Blackhorse is Carl Steuer.

Steven - Pics are looking good. Will the original deck lid still fit?

 

Thanks for clearing that up, Justin! I have an open e-mail to my buddy regardless. Any information on a swap like this is typically helpful.

 

Thank you. Yes, the deck closes nicely. Hopefully Tim will have the car started by Friday if all goes well. We're waiting on the oil cooler to come in and the custom brackets.

 

Nice thread. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

My car nearly done ... motor running, just waiting for some hardware for the halfshafts and some brake parts. The entire drivetrain is 355 sitting in a subframe so it all comes out in one piece and any 355 mechanic should be able to work on it. However we went with a Motronic which is a very neat install in comparison to the OEM ECUs and the associated harness, and there are no security interface issues. The maps are entirely programmable. We had to use an aftermarket oil cooler and custom ducting for that, as the 355 unit would not fit. The original 308 fuel tanks have to be modified and the a/c and water lines have to be swapped left to right. We also could not fit the stock 355 exhaust so we went with 3 individual mufflers which sound awesome and cost nothing in Ferrari terms other than the fab time. The wheels are Speedlines but not the wheels that came with the car .. they were too wide (17-14 wider than F40 which takes a 13" rear) ... we went with 18-12s off a 348, no spacers necessary. We had to make custom wheel well liners for the back (from 288GTO molds) and for the front we had to partially fab the liners to match the wider fenders.

I believe this is the second build ever ... the first was done by Carl at Blackhorse some time ago for the same joker that sold me this project. It was a first for Norwood, who has built several GTOs but he normally uses the 308 block, turbocharged, hooked to a Porsche box, and he fabs an exact replica of the 288 rear frame (stretched) and tubular suspension front and back. He has two other GTO projects in his shop .. one for a customer and one is a spec build. These are both rather close copies of the original, it takes an expert to tell that they are not OEM cars. Enzo so approved of Bob's work on the P3 cars that he personally granted him amnesty from any legal action. Anyone else trying this is likely to find themselves in court.

Our biggest headaches were missing/incompatible parts. We had to buy a complete 355 rear suspension along with brakes and half shafts but once they came in they went without drama and everything lined up. Some of the GTO parts are very hard to find eg lights. Even 308 parts are getting hard to find, and we needed a lot of them. Still can't find a horn button to fit the Nardi wheel even though the car was advertised with the correct horn button pictured. The person that sold us the car misrepresented the completeness of the project as well as the rear wheel/rear suspension situation rather shamefully. Consequently we could not use the set of Speedline Mistrals he sold us and represented would fit on the car. Aside from the width, the bolt pattern was not correct. Yet he somehow put up a photo of the car with all the wheels on and aligned with the bodywork. Both Carl and Norwood swear the photo is a fake.
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congrats on getting it running!

here is a couple pics i took at carls place circa 2008-09



all the best hf

ps there were many others done before carls as i recalled... 355 powered ones couple in japan, 348 motor 308gt4 in montreal along with gto rebody one in europe to name a few.
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Nice work Russ! Glad to see the project coming to a close, looks like it came out nicely too. I can imagine that my exhaust will mimic yours so I'm very happy to hear that you like the sound. Do you by chance have any pics of the gear shifter gate? Did the new shifter plate fit between the ash tray and console wall?

Thanks for the extra pics HF!

 

Tim is getting closer to tying everything together. Dumbing down the electrical system required a couple of days (using OEM ECUs) but that's now done. He remounted the shocks more vertically and recreated the brackets so that the cross bar could go over the airboxes. We went with GESI cats so next up will be muffler selection. Tim, the magic man, still doesn't see any show stoppers on fuel (using external Bosch 044) or water. The oil cooler had to be mounted on the opposite side (drivers side) of the oil tank due to space constraints but it also created a little symmetry by separating them.

Once everything is verified correct and the machine starts up, Tim will take the motor out one last time (forever!) and repaint the engine compartment and sub frame.
We actually have @ 8" head-space between the firewall and accessory belts so no engine-out service, everything can be accessed as it is.
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Bob says it shifts fine now, having modified the 308 shifter box to increase the throw into reverse. I don't have a good photo of the shifter other than this
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^^^^ love this, but what about changing the badge to 3085?

 

here in England formula one driver Nigel Mansell used to have a workshop called Emblem Sports Cars, he custom made a turbo charger system to fit on a 308 QV injection engine bringing it up to 288 spec. he also built a one off 308 with a Ferrari V12 4.8 litre engine from a Ferrari 400, the mechanics at Emblem managed to mount that engine transversely, that car was known as "Nigel's Flyer".

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=2415859&stc=1&d=1500028012


Nigel Mansell's V12 engine shoehorned into a 308
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Wow, that is one tight spot!

 

Love this thread!

 

any reason why you didnt use a 355 shifter assembly?

 

The 355 box dimensions are drastically different than the 308. I'm not sure how Tim will tackle mine but he's a master at thinking outside the box.

 

Console I think. And Norwood has done several modified 308 shifters in the process of making 288GTOs with Porsche gearboxes, so he thought it would be a walk in the park. Turned out it wasn't. 6 gears is a whole different story when it comes to indexing the shift lever. Anyway it works now and I can drop the console back in.

 

thats what im thinking... it would save you time and the headache.

355 shifters/gearbox is a 1000% lighter in feel compared to the 308 but they are known to break the thin stalk though if you hamfist them.