Granted you've got the US bumpers and catalyst exhaust along with the York compressor and mount - that's probably pushing 200 lbs right there but outside of that what exactly are you comparing this to? The 1990 NSX was just over 3000 lbs and a 1980 fiberglass bodied Corvette was over 3300 lbs. The ultimate for lightness in a non Lotus mass produced car at the time was probably the 911 with a frameless unibody, air cooled engine and torsion bar suspension at around 2400 lbs. You can't compare any of them to todays plastic facia covered stamped steel lego blocks or exotic alloy and carbon fiber constructions. Furthermore the 308 was a street car, not a race car so saying it is "absurdly heavy" is a misconception. Also, do a little research. There is a lengthy thread on here that has gone on for years, concerning probably the first electrification project on a 308. It is however something that I think is obviously way, way out of your budget zone.
Oh dear, it seems a nerve has been struck . Own it? MORE than happy to "own" it Describing it as "sour" to call you an ignorant vandal rather depends on your point of view. I'd say its nothing more than factual. Ignorant: A supposed 10 year lurker hereabouts that doesn't even know that a 308 engine comes out the top, or indeed the easy ways to put a 308 on a diet. Its all been done before. QED. I have lost count of the number of "engine-out" threads there have been on here, you would have to try very hard to miss them. That's probably a good indicator as to the level of your knowledge about Ferraris in general, 308s in particular & therefore even how you might modify them "sympathetically" to build what really could have been a great car. Vandal: speaks for itself: A good classic Italian car in a relatively rare colour combo butchered to put a 10-a-penny silly Japanese engine in it . I am sure it will be well fast, innit? What it will not be is awesome, great, a Ferrari, or probably, in real terms, even that fast. Besides, across many kind of cars, how many times has an engine transplant & a bit of bodywork been done before? Even an "off-brand" engine transplant like this? Its not exactly going to be a ground-breaking engineering masterpiece is it? So I'm not even sure why you are posting here except that you obviously feel the need to defend what you are doing and really, you don't. Opinions have long since been formed and none of them will change. Nobody can stop you doing what you are doing, but don't be surprised if, in a Ferrari centric forum, its met with some derision. If you put yourself out there on You Tube doing something like this you'd be extraordinarily naiive to not expect there will be a discussion about it. All that remains is that I guess we will have to wait & see if you are going to try & pull the usual silly con & leave the Ferrari badges on it, or not...... Or maybe you should just stick a big fat cartoon sized "H" on the back instead? (PS, don't forget the neon and a go-faster stripe!)
For the size of the 308, it's nothing short of absurdly heavy. You guys are so defensive about these cars. It's okay to be critical of them and still appreciate them. At 3200 pounds, its a heavyweight given its stature. It's a remarkably small car and weighs a lot given that, race car or not. I'm not saying it should be a race car in factory trim. I'm just critical of its weight, considering my E30 M3, a product of a similar era, is lighter in race trim than the 308 could ever possibly be. It's also bigger by a considerable margin. I don't understand the point of your comment here. I don't want to research them, as I don't want an electric 308. I'm well aware it's been done before.
I welcome criticism. I've said that. Let's have an actual discussion about it if you want to. I'm poking fun at just how upset you clearly are. Look back at everything you typed, my man. You're real sour about someone doing what they want with a 40 year old heavy-ass under-powered car. Relax. You're acting like people come to FerrariChat to read 308 maintenance threads, or acting like these cars are worth a bunch, when countless middle-aged men in Ohio spend the value of this car on a new Ford pickup every day.
Oh well. I've been owned again. BTW, I'm not sour. I'm merely a cranky old man. Important distinction.
M.Burroughs, if you dislike the 308 so much because of its weight, I understand about the power but that’s not what’s all about, then why are using the 308 body and what’s wrong with using the NSX body or any other body?
People keep asking this, which I find to be pretty odd. I chose the 308 for looks only. I am very fond of the way it looks, and don't really have an interest in doing this with a different car. Clearly, the driving prowess of the 308 isn't what everyone here buys these cars for, so I assume we all share the same fondness for its looks.
As I said, the 308 is the same basic car as the 206 Dino which first appeared on showroom floors in 1967 so I don't know that "similar era" is accurate but outside of that you're right. Even the Grp 4 Michelotto 308's were about 2800 lbs. Understand also that in regards to street car production Ferrari is not anything like BMW or Volkswagen/Porsche. They built a few less than 12,000 308's over a 10 year span and that was the most they had ever built of anything up to that time. Perhaps they were never cutting edge in a technical sense but why did Honda make the NSX? Why does the C8 Corvette exist? Why are you using a 308 for your project? Answer is: It's an iconic car and this is fchat. If you want to talk about it fine but if you just want to tweak people and call them sour I'm out.
Yep, you are properly triggered by the criticism. I'm not going to waste any more time on this except to say what was a nice car is going to be a fairly "unique" when you have finished. (Unique is not always good)
100%, I believe it's one of the most beautiful cars ever made. I don't imagine you guys will like what I do to mine, but we can still agree on the stock form, it's gorgeous. I think the side profile can't be beat. I'm not here to make anyone more sour than they already are. I was polite when I chimed in, and am happy to chat about why I'm doing what I am doing, and I am happy to take some criticisms for it. Past that, I enjoy poking fun, and some folks here clearly have a bee in their bonnet over what I'm up to.
More projection. Again dude, it's just a car. Calm down. I'm fine with my "unique" car. I paid for it, you didn't. Stop caring so much.
Quite calm, and as you say, its not my money thats being flushed . Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk
We all flush money. Great part is, we can flush it on what we choose to. How many people would consider any Ferrari ownership flushing money?
Can't not with the quips, huh. Lol. I promise, I'm losing less on my car than 99% of Ferrari 308 owners.
I thought the E30 M3 was a homologation special, where light weight was a design criteria from the outset, not simply the sporty version of the road car that have mostly come after. Hardly seems like a fair comparison. The comparable homologation offering from Ferrari at the time was the 288 GTO. If you read vonbarron’s thread about his creation on a 308 theme you will see there is much support for serious modification. I think most people here would simply have preferred you started with a car that had endured a hard life and “needed everything”. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
The M3 is a homologation special, but it still weighs some 3100lbs in road trim. My personal car weighs 2370 with a decent bit of weight left to lose, and that’s with a completely factory driveline, factory glass, and factory panels/bumpers/etc, save for the hood. An impossibility from the 308, which points to the heavy nature of the 308 at heart. That was more my point. I spent a few months searching for a car that needed extensive work, needed an engine, etc. I asked several Ferrari aficionados to help. Nothing worthwhile surfaced. I bought the single cheapest GTB I could find, save for one with extensive rust and bodywork that wasn’t worth the purchase price.