308 comparisons/gotchas...

I'm sure if you search there's tons of stuff about this, but briefly (and speaking about euros) :

308 carb grp : lighter than steel models, no rust, rarer and price premium, carb engine fastest of 308s

308 carb steel : same shape, fastest engine still (255bhp euro)

308i : first injection engines, can be picked up much cheaper, a bit slower (210 bhp from memory ?). Started putting stuff on the car round about now which spoilt the looks IMHO e.g. 16" wheels and that rear spoiler.

308 QV : back up to 240bhp, injection engine is easier to live with than carbs (doesnt go out of tune) but lacks that SUCK from the induction, same slight modifications to look / feel to make it a bit more "modern". slight differences also to things like position of vents and grilles front and rear.

328 : more "modern" looking again with things like rocker switches (i prefer the 70's rocker switches). About 285 bhp. Not significantly faster IMO, e.g. my mate cannot leave me behind in his 328 (I have a carb 308) though there has to be some performance increase logically.

Probably full of gross generalisations and flaws, but it's rather late, and at least it might kick off some more replies.

Check out my buyers guide at www.fugazi.co.uk for things to look for when buying, but carb v injection v QV is pretty much down to what you like and what you can afford

 

Early Euro 308 255 HP
76 & 77 U.S. 308 240 HP
78 & 79 U.S. 308 205 HP
80, 81 & 82 308 194 HP
83, 84 & 85 308 235 HP
U.S. 328 260 HP
Euro 328 270 HP

 

Forza magazine did a Buyers Guide and there was a good article in Autoweek....I have them all........Kieth Martin who writes the auction section for Autoweek likes the 308 series but hates the 288GTO! Go figure.

The Autoweek piece is what spurred me to pick up a couple of NON CAT steel cars.......I ran across it just last night, unpacking.....

But I shave a crazy man every morning......

 

I searched "308 comparisons" and came up with this just to name one....

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66330&highlight=308+comparisons

Dane

 

having had 3 308s, with 2 here at the house now, i would say the euro dry sump '76 is the best of the group. a 328 is a fine car, but its not the same. if you want bettera/c , good power and great handling, a 328 is the way to go. my early 77GTB drives completely different from the 78 GTS i had. the seat of the pants feel is extremely noticable. i have given back to back rides and drives to close friends in the 74 GT4 and the 77 GTB and they are AMAZEDat how different those two cars are, and they have the same engine. you need to decide what you want out of a 308. a 930 is a freaking stunning car, i love them and have always wanted one. alas, i am not a good enough driver i think to be able to master one. a 930 will kill you dead if you are not careful of it.

buy the nicest 308 you can find. i would not own and injected one, after having 3 carb 308's in the last year or so . but that is a purely personal decision on my part.


if i can be of any specific help, please let me know, i have done LOTS of work on my cars , and would be glad to share some info. Michael

 

As you know being a 930 owner, the search can be part of the fun.

I've bought two cars from Peter Sweeney and he's always treated me with respect and honesty. No kick-backs for me but still, I thought I'd pass his site along. His address: www.forza.weblobby.com

Keep us posted!

Dane

 

Mitch,

What kind of brakes and rotors are those?

D

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

YOUR 930 IS ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING CARS I HAVE EVER SEEN!!!!!

 

Excellent posts thus far. I had a 78 308GTS and it was previous to me, a bit of a "garage queen"...it rode and drove excellently and with no cats and a K&N air filter, made glorious sounds. I updated to 16" QV wheels and electronic ignition, and made it a terrific car.

Later, I upgraded to a 328. I must say, the additional refinement and horsepower were welcome. I still like that carb sound and the overall look of the 308 series better. But I think a fuel injected 308 QV might be easier to live with. If budget allows, a 328 might be worth considering as well.

There is a really nice GTS QV at Ferrari of Seattle right now. I'd recommend you give them a call and ask for Roberto, before it goes. It appears to be a very nice example!!

http://www.ferrariofseattle.com/inventory.php?car_id=11235

 

how much are you selling the 930 for? Can i have it?

I must say, i dont think i would sell a 930 for a stock 308 or 328... But, I do plan on getting a junker and doing a 288 GTO clone with a POWERFUL motor...


but a stock 308?

 

I sold a widebody 911 to get my 328 about a month or two ago.

Here is what I have noticed........

1. You get attention in a widebody Porsche coupe. My car looked identical to yours but for the color (mine was burgundy). I had people asking me how I could afford that car and how fast it was, etc. But I NEVER had people hanging out of their car to take a picture of it on the freeway at NIGHT like did two nights ago in my 328(I could actually SEE the guy's buddy hanging OUT of the car to get a better shot of it).

2. Performance feels better (although the Porsche was VERY nice) in the acceleration. Although the Porsche had Bilstein Greens at all corners and had WAY less roll so it felt better in the turns.

3. I never used to stare at my Porsche in the garage. With this car, tonight for example) I found myself scrunching down as the garage door was closing so I could still keep looking at it as the thing was closing. Sad, I know.

4. I had ZERO fear of the Porsche EVER breaking down. I took that car on a 14 hour drive home the day I bought it and NEVER had a fear of ANYTHING. With this car, I worry about the timing belt breaking and me owing $22K to redo the motor (which would take me a LONG time before I could get the money together to justify fixing). That fear alone is taking some of the luster/enjoyment out of owning the car.

5. I cannot park it ANYWHERE without drawing a crowd. I counted the number of people that stopped to look at it while I spent a half hour eating lunch at a Culver's restaurant coming back form a car show on Sunday. There were 27 that stopped to see it. I don't mean glanced at it. I mean STOPPED to walk up and stare. That number includes 7 people that had their picture taken next to it whether it was digital camera, camera, or cell phone camera. I am NOT making this up. And all that while I ate a burger and fries.

I even could read one woman's mouth. She walked up and looked at the back decklid while leaning over. She popped up and mouthed, "It's a Ferrari!!!" to her friend. It was so obvious. That woman walked away and looked back 5 times and was smiling the whole time.

It was pretty cool. With that being said, I feel SO nervous about people by it that it too, is taking some of the enjoyment away. I mean, I have let numerous people and kids sit in it when they come up to me and are congratulating me on my car so it's not like I am telling people to keep their mitts off. However, I am just waiting for the moron that goes and leans against it or something crazy while taking their photo. It drives me nuts!!!


Anyway, you take the good with the bad, but I can tell you this.......

I was looking at MotorMeister's website a few days ago and longing for the days of a performance car (i.e. Porsche) that I could replace the motor for $5000 or so CRATED if it blew up. And with that, you cannot beat a Porsche. I have been in contact a bunch with the guy who bought my 911. He is TOTALLY bitten by the Porsche bug and now is buying a Porsche racecar that he can take to the track instead of my old car (that he has done over $6000 in upgrades to already).

The grass isn't always greener my friend. But Ferrari Red is pretty damn nice.

 

lovely color..... with the updates i bet the car is great for lots of smiles! happy hunting!

 

Darn, the 1985 here has 65K miles and enjoying hour upon hour on the race track plus thousands of street miles.

Guess she is all used up...

 

Change your belts every once in a while......be happy!

 

Mitch, a QV (84 or 85) is good for daily driver rain or shine IMHO and that is EXACTLY how the car here is used. Besides the usual servicing, the main SINGLE upgrade i would do is Fchatter Birdman's fuseblock. The 308 stock fuse block stinks and Birdman sells a MUCH BETTER unit (hand fabricated) for about $70 or so. Changing out the fuse block is easy.

There are really no other main niggles, just the usual keeping her maintained. Sure i love carbs, yet fuel injection PLUS the 84/85 models have some rust proofing.

As for the $44k for a 308, the guy is insane or it is a super low milage concourse car (which i would highly run away from). $35k should get you a 40k miles car with no issues and even a 50-60k miles car for $32k is fine provided it has the usual passing PPI and documentation. i do realize actually FINDING a very good 308 can be a challenge as i had four car's PPI'ed before finding the one that now resides here.

Of course that Porsche looks sweet.. but it aint a Ferrari...

For the record, best bang for the $$$ IMHO is a newer Corvette. It will EASILY smoke any 308, 328, and even a 348 PLUS be cheaper to maintain.

 

So what is it you are looking for? "Prestine" as you say, but in another post you say "no need for a garage queen"....

The car I showed is indeed, very nice, with low miles, and recent service, backed by a very reputable FNA dealer. Go out and look, see and drive a few 308's....you will find that many, if not most, are pretty ratty these days....heck they are all 20+ years old. I like nice stuff, and this one (though I have not completely gone over this car), is very nice based on what I saw giving it the 'once over' in the showroom. I have no financial interest in the car, just telling it like it is. This dealer rarely consigns 308's, for the very reason that most take way too much $$$ to get to a reasonable cosmetic and mechanical condition for them to feel confidant in representing. That this car even is on their showroom floor, speak volumes for it's condition.

I'm curious, how many 308's have you seriously looked at recently and inspected and driven? I know when I last looked I was very dissapointed in the available inventory. So much so that I ended up looking for (and buying) a newer 328GTS.

 

See, you and I already disagree on Porsche being bulletproof. I am a FIRM believer in that the Porsche air-cooled motors are one of the most solid motors EVER built. If you keep them tuned and full of clean oil it is not out of the ordinary to see them with 300,000+ miles. THAT is bulletproof IMO. I JUST heard a story about a guy with a 3.0 liter that turned over 1,000,000 miles with it a few months ago. Bulletproof.

Yes, I worry about belts snapping. Just because of the costs of the end result. And mine is still a pretty fresh belt. By the way, when I refer to the belt, I am only referring to the timing belt. I could give a crap about the water pump or alternator. If any of those go, I would notice it before it got catastrophic. My paranoia has gotten me to the point of where I probably look at my gauges about every 5 minutes just to check them out. Sad, but true.

But that timing belt could go and I doubt I could shut it down quick enough to prevent major damage. Wish it had a chain instead.

I hear ya on the Porsche stuff having the possibility of breaking too. But the Porsche timing chains usually don't break. And the usual cause of failure is in the mechanical tensioners found on the early models. Once you upgrade to hydraulic from mechanical (for $1000) you can almost GUARANTEE you won't EVER have a problem. But I am sure I am preaching to the choir here!! ;-)

I have a filter. Don't even know what the other would feel like. Problem with these cars is that you CAN mod them a bit but they are EXPENSIVE for minimal gain. And then you are stressing a motor that costs a TON to rebuild.

About the rebuild price?? I have been quoted 7-8k for the entire rebuild on my old 3.0. And those crated rebuit motors from MotorMeister are CHEAP!! Check em out.

Believe me, I know my Porsches. Had two 911s and loved them. Was a regular buyer on Pelican.

Feel free to call me anytime and we can chat. But I will tell you, you should go for the 328. I was a 308QV guy myself up until the very end. And I am very happy with my purchase.

Bill
(608)219-7396