5 years ago I bought the car I dreamed of. Its a 1978 308GTB (Steel car) It was pretty rough when I bought it and new it needed some work. Actaully some serious work. I am new to FChat and have enjoyed reading and followng other peoples car restoration/rebuilds so I thought I would share mine with you all. The car was orginally a UK spec car hence the scollap in the rear section for the single exhaust. Early in its life it was sent to Australia, (still trying to confirm actual date). I later found out that the colour was Gialo Fly when it left the factory. I am not doing a concour restoration and it will not be 100% of the original car with few changes planned. 1. Ugly single exhaust will not be coming back and scallop filled in. 2. Quick steering rack to be installed. 3. High compression pistons will be used. 4. 16" Wheels to be used. 5. Car will go back to Gialo Fly. The car was fully stripped just prior to Xmas and it is in the panel shop. Below are some before pics plus a couple showing the commencement of stripping. As you can probably imagine I am realy excited. Can't wait to post drives like Jimshadow just did. Keep posting these drives. While mine has been off the road, thes ehave been enjoyable to read. Cheers Brett Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Brett, Gorgeous car!!! I'm really excited that more and more are sharing thier rebuild/major/repaint, etc...stories! I can't wait to follow this from 'wheels off to 1st drive after rebuild'!!!! The Gialo Fly is going to be HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!! Keep the pics coming. JIM
Got some other neat cars in the background! Looking forward to the progress shots. Yellow, big air dam and 16" wheels = one great 308
Hey brett, don't be silly put the single pip back on. You'll be the only one in town with the correct exhaust on his car and not the stanley cup (google it) jambed under the rear. Love the euro gtb with the big spoiler. Hope it's dry sump. cheers Rocco
Thanks Rocco, Yes it is a dry sump, and no I won't put single exhaust on. I hate the whistle sound as the old girl tries to push all the air out through a small pipe. Still got the original exhaust to fit if I sell. I don't plan on doing that. I have 2 sons which will inherit the car from me. Cheers Brett ps took some photos from panel shop today before they start work. Will post a few once downloaded. Brett
Brett, i love the single exhaust....wish my car was with it. If it came that way, i would put it back, its so original and it would be a unique car...the whistle sound is accually pretty cool. Great to hear its a dry. Enjoy !
looking forward to seeing pics and how many hours go into this labour of love. Just bought a 77 GTB and, even though I am happy with the shape would love to strip it and go back to factory like-new. Most amazing artwork I have ever owned. Kudos to your effort and start reinforcing to your sons the legend they will one day EARN.
I managed to stop by the beaters on Friday night on the way home. The car has been delivered ready to start the restoration of the body. Below are some pics, but first a little more commentry. I will just mention now that I am not actually doing this job myself. Don't want to tkae credit for someone elses work. Paying someone to do it. Many reasons but main ones being:- 1. Have a 2.5 year boy and a new one at 6 weeks. Doesn't leave much time!!!! Don't want to delay project anymore. Hit 40 last year 2. These projects end up taking years to complete when doing them yourself. 3. I was lacking a little confidence to be honest. I hope to have the car back around mid year. I am doing the biggest part of the job mind you, that is PAYING for it. lol And I will do little things like maybe help with sand blasting engine etc. The guy in charge of the rebuild is a mechanic and what he doesn't know about 308's isn't worth knowing. So he will let me do a few little things so I am part of it. Anyways, better not babble on too much. Here are some pics. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Stunning, you took out the glass as your supposed too,and doing it correctly or should i say perfectly . No shame in letting a shop with knowledge do the work, you still have to pay for it out of hard earned money. Its love either way Im sure you and the boys will love it, and what a great memory they will have growing up knowing what a "New" 308 will look like. Congrats on the 40th Enjoy the next 6-10 months as you get this done, and lots of pics for the scrap book. Kuddos to bringing back to the original color and interior..........at least think about the single pipe before you cover it up for good. When do you expect to have it on the road for its maiden drive ?
Very nice. And congrats on the newborn. Now for the dumb question: Regarding the rusty areas around the window frame, do you grind that out and then fill it with melted drops of steel? I know nothing about this kind of work. And as others have mentioned, pictures, pictures, pictures. These restoration threads are the best. -F
to do it correcty like he is for paint and redo the engine and interior with all new rugs and switches i would say 125K would be the number if not alittle more...but im talking about a complete restore start to finish.
Yes you would be correct with that figure Big Red for a full restoration. I am not doing a full start to finish job. My car is not rare enough to justify that plus I am not into showing the car. I just want to get it back to close to what it was off the line and drive it and have fun. I do have a budget, but, at the end of the day it will cost what ever it does to get it right. I'm not replacing switches etc. Also you will see from the last photos that the shell has not been seperated from the chasis. That adds a lot of cost.
308gtb dry sump....is rare enough in my book. But each there own, regardless you are undertaking soemthing very special. You are bringing the car back to it original color and getting the car to its former glory and you will be enjoying it for many years to come with your boys....nothing better than that in my book. I hope it comes out better than what you vision.....please share the process along the way, i would love to see this completed, as im sure others here as well. Good luck !!
You're such a homo, the plugged exhaust sounds good, lol. If you want a single tip valance for your smogged out wetsup car, I was looking at a new one yesterday along with a bunch of other NOS glass parts like an entire 308 body.
his car came from the factory with a single exhaust. I prefer the originality of the car.....not sure that qualifies me as a homo, but i'll take your word for it since you have the chart on it
Hate to tell you Brett; but this estimate isn't going to be far off the mark. I did much the same as you are planning to my car back in the early 1990's and it was a great car to start with. Final bill was circa $60k and that was a loooooong time ago now. Unfortunately Pee Pee is right, it's not coming back this year either! At the end of the day, who cares. You will have a really great car and you are never selling it anyway! I look forward to following the progress
hole-E-WOW! Come on. 125k to update this glorious beast. yikes!!!!! Even 60K....consider it non-recoverable based on current market value. I do appreciate the iconoclastic value of the art I own but a little rich. Was thinking a 20k update...hmmm Nickle and dimes for the next 2 years. Brett, what a city to live and drive this car in! I spent a little shy of 1 month in Mt Martha with many trips into Melbourne, wonderful city, great auto, and even better people. Keep the pics coming and god speed...
Been there done that, paid the bills and you? Restored a few cars in my time and know a lot of other people who have done the same. Time is money and it takes ages to pull a car down that far, restore it and put it back together. What's shop rates over there? It's about $110 Oz per hour here, maybe $80 reduced rate for a huge job like that. At your budget of $20k, that gives you 250hrs of labour and NO materials or parts. Still sound possible for $20k? Economics do not come into play when you do things like this. Brett is doing it right, it's going to cost; but he is never going to sell it. If you want it and you can afford it, you do it and the money is secondary to the outcome.
