Do some 308 and 328 Ferrari owners switch to Porsche? Do they come back?

I love my 328 and can't even spell Porch, er, Portche, er, Perch, wait that's a fish, Porutche.........aaawwwww, forget it.

 

100% agreement. Including the Jag. Personally, I would love to buy a pre-74 S, and a top quality E-type roadster (S1). For me, the 72/73 S's are the 911's were everything is perfect. Earlier ones are a bit dainty, not so sporty, later ones look too fat due to their bumpers (although still not bad). And I believe they are great to drive too, although I have only 993 experience so going on hear-say.

I think 308's and 911's are great companions in any garage.


Onno

 

I bought a new 997S when time and space forced a 24 yr love affair with a 77 308GTB to an end. The Porsche is a superb automoble. Does everything at a very high level and can be driven daily and I drive it to work occasionally.

However, I miss the 308 with a passion. That was a very special automobile. I doubt another Faerrari is in my future but I am glad I had a chance to live the experience.

In a perfect world , I would have both but they are too diferent ( for me) to got back and forth between.

 

Hi Jerry!

It's doing fine, except I might paint it back original color blue! LOL!

Hide your steering wheel people are starting to look really hard for the last of them....
Alan
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

As I believe a Road and Track article once said, " Nobody does 'rip-snort' like the prancing horse". Amen.

 

if yr italian u always end up going back to ferrari.

 

i have to comment. i have owned a Lotus Esprit, 2 jalpas, an uracco, and i can tell you they will not last 200,000 miles like a 3.2 1984-1989 911 will. none of them are as tossable, fun, easy to work on, reliable, go anywhere, as the 911s i have owned have been.

i like 308s still, but a 911 is a superior car to actually drive all over the place in city traffic.

you really have to be in the right mood to deal with all the questions, comments, and idiots who come out when they see a Ferrari. 911s are ignored, and are fun, and i love that.

sorry but the Urraco, the Lotus and the Jalpas were not well built "great" cars you can drive everyday, in any weather, like you can a 911. i will never buy another Lotus, urraco or Jalpa again.

and yes, they are all in the same price range.


ps : the thread topic says "911" in post #1. no offense, but nobody here is trying to compare 944, 924 , 914 and the like to 308s. its a 911 versus 308 debate. i am not interested in and will never own any of the "lesser" Porsche's, and i agree with your sentiment that there are already better cars out there (the 911, the 308 series ) so why downgrade.

no disrespect intended.

 

My evolution was just the contrast.

As a German I started with Porsche in the early 80s. Entering university I had time and a little cash for buying 911 - but allways only F models.

There were different types. highlight was a short wheel base 911 S / 1966 with power sun roof...
Also there was a 935 modified (= plastic conversion) 911 T and some others.

After these - I made some bad expierences with Porsches - I bought my first and only Jaguar, then a Fiat Dino Coupe and in 1995 my Ferrari.

Porsche? No way back for me!

ELR-21

 

No doubt, the 308/328 and the 911 (pre-964) stand out as the best of the lot.

I will put a vote in the 914/6 -- not the prettiest car, but it's too good to be lumped in with the 914/4 VW-Porsche.

I have never known anyone who owned a Jalpa, but a Urraco owner here in San Diego was underwhelmed with his car and kept it only a year or so. He said it drove like a truck.

 

You should have kept that one. You could sell it now and buy three 308s.

 

agree, perhaps i was misguided. a real 914/6 is a rare beast, like a lightly optioned 5 speed 928 S4, they exist, but are rare, and fun as hell.

my best friend, Jfrazar, has 914 /6 conversion. i helped him put the pistons in, assemble the case, tune the carbs, the car has a Carrera 3.0 6 in it with hot cams and tuned carbs. its a CAN-AM car with a street car tag on it. the thing twists the body if you take off too hard, to the point the right side of the Targa top gets a big gap in it when you are sitting on the passenger side.( you can see the sky!) Joes car has flares, turbo wheels, turbo brakes....... and so on.

so yeah, a 914/6 may be an exception!

 

I think you missed my point. I was making the point that those old exotics make fun toys, while the 911 isn't exciting enough to be a toy when those old exotics are just a few grand more. I said that the old Porsches make great transportation, and never for a moment implied that they are anything approaching dependable or useable daily. I don't know many people who put 200k miles on a toy! ...so how well built it is or how long it will last is (to some) irrelevant. So, you were basically making my point -- old Porsches make great transportation.

As for the "lesser" Porsches, the relevance to the conversation is that a 911 doesn't make as much sense as a daily because it is more expensive to run overall (not to mention less practical) without an equal increase in the fun factor. If the 944 isn't fast enough, keep in mind that a $10k 944 Turbo will smoke almost every car I mentioned -- and the majority of 911s under $25k. As will most 928s which (lest we forget were Porsche's flagship in their day) are superior cars to the 911 in almost every way, present market values notwithstanding.

Every time I go out looking for a 911 as a toy, I buy something else. And every time I start to seriously consider a 911 as a daily driver to "upgrade" from the 944, I buy some other toy!

And I mean no disrespect, either -- I've known who you are since you had your black carbed 308 GTB for sale several years ago, and have always admired your rotation of cars -- we have very much the same tastes.


Cheers,

TK

 

+1. I agree with the 944 turbo point. It will probably outperfom all the sub $25K 911 beaters out there. My Ferrari mechanic races 944's, he is the US champ in the SuperCup series. I have a lot of respect for what the 944's can do being 4 cylinder cars and how reliable they are for little money, not to mention I have seen less of these around than the everyday 911's, which are just around every corner I see.

 

Its really nice to see someone mention the 928's, However they are a GT rather then a sports car (debatable I'm sure). Great machine just for cruising around especially on the highways I like mine a lot, But I would still like a Ferrari someday. The sound is intoxicating and there is no way to get that sound out of a Porsche.

Chris

 

I'm good, big guy. My youngest just got engaged. All is well in the car dept.
Traded in the MINI for a BMW 135i--little red ( of course) rocket.

I'll keep that orig steering wheel in that frame...unless $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

You can paint her blue if you wish..just don't paint her yourself with cans of Krylon and STOP hitting stuff---you're breakin my heart....LOL

 

cheers, also

 

I have been lurking on Ferrarichat for several months now so I guess this is as good a time as any to make my first post. I have owned my 911 for going on 12 years. I have restored it top to bottom by myself. I started racing it two years ago in Autocross and am entirely hooked. The changes I've made to the suspention, gearbox and tires keep me from using it on the street anymore so I've been looking for a new street machine project. As with my 911, I love the 308/328 bodystyle. I am a little afraid of the maintenance schedule I keep hearing on the 308/328 engine but it would be a minor project for me to put timing belts on one of these motors. I've looked the engine design over and it seems to be very well engineered. I would love to have an early carbed 308 to be able to tune the webers and also the extra horsepower and ease of engine mods on the carbed cars. It seems rare to find anyone selling an early 308 that has had the sodium filled valves replaced already or maybe that is why there are several early 308's available because the owners don't want to get into the valve replacement issue to keep the cars. One particular owner of a beautiful 308 that I would love to own said to me " I have no knowledge of this sodium valve issue you are asking about". Anyway, I'm pretty sure a 308/328 Ferrari is in my very near future, but I have no intentions of ever getting rid of my 911. Several people on this thread have said that they make pretty good garage mates. I think that is a very true statement. WHEN I get my 308/328 I will post some pics like "The Car Reaper" did.

BTW,Steve (Faster is Better) I am very interested in your car!!!

Cheers, Jim

 

+1

 

I'm in the same boat- I'll keep my 88 Carrera forever.

The best way to make your 911 feel fresh again is to test drive an early 308.

My 88 3.2 feels fairly antique most of the time, but felt like a modern rocketship after driving a couple of 308's for sale in new England last Fall - That said- they do have some sort of pull on us car guys don't they??

 

Great point. Some people here might seem to be bashing on 944s and 928s. Many of the points against these cars are certainly valid in my opinion. That being said I would recommend that all of the early water cooled detractors take one of these cars for a test drive and then jump into your 911 from the same vintage. Night and day.

Most know this, but it bears repeating. In the late 70s Porsche's mindset was to phase out the 911 in favor of the newer water cooled cars. There was not that much development on the 911s at this time as Porsche's focus changed. This shows in the test drive. The water cooled cars with their power-steering, modern gearboxes, better ride/handling, ect make the contemporary 911s of the time feel like a 20 year older car, which is not too far from the case. Not that there is anything too wrong with this as the contemporary Ferraris at the time had the same antiquated feel. It all depends on what you are looking to get out of the car, all this coming from someone who bought a carbed 308 last year. I must ad that I actually fall into the camp that believes that all the water cooled 911s and Boxsters are the anti-christ of all things Porschedom, but I do have quite an affection for the early water cooled cars.

Because of all this I am at cross roads as to what to do with my BMW E30 M3. This thread has brought back my lust for an old 911. But then again I like the idea of having a vintage feeling car (the 308) and a more modern feeling car (M3). I am not sure if it makes sense to have two of these older feeling cars at the same time. Maybe I could hedge my bet by selling the M3, getting the 944 back on the road, and pocketing the change? Maybe even a 5 speed 928? The 308 isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

I can't agree with that.

My 02 Cab is a wonderful car- plenty fast and very, very torquey. I took it down to test drive a 355 in October and came away feeling the 996 did almost everything better than the 355. (Except look amazing...)

For me the 944/968 ilk feel cheap... while the 3.2's and 964s really are starting to feel their age- there's a solidity and a stoutnesss to them that is undeniable- that i never got from the front engined cars- though my 928 is remarkably solid.

 

I've never understood the fascination with Porsche. To me, it has got the be ugliest damn car on the road. Each model they make never seems to improve their looks. I've only ridden in them, so I can't comment on driving, but I wasn't impressed by anything about the ride either.

Of course, I have owned 3 Alfa Romeo's. So I'm obviously a complete idiot.

 

To each his own... I think the new 997 looks awfully good - and when I had a slantnose 911 I had to fight off Ferrari style crowds at the grocery store-

I also have a 73 Alfa Spider - sitting under a tarp unfortunately...

 

I had an '86 spider. It was the easy one of the bunch.

 

I remember back in 1997 when I purchased my 79 308GTS with 10,000 miles on it would I be better off with a 911, a car I always wanted to own.Of the 60 or so cars I have owned my number one favorite was a Mercedes and I appreciated German engineering etc. That said I knew if I bought the Porsche I would probably not ever get a Ferrari. The car continues to give me a smile every time I drive it.Expensive, yes but my "work" car is a Toyota - my buddies still laugh at me about that.Hope this helps