208 GT4 Engine rebuild?

A hypothetical - If I owned a 208 GT4 with a tired motor in need of a rebuild, are all the parts still available? I'm in the States btw in case there is a US parts dealer with such items, but of course buying internationally isn't an issue. Please fill me in as it will influence a decision to purchase a car grazie.

 

Depends on what you'll need or want. Gaskets, o rings, seals, bearings etc.. not a real problem to source. GT car parts, t-rutlands, etc..
Bigger items are custom mfg like, Pistons, connecting rods, valves, guides, springs.. you get the idea.
If you need to rebuild the engine, you'd most likely have to custom order Pistons and rings. Hopefully the liners are good and don't require replacement, usually not, just a hone depending on wear.
Same goes for valves and guides, custom.
Currently due to, well everything... Getting Pistons, valves and guides is taking months vs weeks.. took us nearly a yr to finish a build that ships out this week. Showed up end of Feb, leaves end of Nov. Normally it's a 4-6wk process, not anymore.
We don't really do a lot of carb work, so I've got no idea on Weber parts other then they are harder to source.

At the moment it's going to be the time factor. Normally a tired engine isn't a reason to run away. However given the sourcing issues at the moment, it'll sideline the driving fun for quite some time.

I say buy the best example you can find, it'll cost more up front but done right it'll save in the long run. No such thing as a budget Ferrari.

If the engine is that tired, I'd also be looking at the suspension and wheel bearings, steering rack, etc..

 

Working on my 208 GT4 right now and agree with smg2. I have bought several parts from DinoParts in Germany like gaskets, rings, valves etc. and they have quite a lot for 208. Also pistons. O rings for the sleeves but I would not go that way if not absolutely necessary. Mine were absolutely ok so I just honed them.
So, it will take som time to find parts but keep looking! Oh yes, Ferrparts have brand new Webers for 208! I bought a complete set. I think they share Webers with Maserati/AlfaR.
If you have to go inside gearbox there will be differences but I do not know exactly what.

/Peter

 

Hi fastricky, coincidentally I just bought a 208 GT4 yesterday In my reading leading up to this, I ran across this article that mentions the option of boring out your 208 engine to the full 308 specs. I have no idea of the technical merits or challenges, but just throwing it out there for consideration if you are already contemplating a rebuild. And, maybe you will have an easier time sourcing the 308 parts as well?

John

 

Thank you gentlemen, I want to keep the car to 208 specs as much as possible otherwise I'd hunt for a much easier to find (and cheaper 308). The allure for me of the 208 is it is basically non-existent here in the US and a 2-liter V8 is equally unique. I should mention the car may not need a rebuild, I'm basing that possibility on the compression results which range between 8-10 bar. The car sat immobile (according to the selling dealer) for 5 years before they bought the car, rebuilt the carbs and exchanged fluids, belts, water pump and rubber parts. I've received the following videos which show the car runs reasonably (hard to tell as they didn't flog it) and doesn't smoke:

 

Looks like a nice car. Congratulations!


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I love the black 208 GT4 dashboard, looks so much nicer than silver.... 1970s like....
Black hood grilles on your silver car look better than the original silver ones....
with dark cars I prefer the original silver hood grilles.....

 

Hi everyone, does anyone know of a good rebuild thread for a 308 or 208 engine? I have sifted through the forum using the search engine without too much success. There is a lot of scattered info, but I was hoping that someone might have documented their rebuild... Youtube has some videos, but they are more show than tell. I'll be going down that road with a good car that has some 200Km behind it! Says who that these engines are not solid!

 

Still looking, but Lou Trottier's channel proved to be a great source of information delivered in great style by an expert mechanic!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdnn_dkVE8kOWn-MtxktSLg

 

I'm recalling something about the large end of the connecting rod not being able to fit thru the small 208 cylinder diameter so requires some assembly gymnastics -- but just a vague recollection that may be wrong (and have no detail).