No. When they switched from hydraulic to cable in the 330s it was considered one of the cars improvements.
Im just around the corner from you (also in San Carlos) - Drop me a PM if you'd like to come check it out
As mentioned Im coming from the 928 world where there are 2 (non porsche) main suppliers for parts. Is that the same over here in the Ferrari world ? If so, where and who are the go to places for parts ?
From the perspective of a 49 year long professional in the Ferrari business there are only 2 worth much. Ricambi America and Ferraris official parts distributor Maranello Classic Parts in England.
Congrats on the 328! Re Oil - must replace asap - aged out and expired, not protecting any more. Coolant - must replace asap, it's expired and not protecting any more. Timing belt - must replace asap - some would say to not even turn over the engine until that's replaced. It's expired on age, not miles - Ferrari published a service bulletin suggesting the timing belts should be replaced every 3 years, regardless of mileage (but there is still a mileage interval, I don't recall but somewhere around 15K miles). Many here go 5-7 years between timing belt replacements for age. Ancillary belts - old rubber, must replace. Then - replace every. single. fuel. line. in the car - tank to pump, pump to fuel distributor, distributor to each injector and warm-up regulator (cohline), return lines distributor back to tank, connector pipe between the fuel tanks. - Replace every single coolant line. There are three hoses on the radiator, hoses to aluminum elbows and connectors in the engine bay, a couple of hoses under the intake manifold (critical to not miss those!). There is a looooong heater hose that is a pain to replace, it goes from the rear cylinder head, over the drivers side fuel tank, then through the rocker panel, front wheel well, and under the windshield to a couple of mixing valves. All those little coolant lines under the windshield (via front compartment) have to be replaced. Have fun and enjoy! Gordon
I think the 928 is a fantastic automobile. I owned an 83 5 speed for several years and I miss it still. It was my only real interest outside of the Italians.
Eurospares and Superformance out of the UK have been good for me. There are a number of others, AW Italian and Italian Car Parts, even Mr. Fiat. Ricambi and Maranello are the choice of the pro mechanics. My local Ferrari dealer can also be surprisingly helpful on ocaison.
I've had great luck buying parts from Ricambi America and AW Italian. But take the time to research because quite a few of the parts are generic from that era. For example, the fuel injection system is Bosch K-Jetronic, the starter and solenoid are Bosch, and so on... The same parts were used on dozens of other cars like Porches, Audis, VWs, Mercedes, Volvos, you name it. You can either pay a Ferrari tax and get the generic part in a yellow box with black horses, or research/cross-match to get the generic part directly. The cost savings can be dramatic, we're talking about an order of magnitude difference in some cases. And there is a similar story for servicing -- if you're a DIY person, you might already have the skills to work on some of this stuff if you've done in on the other brands. I was a bit nervous working on my 328's fuel injection system until I realized all the prior K-Jet CIS experience I had from other cars 30+ years ago applied to the 328. There are some Ferrari-specific details but 95% of the system operation/principles are the same. Regarding your braking problem, I saw in my notebook that something similar happened to my 328 during the prior owner's tenure when the car had been stored for a while. It was caused by a stuck check valve. See attached pic, the part is circled in red. According to the notes from the mechanic who worked on the car, he was able to clean/lube the valve to free it up (he also recommended replacement, but as far as I can tell that never happened, so the "fix" is still working to this day). It may or may not be the same issue affecting your car, but just in general it probably makes sense to start your troubleshooting with the check valve. It can indeed stick and make the brakes hard/useless. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's a photo of the check valve coming off the intake manifold back at the engine -- see circled part in upper left -- sorry I didn't have a better photo, this one barely has the check valve in view. Image Unavailable, Please Login
@giddyupp I always amaze with this kind of story. Do you know why the owner don't use it during years ? For the records can you please disclose the last five digit number of the serial number ?
Several weeks ago I ordered four parts from Superformance, two were not of good quality and they never responded to my complaint. Just my 2cts
Yes Superformance quality can be spotty. But I have found this with all of the suppliers, many of the pattern parts are poor quality no matter where they are purchased. Even my local Ferrari dealer has stopped supplying some proper well made OEM quality CV joint boots in favour of a cheap aftermarket product available anywhere for much less cost.
It's gonna be a couple of weeks before I really get into this. trying to do my research and gather parts before I really start taking things apart. I will check this out though so thanks for the tip
I asked the question when I bought the car but didn't really get a definitive answer. They told me the car was bought as a status symbol. It didn't help that the owner couldn't drive stick. 76782 is the vin.
Status is not a particularly good reason to buy a car like this. I bought my '79 308GTS in 1984 because I thought the 308 was the most beautiful car ever made. The targa top was perfect for SoCal, If I had lived someplace else, a GTB would have been a better choice. The lines all flowed, all of them, nothing was mismatched, the down sweep of the front fenders flows into the side scoops, etc. The 3x8 does need careful attention and it really helps if you have mechanical abilities if you don't want to write substantial maintenance checks, but it isn't a nightmare to work on like some later machines, it just takes more time and dedication than a typical American car of the 1970s/'80s. Doug
@ giddyupp congrats & welcome to the club! When I bought my 87 it was sitting in a garage for 10 years so I immediately did a full major service (timing belt a must) & replaced every single hose. Only thing I regret doing back then was replacing the AC pump because I never used it then and same now as I never once drove the car with the targa top on...well only once when a freak rain storm came down when the sun was fully shining and no site of clouds in the sky lol Change your oil every year no matter how much mileage you put on it and try your best to drive it every week for over an hour (winters not included eh) If you like you can add your 328GTS to my site (currently upgrading since the AI bots are going nuts lately so you might be able to see the registry table but that should be fixed in the next few months) https://www.328registry.com/
Got started last weekend - Drained the Gas and Coolant - both seemed remarkably good. Coolant was all green, no rust at all. The gas was actually pretty clear and did not smell at all bad. I put a borescope down into the tank and everything looked brand new. I don't really get it, I was really expecting them both to be in pretty bad shape. So far so good. Started the Timing belt today, I really haven't found a good write up for this anywhere at least not for an 88. Removing the A/C compressor is the biggest pain so far but got it done. Removing the small 8mm bolts from the back of both covers was also fun (not). Some were easy some were more challenging. Now Im ready to get everything timed up before undo the tensioners and remove the belts. I have already removed the spark plugs and injected some MM Oil into the bores. She turns over nicely. Im now trying to remove the small cover on top of the bell housing but there are all kinds of things in the way. I've managed to remove bother nuts from the plate but the plate is stopped by this (please see attached photo) sticking out the side of the oil filter housing. In all the videos and write ups I've seen I have never seen anyone have to deal with this. Do you guys have any tips - does this have to come out ? if so how ? Image Unavailable, Please Login
That is the oil pressure sender. You should not have to remove it to get that access plate off. It can break, people who change this out remove the whole oil filter casting it is attached to and remove the sender on the bench. You should be able to push that vacuum breaker valve and it hoses towards the rear of the car, mine can go right under the oil hose, to get that plate out. The thick walled old breather hoses can be rock hard and may not flex so well. Heat with a hairdryer might give them a bit more give. You don't want to break that vacuum item. You might able to remove the hoses on the metal T fitting it attaches to on the left side, to be able to push that vacuum assembly and it hoses out of the way without have to take the hoses off of the vacuum valve.
Thats the oil pressure sending unit for the gauge, IIRC. It isn't an issue on my '79 car, dunno about your year Doug
Got the plate - managed to get it off one side then rotate around to get off the other side. Not sure why we can't have markings on the fly wheel like most other cars. Also seems odd choice to put this plate right under the oil filter. Every time you remove the filter some oil must leak out and surely gets down inside here - right where I assume the clutch is. Next question. Have rotated the engine numerous times and cannot get all the marks to line up. See photos. Should the cam be Dead on or is it ok to be off a little ? I was hoping to avoid removing the front side cam cover so not sure what position that is in. Thoughts ? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
