ferrari maintenance

I had an '86 328GTS for about 4 years. I bought it with 28,000 and sold it with 34,000 to buy a 355. In that time I had one scheduled major service done (valve adjustments, belts, etc.) and had one water pump go bad. It was a gem of a car, no surprises. Just get one that has been driven and has not sat for a long period and has had it's regular maintenance done. If the car looks like it was well maintained on the outside, chances are the owner also took care of the engine. I used to drive mine 3 or 4 days a week and in the winter maybe twice a week, but at least once a week just to keep the engine from sitting.

 

The ones driven often are the happy machines...

Every 3,000 miles there is a Service Interval, but many procedures are inspections rather than actual repairs.

Again, the cars that get this much attention are the happy ones!

They won't let you down at all!

 

Just be ready...I'll throw out a few typical parts #s...

distributor cap...$225.
water pump.....$500.
timing belts and tensioner bearings $1,200.
muffler assembly $1,725.

If you can't rip off a payment like that and leave the shop smiling, you are NOT ready to own one...keep saving!

 

i know this is probably sacralige, but considering the cost of the water pump. why not move to electric? less drag and zero problems. the even have them intergrated into the rads now.
http://www.stewartcomponents.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=ICS

got one going into the BBF.

thoughts?

 

Man, on my old 1977s there's LOADS of modern stuff you could do to re-engineer the car, and some owners here have gone down that road.

Problem is ANYTHING you do with anything other than original parts severely devalues the car, as well as undermines the intent of 'historical preservation'.

So it's a fine line to walk. On a newer car it'd probably be OK. but mine are very early steel bodied 308GTBs, NON Catalyst and all that. so I just keep 'em OEM if possible.

I mean, I have new tires, wiper blades and batteries, but it's an eye opener to have a quote today for over $250 for a matched pair of front amber turn lenses! But then I've found good used ones at $50 each you know, so it's kind of a game.......

I drive the cars less and less......soon they really will be Display Only.

Now the exception, would be hydrogen conversion! Something about that would be cool! LOL!

 

When do you have to replace cam belts on a 308GTB? Is it a time thing?

 

308, You may have just opened a can of worms with that question!

 

i see your point, but i really don't think my mondial 8 will ever achieve the following of the early 308's.

 

Posted before, but if you want an idea of costs here's an independent Ferrari mechanic's site which gives specific guidelines for actual services:

http://emelbon.tripod.com/eugeniosferrariservice.html

This is a good guide to scheduled maintenance costs. With regard to repairs, the 328 seems to be require the fewest, followed by the late 308QV's (weaker electricals). The carb'ed 308's (I have been told) are the fussiest in terms of maintenance. 2-valve 308's often have problems burning oil and are regarded as more service intensive than the later quattrovalvoles.

There's a lot of debate about maintenance intervals for these cars. If you drive it 12K miles a year, it's easy - just follow the manual. Most people drive them far less, so it becomes a question of time for the major belt service. 3 years, 5 years, 7 years - I've heard different things. I would personally spend the spend the $3K or so every 3 years for the peace of mind of knowing the timing belt won't snap and make a top-end rebuild necessary ($10K+).

The only thing I didn't see mentioned above is that things like steering racks and suspension bits may need replacing in higher mileage cars, due to age and use. Low mileage cars may need engine resealing, because all those rubber seals go bad without regular use.

I'm planning to spend amply for a great car to use as a weekend driver and then budget $3K/year for maintenance and repairs. Very nice 328GTS's are available everywhere in the high $40K's to low $50K's. Very nice 308GTS QV's are scarce, and seem to be in the mid-high $40K's. (I'm generalizing, but as someone actively looking for a car this has been my experience.)

 

My $.02. Find a mechanic you can trust, or better yet learn to work on the car yourself. Without a good handle on the mechanics of the car, its just to easy for an unscrupulous shop to charge for parts and labor without even touching the car, while they put your car out on display so all thier customers see that they can work on a Ferrari and jack up thier labor costs.

 

When looking to buy just look for the same general things you would on any car, evidence of body work repair or damage, engine bay leaks and engine noises, do the gears and clutch engage OK and without noise when driving, any rattles from suspension over bumps etc, condition of interior, etc, etc. The 328 doesn't suffer from any particular significant problem, it is a sound car. Lots of talk about changing cam belts to prevent wrecking the engine, just be sensible and follow the manual guide lines and you won't have many problems.

Don't get too bogged down with having to use a Ferrari dealer to fix the car, I have owned my 328 for over two years and I have done all the work on the car myself, including cam belts, tensioner bearings and valves adjustment etc. etc. This makes cost very much less, I would say no more than $500- $1000 per year. I would encourage you to consider doing at least some of the work yourself because that is how you get to learn about the car and be in touch with what needs to be done. If you really don't want to get involved a mechanic with a good reputation and experience can certainly do a good job, and cheaper too. These old models have few electronics compared to the modern models, so are relatively straight forward, although a little challenging in terms of accessibility. Fill in some of your personal details so we can see where you are etc, that way help can be better directed towards you, and above all keep in touch with this site because the help here is tremendous, I may not have bought my car without this site. Good luck with your search

 

I had a 328GTS for over 10 years and recently sold it. I never had a problem with the car and it was only in the shop for it's scheduled services and yearly fluid changes. When i purchased the car i was looking for a 308, but chose the 328 because all the upgrades and improvements. Over the 10 years i had the car i averaged about $1,000 per year for services and most of that was done by an independent Ferrari mechanic. If your have to take your car to the dealership the price will be much higher.

 

That $3K Bullfighter cites would be for a 'full service", valve check and all the trimmings, as noted my independent shop will do belts only for a lil' over $1K.

All and all not so bad....as far as carbs go I had to go all thru them on one car, as it had gotten "lost' as far as jettings and settings, but really once they are correct they tend to stay that way a long time. I change Royal Purple oil so often it doesn't matter, have not noticed excessive use....

Distributors have given me more trouble. The grease goes bad, improper advance or a coil dropping one bank...and then you blow out a header with raw gasoline and light the engine on fire......THAT's livin' LARGE!!!! LOL!

Step 1 - Buy Ferrari
Step 2 - Buy Fire extingiushers
Step 3 - Inspect and replace all rubber fuel lines when you get home.......

Timing belts are 30K or 5 years, but I'm running one set over 12 years old, less than 5K miles in that period. Coming off this winter, actually not driving that one currently.....