Why so cheap for a glass car ? | Page 2 | FerrariChat

Why so cheap for a glass car ?

Discussion in '308/328' started by Skippr1999, Mar 10, 2019.

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  1. Dr Tommy Cosgrove

    Dr Tommy Cosgrove Three Time F1 World Champ
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    May 4, 2001
    35,278
    Birmingham, AL
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    Tommy
    I didn't know what is sold for until just now here.
     
  2. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
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    Jun 11, 2004
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    John Kreskovsky
    Never understood the attraction of glass car. Maybe if they are 1st year production. But just because it's glass...really nothing special to me. Not like there were only a handful made, being the second highest produced GTB.
     
    maxflynn, 308 milano and Martin308GTB like this.
  3. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
    4,212
    Black Forest Germany
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    Martin N.
    #29 Martin308GTB, Mar 14, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2019
    Agree!
    This discussion reminds me of the movie 'Groundhog Day'.
    Many folks still think, the glass cars are so much lighter and therefore so much faster. And they don't rust, though their rust can be much worse than on a steel car, when the frame begins to rust, where the plastic is laminated onto.
    Furthermore slight accident repairs are much more expensive on glass cars, than on steel cars.
    Plus, the interior noise in a glass car is -for my taste- much more annoying than in a steel car. Must have something to do with acoustic resonance behavior of the material (yes, I am a hobby musician).

    They simply made the first cars from GRP, because they needed the car and hadn't the time for waiting for the press tools.

    Best Regards
    Martin
     
  4. johnk...

    johnk... F1 World Champ
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    Jun 11, 2004
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    And fiberglass rots and delaminates.... :(
     
  5. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
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    Martin N.
    Are cracks an issue yet? Like on Corvettes or french Alpines? Or is this disaster still waiting to happen?

    Best Regards
    Martin
     
  6. Rory J

    Rory J Formula 3
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    May 30, 2006
    1,078
    I think the market has spoken. Here are some results from Bonhams over the weekend, note the '75 308 GT/4.

    Lot 210 1998 550 Maranello Sold $78,400
    Lot 270 1988 Testarossa Sold $64,400
    Lot 274 1987 328 GTS Sold $52,640
    Lot 308 1975 308 GT/4 Dino Sold $38,080
     
    BigTex likes this.
  7. Furanku

    Furanku Formula Junior

    Sep 25, 2009
    395
    Cracks do appear under the varnish, but I think it's only a visual issue, nothing that would make the car dangerous.

    I think glass premium is mostly a result of the tendency to want the "original" thing in any car lineage. 308 were originally made in FRP, that's how they've been advertised by Ferrari at launch, and people like the fact is it also the only road car in the entire production using this type of body. Your comments regarding weight and rust are all valid, but I'm frankly still glad I have one of the first 308 produced, and I also like the rear lights style that make it look more vintage than the rest of the production (which is not the case for the US spec vetro discussed in this thread).
     
  8. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Well, good discussion but I say "well bought" looking towards the future.

    North American car, from the tail lights, so those intake louvers are just "weird"...I did find a small bird against my "home made" ones one time (no I did not make them!) Came on the car!

    I think the glass is SO thick that cracking is not a problem, although I wonder about the one that sat in the desert of Nevada, at the Bunny Ranch.
    I would suspect thermal cycling to craze in those conditions.

    That VIN certainly seems legit for a NA version 'glass car.
    So, the market has indeed spoken.
    It's always correct, for today's date.

    Silver/black nice enough color combo to be "no demerits" from me.....
     
  9. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Bubba
    It makes for a few issues, like on my car the seat attachments have failed once or twice into the floor.

    But I think a properly store car would show little issues.
     
  10. SJP 5

    SJP 5 Karting

    Jun 7, 2015
    93
    On my Fibreglass 308 the seats are bolted through the fibreglass floor into the metal chassis in captive/welded nuts.
    I seriously suggest you check your fixings as no way will the Fibreglass floor support a seat plus Driver/passenger in an accident without that extra strength.
    Yours may well have rusted away and previous owner has just bolted into the glass floor.
    For you own safety,please check asap.
     
  11. 4right

    4right F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    One sale does not a market make and the car is silver, less desirable color. The dry sumps command at least a $35K premium, as stated on the Hagerty site, this being a wet sump from either Australia or Canada I would assume. The owners manual is a NA version, however, the car is in KMs. Possibly its not the original manual.
     
    MS250 likes this.
  12. Hannibal308

    Hannibal308 F1 Veteran
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    Jan 3, 2012
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    Wow...some here raggin’ on glass! I have two steel cars and a glass car. Guess which two of the three I’d get rid of long before the other! I love my glass car. It’s a total driver, some tiny hairline cracks in the gel coat that show through to the paint in some areas, no rust anywhere that I can see, at 80K miles, the rear deck lid is light as a feather compared to my steel cars, as are the doors, so I assume, maybe wrongly, that the whole car is lighter. I also love the different rear lights and flat rear license panel...very pure. I just dig it. Funny thing is, so does everyone else that drives it...and I love letting other 308 dudes drive it. It really is different. It could also be the euro gear ratios more than the dry sump that make it peppier. Not sure, but it gets two thumbs up from me.
     
    energy88 and 4right like this.
  13. Martin308GTB

    Martin308GTB F1 Rookie

    Jan 22, 2003
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    Martin N.
  14. Hannibal308

    Hannibal308 F1 Veteran
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    I know...read it several times over the past years. Everyone has an agenda for belittling glass cars. I don’t care. Glass, no AC, and Euro gear sets make a huge difference when I compare it to my US steel ‘77 GTB though.
     
  15. Ehamilton

    Ehamilton Formula 3
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    Jun 13, 2010
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    They'll do that on a steel car too, like for example my 1981 GTSi beater. The captive nuts are spot-welded to the steel frame no matter what the body is made of, and like all spot-welded captive nuts they eventually break lose.
     
  16. sidtx

    sidtx F1 Rookie
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    Feb 9, 2014
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