308 gt4 maintenance

Scott,

Welcome aboard!!! Congrats on the GT4...make sure you post some pics.
As far as yearly maintenance, $1500 is probablly a good number to have tucked away. So far this year, my car has only "needed" fluids and a new exhaust. That ran me $2K, but only because I wanted a "X-OST". So far she has been running very well. Other money that I've spent was because I wanted to upgrade the suspension.
Somewhere in the archives there is an "Annual Maintenance" thread where many of us listed out what we spent to date or that year on our cars. You could check that out. The bottom line is that you're playing with and taking care of a 31yr old car. Some things are going to break/fail/wear out on ya, so keep a little in reserve for that and you'll be fine.
Happy driving and FORZA FERRARI!

JIM

 

You'll never get away with "just mainternance." There is always the urge to ... do more, hence the +$$. And if anything breaks, it is Ferrari spare parts prices that you will have to pay. Watch out for shops that add the Ferrari tax. Ever hearf of $2000 for a valve job (just on the heads)?

 

Whenever I've bought a used car I've had to throw several thousand into it right away to make up for deferred maintenance, little things wrong with it, etc. Maybe I'm just unlucky.

Anyway, I was cruising some websites and found that a distributor cap for a 308 seems to be about $300 and a similar amount for a rotor. Similar items for an Alfa Romeo are about $5-10. I typically buy a number of spares whenever I get a "new" (old) vehicle--dist cap & rotor, throttle cable, fuel & oil filter, brake pads, etc. Usually this is about $100 to $200--cheap insurance. Do I just have to add two zeros for any Ferrari part?

Doug Bender

 

Hey Doug,
Some of the parts are interchangeable with other car manufacturers parts. Check the thread at the top of the page "Parts sources, parts cross references" lots of good info. to save you money. Throttle and clutch cable, "GREAT investment".

Scott,
$1500 seems to be a good number to plan on. If you don't spend it put it in your F car fund and get ready for the big service every 5-7 years. I have gone some years with only having to change the fluids and others with a major service and something else unexpected popping up. You never know what is around the bend.
As far as storing the car for winter, I agree with those that say these cars should not sit idle for too long. Rubber starts to dry out in the seals inside the engine and shocks, belts deform, carbs do strange things when they sit too long. Moisture is the enemy to most parts. Try to drive it every 2-3 weeks to get the fluids up to temp. If you can't drive it at least start it up once a week until temp is reached. Unless the roads are iced up I would get it out for a drive.
Good luck,
Dave

 

Other than just your tune up and oil changes the only thing I've done in 4+ yrs of ownership is replace the clutch cable and rebuild the water pump. A belt change is coming due for me but I will do myself so the cost will be just in parts. So far so good("knock on wood"). The car is just a solid robust machine that likes to be driven! And one heck of a lot of fun!

Cheers!

 

LOL

Oh, the business is what's allowing me to pay for the Dino...

Bottom line is that normal scheduled maintenance shouldn't be all that expensive. Even the feared belt replacement shouldn't break the bank.

It's the un-scheduled maintenance that could end up costing you a lot.

And there's the upgrades.... the endless stream of little things you want to do on the car to make it nicer/better.

If you have to farm out everything on the car, then it will end up costing you a lot. If you're willing to swing a spanner yourself, then cost shouldn't (but could) be excessive.

On my todo list:
* Kill that little rust blister on the front fender
* Rebuild suspension with new poly bushings
* Grease all poly bushings with special grease to kill that squeeking sound they make
* Replace steering rack with more direct steering unit (while I have the suspension off anyway)
* Have car aligned and corner-weighed
* Get off the light rust on the rear frame and coat with POR15
* Fix righthand door lock
* While I am at it, do lefthand as well so I'll end up with one key for both locks again
* Weld in bung for lamda sensor
* Tune carbs, maybe a bit less rich?
* Have righthand rear wheel re-coated
* Clean lenses of reverse lights
* Fix attachment of rear bumper (it wobbles a bit now)
* Check mechanism of seatback adjustment on driver seat
* Paint engine mounting bracket black
* Clean engine compartment
* Polish the paintwork
* Polish front grille

You get the idea. Farm it out and it'll cost you an arm and a leg. Do it yourself and you'll end up covered in grease and with a big grin on your face....

Hans