Brian, you got a nice Ducati there in the garage. Is that a Moto Guzzi next to it? What's the green car? At first glacne it looks like a Porsche of some kind but with the Italian theme you got going on in there... I'd say nay.
We are now the proud owners of this car! Deal was made today. We're flying to New York pick up the car in two weeks and driving her home to Houston. Wait... is this car a he or a she? I'll say a she because of all the fondling I'm going to do with it but that engine is no girl! A/C is not working. Advice?
Congrats! Post your route, you might be surprised at the number of Fchatters on your route for support and drinks.
To be specific on the A/C issue... it needs a new clutch. Everything else is new. The clutch is also new but it broke immediately after install. Any idea on cost there?
Before you remount a clutch on the A/C pump check to see if the pump still rotates. Sometimes they seize up. The pump is the same thing they used on GM for a million years. Same goes for a lot of the emissions stuff IIRC. Congratulations on the purchase. GT4's are great cars. Much roomier than the GTS/B's. In many ways they are easier to work on too.
Congratulations! You'll really enjoy it! They're fast enough to be fun, reliable if maintained and driven often and the ride/handling is great regardless of their being 30+ years old. Owned mine for 5+ years, has 86,000 miles and it's still my favorite car! As you've already found this forum is extremely friendly and an amazing resource for technical info too!
Congrats on the purchase! You'll LOVE the drive! Its a very comfortable road trip car. I drove mine from Ft. Wayne to Tunica, MS. last year. As far as the AC, luckily you'll be very comfortable most of the way by using the window controls. once in Houston, its gonna be HOT! Can't comment on the cost as I pulled my AC compressor a while back. no need for it here most of the time. July/August can have some hot days, but not like Hou. Keep us updated on the drive home. JIM
Congratulations on your purchase. You will love the car. I have owned a GT4 (1975, serial no. 10848) since 1996 and drive it regularly. Originally I had quite a bit of trouble with fouled plugs. That problem was solved by installing an Allison electronic ignition. Since then the car purrs and has been nearly perfect. Enjoy the trip. It should be a blast.
Congratulations!! The A/C will be a project. The clutch has a special Ferrari-only pulley on it. You might see an A/C specialist and see what they say about the pulley/clutch, but you might wind up paying the hefty Ferrari tax on that one part. All the other parts of the system are standard, interchangeable A/C parts. BUT before I went too much farther I would seriously consider replacing the A/C hoses. They were porous when new, and they haven't gotten any better. As R-12 gets pricey and rare that porous hose will wind up costing you. There are tons of threads about A/C here, none of which will make you excited about the system. That said the A/C in my car hasn't worked in the three years I've owned it. All things being equal I wish it worked, but I haven't really missed it. The car isn't really any louder with the windows down so I usually just regulate temp and breeze with the windows. On long trips I tend to wear earplugs. The first day will be nerve-wracking. All the sounds, squeaks, rattles, feelings, will all feel like impending doom. After that you get used to it and enjoy it. What a treat to take a road trip in your new Ferrari!!
Yup a 1980 Moto Guzzi CX100. *edit* Wow, good eye. You can't even see the engine (which gives it away) in that shot! Nay indeed. Only Italians in the garage. It is a very nice 1969 Alfa Romeo GTV. Its not really mine, it just seems to live at my house. I also have a 1976 Vespa 200 Rally. It is a total POS, and it is really mine.
Hey Nitro, Congrats on the car and welcome to the 308gt4 gang. I saw in the receipts that the thing has high compression pistons, so, yes, it would be premium juice.
Congrats! I too saw this car in person and it's a beauty. I passed on it because of the mileage. PM me and I can tell you some more info. Ace
You need to look into that, as the single groove Ferrari A/C clutches are REAL hard to find.....last time I priced one the Dealer was getting close to $400. I have monkeyed around trying to match one but recall they are driven by a metric dimension belt..... WELCOME to Ferrari ownership! Lots of GT4s in Houston, well......a few anyway.
We ditched the drive plans. There is a broken bracket on the coolant overflow tank. It needs to be welded and they want too much to weld it. We've got a machinist in the family. We'll fix it ourselves. We also want the fuel lines replaced before we hit the road. Also be cheaper to have the car shipped to us. Turns out the car tested around 220 lbs on the compression guage so it's a fairly faster vehicle than most dinos. High compression pistons is most likely the culprit. This board has been extremely instrumental in us purchasing this car. You all deserve a pat on your backs. Thank you all! What a great place this has been! We'll have photos for you all when car arrives next week.
