308 Conversion

Hello Everybody,
It has been a while since I have logged into F-Chat. I have been a long time 355 owner and I now own a 308. I am doing the unthinkable and Enzo will be turning in his grave, but I am yanking the engine and doing an electric conversion. I will be documenting this build on Youtube. I will be using Orbis Wheel technology, and AirRex suspension. So, I will have a bunch of original parts for sale. The engine, transmission, Suspension, Wheels and Tires. If there is something in particular that you need, let me know and we can make a deal.

 

What year 308 is it? I might be interested in some parts. Bruce

 

1984 GTS

 

please keep me in the loop. you can email me at [email protected] or call me at 516.532-2900. Thanks Bruce

 

Also give version (US or euro) as that will change what sort of injection/ignition/exhaust/emission parts are available. (Shame that you're not using a 308i-2V -- a 308QV should be worth saving with today's prices unless it has some serious drive train problem/missing drive train. You might come out way ahead trading it for a 2-valve -- just a thought...)

 

Yeh, well its still a free country. My only question is, where does this peculiar mental twist come from ? If I was the owner of this forum, I would forbid any threads that discuss any electrical conversion on any Ferrari, but hey, Im not.

Big G

 

U.S. Version

 

I hope I can win you over. In the end, I will have 536 HP at the rear wheels with 1000 ft/lb of torque at 0 RPM. I also have the option of putting motors on the front wheels as well. That would the HP to over 1000. With all wheel drive, I can upgrade to torque vectoring. In my opinion, this car's performance would make Enzo proud.

 

It will be interesting to follow this. I'll be particularly curious about whether this rather small car can accommodate enough battery to provide acceptable range for reasonable use, NOT just a jaunt to the local coffee shop on a Sunday. Also wonder if the design of the frame, etc can handle the increase in weight that such a battery pack would require.

 

What are you looking to get for the engine?

 

No one is in denial that electric can be massively powerful. Its just felt some cars are more appropriate to cut up for projects than others.
A Pinto can be really fast with electric motors.

I disagree. Enzo considered himself an engine builder. I have a very hard time believing he would have embraced electric cars.
Steam cars were very fast and very powerful and certainly he was around to see them but their limitations were not dissimilar to electric cars of our day.

 

I agree and disagree, respectfully. Good point on Enzo being an engine builder, I thought of him as more of a race car builder which obviously includes an engine, however, I think that if he could win a race with electric, he would have gone that way.
Also, I believe there are very few cars that are worth the conversion. It's not cheap!! Therefore, I would never spend the cash on converting a Pinto. In my opinion, a classic car with some value is more worth the effort. I'm not doing this to my F355, and I would never do it to my 355. The 308 is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. It just never had the power it needed. The late 70's and early 80's were a dreadful time for sports cars. The cars of the 60's and early 70's were much better performers. Out of the Ferrari family, the 308 and the 348 are really the only 2 that I would do a conversion on.

 

Since I will be in-wheel electric motors, the entire engine bay and gas tank area will have plenty of room for the batteries. The car should be a couple of hundred pounds lighter than stock when I'm done (we'll see). The engine and transmission weigh about 615 Lbs. The battery pack for the rear engine compartment should be around 400 Lbs. Although I am curious of the range, for my application, 100 miles will be way more than enough range for my daily use.

 

Alex, I just want to get a fair deal. I don't know the value of the engine. It starts and runs strong. I have a video of a cold start and a video of it running when warmed up.

 

And some people get all pissy about stretching the chassis and rotating the engine 90deg to replicate a 288.

 

I'm definitely curious to track your build. I come from the school of thought that it's your car and you can do whatever you want to it, especially if you're keeping the look of the car and just making it more drivable, faster, more enjoyable, etc. If you're keeping the look of the original car, I'm more interested in this than the honda swap that went overboard on the body... in my personal, subjective opinion.

What's your youtube page?

 

I'm trying to keep it looking classic, however, what gives me heartburn is the fact that this build won't allow me to use the original wheels, and they are absolutely MINT!!
That Honda swap used a body kit from Japan. I saw that kit on their website. They want $12,500 for those pieces of fiberglass. I can get a local fabricator to do that job for half that cost. I'm not doing any major body changes, other than those hideous bumpers and different wheels with a lower stance.

I haven't started the Youtube channel yet. I want to get a few episodes recorded before I start posting.

 

I thought about doing a 288 GTO "Look". Those kits are very expensive. $55K for the kit that requires the frame stretch, and $25K for the one that doesn't.

 

Boring.

 

I doubt it can use that power, power doesn’t make a good track or race car. Newer suspension tech and geometry is better, can’t really compete with mods regardless of how well engineered. (Been there done that.. ). Better to just get a car designed from ground up for electric. These cars are designed and meant to be enjoyed with the power they came with. It’s way more fun driving a slow car fast then have to drive a fast car slow. I don’t think electric cars in general are fun to drive, except for the few giggles playing with the acceleration, which lasts for a few runs. Electric acceleration is so fast, it doesn’t reward good driving on the track, mediocre drivers are just as fast as good drivers, not much fun. IMHO


Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat

 

Analog for life. But I’d take that engine and trans

 

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Is that true? I thought that a front and rear double wishbone suspension design was still a world class design.

 

I bet you could even make it autonomous.

 

You can sell all the gauges as well, make a nice spot for your laptop, just off to the right of the steering wheel. This will really complete the project. Dont call it a Ferrari anymore though, you should re badge it "teslafart" You should also sell all the 308 badging as well, since it is no longer . Ask your fabricator to make you all the new badging. With all that new power, maybe someday, we can all see you on the You Tube channel, "SWAG FAILS ", super car fails channel ", and that will be that.

Big G