Ferrari Re-badging Date?

I'm pretty certain I know the answer to this, but thought I'd ask anyway as maybe there's someone out there with some sort of obscure knowledge that I don't have… or access to resources that I don't have.

My 1975 Dino 308 GT4 left the factory as a Dino, not a Ferrari. Its completion date was March 14, 1975, but it didn't sell until May 14, 1976 (a year and two months later). The car was imported by MCM in Reno, NV, and sold new through Ferrari of Los Gatos (Los Gatos, CA).

So for that year and two months it sat unsold, is likely when it was rebadged as a Ferrari. Is there any way to know when, as in the actual date, it was rebadged? And, who did it—was it the importer (MCM) or the dealer (FoLG)?

Also, what was involved in the re-badging? In my case, the front horizontal nose badge inset was filled in and two hose drilled for the vertical Ferrari badge to sit on top. The horn button and wheel center caps were replaced, and the Ferrari horse was put on the back, to the right of the license plate… BUT… I also think the car probably had the standard Cromodora Dino wheels, and those were swapped out for Ferrari Campagnolo wheels, and I think the side view mirror was swapped out as well. But how can I confirm this?

Would also like to pinpoint the exact date my car reached the USA, if anyone has any insight on that.

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Ah yes, I have a copy of that, but it's pretty clear dealers and importers did not go by this when performing the re-badging (or else they all would have had two nose badges on front). That document also makes no mention of the boxer paint style, but several dealers did that as well to some cars. I'm more interested in how wheels and mirrors were handled. Other than this tech bulletin, I've seen no evidence that dealers were ever instructed to make changes other than badges. So, if such documentation exists, it would probably be for a particular car, and I think it would have to be dealer level.

I'm trying to research my own car to find specific dates when a couple of things were done, and anything else I can find: 1) when it arrived in the US, 2) when it was rebadged and who did it, and 3) where was the car during that year and two months before it sold

I've got a very thorough report of the car's history so far, now I'm just digging into details.

 

Yes, the Boxer trim is there in the document, but mirrors and wheels are not. There's also a lot of stuff in that document that has nothing to do with rebranding as a Ferrari. What I'm trying to do is find out when mine was done—or who did it (dealer or importer). I'm trying to find out if there are importer or dealer records that might show this information. A tech bulletin with instructions of how to do it—that dealers didn't actually adhere to—doesn't answer the questions I have.

For example, my car is a 1975 Dino 308 GT4. In 1975, the only Ferrari you could buy new in America was, in fact, a Dino. That's the whole reason this rebranding thing came about and the reason that tech bulletin exists. But that tech bulletin, in regards to rebranding, instructs the dealer where to put and/or replace badges, how to paint the boxer trim, and some other things that aren't about rebranding (such as bumpers, door panels, trunk, carpet, etc.). Nowhere in that tech bulletin does it say anything about the mirrors or wheels. Please correct me if I'm wrong by pointing me to the page in that tech bulletin that has this information (but that still won't answer my questions). If you look in the parts manual, you'll see the wheels I have were available as optional equipment in 1975, but did my car ship with those or did it ship with the typical Cromodora Dino wheels? If you look in the parts manual, you'll see the side view mirror for USA cars was a Cromodora mirror, which my car has… however, the previous owner added that because it's "correct" for the car. I have a photo of my car from 1989 that shows it with a different mirror, I think it's a Vitaloni mirror, the same that can be seen on the 1975 Ferrari 365 BB in the pic below (that's the pic of my car on the right). So, did the dealer/importer swap that mirror out to make it more "Ferrari" or, maybe, the original owner did it? I don't know, but that's the kind of stuff I'm trying to find out.

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Why does this matter? In the grand scheme of things it doesn't! But, I'm interested in documenting my car, for my own interests. I'm not trying to solve a great mystery, I'm trying to understand the history of my car through research and documentation; and looking for records such as documents, photos, or even people who were "there" are how I go about doing that. For absolute validation, I'd probably need to find importer or dealer level documentation (which probably doesn't exist given the history of MCM and FoLG). Starting here in FerrariChat, I was hoping I might find someone who might have old contacts or documents that could aid me in my search.

For my car, there's a 14 month time frame that no one knows where the car was or what it was doing. In fact, on an older thread my car (10388) was supposedly "lost" ever since it entered America, but that was obviously solved (link). But that 14 month period I'm concerned with falls between March 14, 1975 and May 14, 1976. During that time, logic dictates it was rebranded as a Ferrari. But what else may have happened?? Things that would lead me to that answer are knowing the exact date it entered the country via MCM and knowing the exact date Ferrari of Los Gatos got the car. That will help me piece together that information more accurately than I can now. MCM and Ferrari of Los Gatos don't exist anymore, but fortunately, someone has contacted me that has a connection to some folks that may be able to answer those questions, so hopefully I'm headed in the right direction.

 

Yep, I know it won't be easy! But, I'm hoping I'll have a little more luck since it was bought locally from a "legendary" Ferrari dealership that a whole lot of people still remember. I've also connected with the original owner of the car—that was a needle in a haystack that I also uncovered! One of the biggest hurdles I'm facing is getting people to respond. But my car is so well documented, that I only need a few "holes" filled to have pretty much exact dates for everything major that's ever happened to the car. Not giving up now! Thanks for the good luck wishes, I definitely need them.

 

Another confirmed car, 10518, also has a March build date.

Understand that 1975 was only the second production year for the 308 GT4. In 1974 only 76 cars were built, but in 1975 that number increased substantially to 598 cars built. Doing the math, that breaks down to almost 50 cars per month for the calendar year of 1975. So yes, absolutely probable they built 29 cars in March, possibly double that.

1975 was the highest production year for the 308 GT4, I think once they realized the car wasn't selling well, they cut back substantially on production. This is what I have for production numbers for each year the car was made:

Year Qty
1974 76
1975 598
1976 439
1977 320
1978 267
1979 326
1980 112​

I honestly don't recall where I found these numbers, but they can't be 100% accurate (but they are close). The known production numbers add up to 2826, but the numbers I have only add up to 2138 (a bit shy of known final production numbers). Regardless, 1975 was the highest production volume for the car. So, if anyone has the actual production numbers broken out by year, that would awesome.

 

It's a time consuming path, that's for sure! It keeps me interested and busy at the same time.

I'm one of those weird people who really enjoys research and documentation, so getting this car has been more fun than I could have imagined. As most of us know, and I like your phrasing that "the whole Dino/Ferrari badge swap was not done with military precision," so finding any type of definitive answer/proof for all 308 GT4s in general would be impossible.

But with as well documented as my car is, there's only three bits of information that I'm missing, and those are going to boil down to someone who was involved with MCM and/or FoLG that remembers my car. It's was a fairly uncommon/rare color when new, and the original owner bought it over the phone from the opposite end of the state, then flew up the next day to drive it home. So it would have a memorable story/circumstance for someone who was there. That gives me a better chance of finding out those three things I want to know… but it's still, really, a needle in a haystack.

1) When did it reach the US and MCM take possession of the car?
2) When did Ferrari of Los Gatos take possession of the car?
3) Who performed the Ferrari rebranding (importer, dealer, customer)?

3a) What was changed when rebranding (particularly interested in wheels and the side view mirror)?​

My "report" is attached here, very much in the style of a Massini report as that's a clear and concise way to document and understand the history and timeline of a particular car. Hoping to fill in my "???" with proper dates. There's also a lot more minor details I haven't put in there yet, but I've got all those records handy.

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Thanks for the much more accurate numbers (although those numbers add up to 2 more for the 308, and 2 less for the 208 than the "known" numbers of 2826 and 840, respectively).

Of course, my remark about "once they realised that the car was not selling well" was pure speculation and tongue-in-cheek, but I didn't account for the 308 GTB production, and that makes much more sense! Also fully aware that the US is responsible for the whole rebranding fiasco (because we're obsessed with brand names), apparently what badge a car wears is more important than the car itself with us Americans (I hate that so much).

If you can share where you got that info, that would great! I'm kind of a information/documentation junkie. haha

 

I couldn't agree more, my car will emerge the green Dino it was meant to be instead of the red Ferrari it is right now.

 

Probably! Takes a lot to get the red out.

 

Thank you! I must have remembered that incorrectly. I do recall you said Fred was in poor health, but for some reason I thought his son had actually sold the car. Good to know the real story (again). I've updated my "report".