Did the '79 have decent power?

205 for the 78 & 79 carbed cars. Some literature says otherwise, but there's been enough dyno runs documented on Fchat to believe the 205 number

 

Yes. However, the '77 european car was listed as having 255hp, although I do not recall a dyno run that confirmed it.

 

all euro carb cars have 255 bhp up to 1980.

 

Just steer clear of stoplight races with other cars and minivans and you'll do OK. It does look great. 308/328's in black are always gorgeous, and the carbs sound mean.

 

The 308 was capable of producing 255 bhp from its 3 liter, V8, carburetor engine. In 1980, a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system was installed due to new emission regulations. This caused the horsepower to drop to around 215 hp, thus making the 308 GTBi the slowest of the 308 series.

 

I've got a '79 and I'm quite happy with it's performance. Like Bullfighter said, it is no drag car. The old man in the new Buick can beat you stoplight-to-stoplight. The HP is quite low by today's standards, but the look, the sound, the handling and the "feel" make up for it. It's like driving a go-cart. Give it room to stretch it's legs, keep the revs up, and the car will amaze you.

 

it's a bit slow, but since i've had a 328, i noticed the 78-79 cars aren't that much slower. there is a difference of course, but not one that would stop me from getting the car.

john

 

I have a 79, and I've driven a 328. I noticed no difference in power or acceleration, and the 328 had a test pipe. The 328 had better brakes though.

 

So the 205bhp '79 308 and 260bhp+ 328 were similar, even though the 328 is lighter as well? Something else is up...

 

No way a 328 is lighter...the bumpers got bigger....and bigger....and BIGGER!

 

Great car. I nearly bought a very similar car with european spec and drysump. But it was not as well maintained.

 

THAT would have been the one to have......you can always restore cosmetics........

Welcome!

 

Thank you for your welcome.

Well, her looks are beautifull. What mostly turned me off was the following information from the seller but I bet its still available ( http://www.autoscout24.de/home/index/detail.asp?ts=3810089&id=1ikuc3fw2rb&source=as24_inseratsg_detail_ueberschrift&TFCA=40965.09&TFCA=45809.73&TFCA=65760.34 ):

...It starts and runs beautifully, however there is some blue smoke coming out of the l/h exhaust
(lack of driving ?), and it is due for timing belt replacement (last changed about 8 years ago). ... I've had the car sitting in my garage here ... for the past year....

 

US 328 GTS = 3163 lbs
US 308 GTS = 3225 lbs in 1979 trim (3229 lbs for the later QV)

328 bumpers are probably lighter - they lost those oil shocks, which account for some of the difference. A 328 in good tune should be noticeably faster, probably 1 sec quicker to 60.

Of course all of these cars have obsolete performance now, so this is more about bar bets than anything...

The timing belt replacement is expected. Blue smoke from the exhaust can be burnt oil, which bears checking out - could involve internal engine issues and expensive work, not just a simple oil leak onto the exhaust.

 

My car has emissions stuff removed, and it jetted to run richer which made a big difference.
You know, I mentioned what I had experience to a friend that works at Algar and he told me that he also didn't a notice a power difference between the carb'd 308's and the 328s, and if there was, it was minimal. Maybe my car has lower gearing? I didn't look to see what the 328 was revving at in certain gears at certain speeds. I think the 328 has lower gearing than the 308 anyway?

 

Without actually seeing it, blue smoke usually indicates a rich mixture. If the car hasnt been serviced in 8 years, its way overdue to wipe itself out. But as long as the motor holds good oil pressure, and passes a leakdown or compression test, it should still be a good motor.

They do need driving though. I have noticed my car has changed in the course of putting on the last 1000 miles. Its gotten smoother, more freely revving, idles better, and even the gearbox, while never being difficult to shift when cold, has gotten even better.

 

Not sure there was a big difference in ratios. Hard to say. Maybe part of it is that your friend is driving 430s and 360s all the time, which make the 308/328 distinction less vivid.

 

Blue smoke is mostly oil burning; dark gray smoke is richness. Simple test: stand behind the car at idle and if your eyes start burning, u have a richness issue. Have someone rev the engine and let your nose tell u what's burning - it's either hydrocarbons (gasoline) or tires (oil). then put your hand at the exhaust pipe and same thing. If u see carbon, it's mixture; if it's oily particles, it's most likely oil.

 

Since the car was driven seldom and now for one or two years as god as never I expect all rubber parts to be hard and some might be broken. Which would explain why the is oil burnt. That is why I didn't have further interesst in the car, as long as the seller won't reduce the price significantly. The car is currently located in switzerland, but is still not legal here (has a californian title) which is another thing that reduces the worth (need to spent a lot of money on the registration, too) and on the other hand one can get cars with good history for the same ammount of money he asks now. (but Red GTSi and GTSqv for the most part). Since the advertisement was placed on a german website I think they saw the high prices in germany and wanted to place the car on the market there. One friend (the seller, which is not the owner) labled it as his car and took it to switzerland as his property when he moved there from USA (which in itself is an act I'm not shure is legal). The point why I'm think that the car might not driven two years is because in case me thoughts are correct the seller had to oficially own the car for a year before moving to switzerland. What makes me wonder is that the seller says its not his car, which would be necessary for this. But him holding it a year in his garage before selling it otherwise doesnt makes sense.

 

He drives his share of new cars, but they also have alot of older ferraris in there for service, and he seems to like the classics just as much as the new cars. All of the mechanics there seem to be that way too. They support all models, which is why they're a really good dealership. From what I hear, some dealers don't support the older models. I guess they didn't have enough of a customer base to support the older models.

 

Although I've only had my 308 for just over two weeks, I've been driving it as much as weather allows (about 3-4 times a week 'cause it's been raining a lot) and I've noticed exactly the same improvements Artvonne mentioned. These cars do like to be driven, apparently. Suits me fine!

 

Hi,

That car is a pre-cat 1977 version - seller got the year wrong - if in good order, it is the best year 308 to get IMHO....check it out....

Anthony

 

My '79 GT4 runs just fine, thank you! I've not driven an earlier carb car, but I suspect the differences, especially around town, are negligible. As previously mentioned, give any old V8 Ferrari room to stretch her legs, keep the revs up, and you will experience a joy like no other!