Don't mean a thing coz it ain't got that zing!

Cam have you driven other 3.2 or 308 to compare?About a year ago I was looking for a GT4 on behalf of a friend of mine and I test drove a few cars and there was a bit of difference in performance between the cars.One car was really rough externally and the carpet and seats were scrappy but it went like a rocket.Then I drove a really nice clean original car and it didn't have the go of the other one.Thats how you can tell the difference.The funny thing is I was watching the same show tonight and what you were thinking reminded me of when I got my GT4 back from a 10month engine rebuild and I was happy with the performance until I had a lend of a 360 F1 shift with Tubi exhaust for a day and was completely blown out of my mind how quick it was.When I jumped back into my car it felt like a slug

 

Thats exactly how my GT4 feels

 

Yup, a lot of us feel the 308's, Mondial's and possibly the 328's just don't have enough horsepower to match the Ferrari name on the trunk. I'm getting a supercharger put on mine to add about 100 hp. I'll have it back in a month, then I'll post how big of a change it makes.
Thor
www.JavelinArt.com

 

The 3.2 motor is a slug by modern standards, plus 328's and (especially) Mondials are fairly heavy. The 1980's was a bad period for engine power. The 328 was one of the fastest cars you could buy at the time at any price! Having said that, I really enjoy driving the 328 even though I have a 430 also. For street use, I rarely get above 6K. The motor seems responsive in the 3-5K range. For more spirited driving on a twisty back road, it seems to like the 4500-6500 range where the torque is. On track days, it likes the 5-7500 range when you can keep it there, but get to a long staight and it needs a kick. If you think of these cars as well executed, well balanced, old sports cars with lots of charisma, you won't be disappointed. If you expect performance like a newer car, you will be disappointed.

Dave

 

Get a 77 308 carb car..

Hotter cams than 78, and no cats. Runs much cooler than my old 83 QV. Faster, too..

I have an E46 M3 as my daily driver, but I find my 77 308 GTB to be plenty entertaining, especially at high revs..

My .02s



Greg

 

I will admit first off that I dont have a lot of Ferrari seat time. I have driven a 2 valve injected 81 GTSi, and also a 308 QV, and rode in a TR that never seen over 2500 rpm between shifts. I own two 77 308 GTB's. The first car had 9.6 pistons with P6 cams and a blown cylinder. It went like a bat out of hell. Blew out three quarts of oil in 11 miles and smoked something fierce, but it went like great balls of fire once the cylinders cleared out. The second car is stock. The cams were not accurately timed when I got into it, but even off a bit it ran pretty good. Now it runs super, idles slow and smooth, real good bottom end, and pulls hard all the way up with a sound that is out of this world. The two injected cars also revved freely up to redline. If your car is reluctant to rev up smoothly you definetly have a problem, Houston, copy over.

 

Everything you describe makes me think you've got a 6 or 7 cylinder engine at high rpm, maybe all the time. When a cylinder goes down, the engine will still rev, but it just feels like it doesn't want to. Start by checking those pesky plug extenders

 

who's doing the charger? having just finished mine i can say that it'll really wake up the 308. ofcourse i have the heavier mondi 8 and it's much quicker now. i live at the top of a fairly steep hill, in NA form i had to wind out 3rd grap 4th and watch it bog down until i dropped to 3rd again and repeated the process. i can now cruise up in 4th with no issue.

 

It didn't sound like any of you guys would have a kit out this year, so I called 928 Motorsports. I'm not very patient sometimes. Carl Fausset logged into one of the threads, but didn't hang around long.
I have a heavier Mondial-8 as well, and I'm looking forward to a few more horses so I can keep up with the other cars on the Ferrari club drives. I hate bogging down going uphill and getting left behind. I've missed a couple of drives with the car in the shop, but I'll make the last one or two this year, and I WON"T be at the back of the pack anymore.
Thor

 

Cam,

where are you taking the car for the upcoming service? Piccolo Scuderia? Apart from Scuds, PS are probably the best in Sydney, although that is not saying much.

There is an independant shop in Guildford that is supposed to be reasonable, but I never took my car there. In fact, I never took my car anywhere as I did all the work myself. Probably a good thing too as my old car (308GT4) was once owned by the proprietor of a Ferrari workshop and it was very good cosmetically, but a mess mechanically. Studs replaced with bolts, cross-threaded nuts, home-made gaskets on the intake and the list goes on.

You might want to post a request on the Aussie section asking for recommendations on service venues, or even get on the Aussie Ferrari Techtalk yahoo web group and ask there.

One other option, and this happened to a friend's 308 in Aus, is that the cambelt is off by a tooth or two on one bank (or even both). This would cause the symptoms you describe also.

One thing is for certain however - it ain't right!.

Get it fixed and start enjoying the thing...

 

David you are talking about Lucky who's in Guilford.I take my car or took my car to Piccola Scuderia.Rudolph the owner has alot of experience on older Ferraris.That is where I had my engine rebuild done.Now I'm doing things myself ie suspension bushings, shocks,steering rack and electronic ignition.Anything major and I bring it to him

 

That would be them! From the sounds of it though, the only time you'll ever take your car to PS is for gearbox work! The engine is easy compared to some of the underpinnings....