My new Silver/Red 308 GTS QV! (Soon, anyway)

Hello all,

I've spent the last couple of weeks searching and reading all sorts of material on this forum -- really one of the better automotive fora I've seen.

I've just pulled the trigger on my first Ferrari -- a 1985 308 GTS QV, silver on red. It's up in Seattle, and I'm in California, so it'll be a while before I have it. Figured I would post here some general thoughts on the car and what it's had done / will need done. Would be grateful for thoughts, suggestions, etc.! (I can post a link to the listing, or some photos, whatever.) It wasn't cheap (what is these days), but I did very well on a 993 sale so the pain is diminished...

Some context and where I'm coming from: I'm in the SF Bay Area. During the ten years I've lived here I've had what I consider to be a fairly interesting set of cars (though never a Ferrari): 1989 Alfa Spider Graduate (black/tan/MT), 1998 Boxster (silver/red/MT), 2002 Audi TT Roadster 225 (silver/black/MT), 1991 Acura NSX (silver/black/MT), 2007 Aston V8 Vantage (black/black/6MT), 2013 Fiat 500 Abarth (black/black/MT), 1971 280SL Pagoda (navy/tan/auto), 2016 AMG GT-S (silver/dark brown/DCT), and most recently a 1996 993 Turbo (arena red/tan/6MT). Some of these were surprisingly cheap/easy to maintain (Aston!) and some were surprisingly expensive (280SL!). Others behaved more or less as expected. I tend to turn them over pretty quickly because I only have room for one (or maybe two) at a time. I don't do any work on my cars, except very basic stuff like fire extinguisher brackets and so on. I just drive them. (I used to do a bit of racing with SCCA in the Spec Racer Ford class, but it's been a while and my license finally expires this month.) Not sure if anyone else has this problem, but I love lots of different cars. I always have a number of things on my list but the list is way too long, so it's always sort of a toss-up which car I actually end up with. I knew I wanted a Ferrari, have always wanted one and never had one -- I most recently came close on a 1987 Testarossa, a recent California (non-T), a black 599, and a 575. But now we have a winner--my first Ferrari will be the "Silver Magnum," a seemingly nicely sorted 1985 GTS QV.

Fit issues: I'm 6'3 and 240. I barely fit in a 70s GTB, but "barely" is just right and it's quite comfortable when I do. I fit exactly the same in a QV GTS... flew up to Seattle last week to confirm! When the roof is on, my hair rubs against it but the seating position seems quite comfortable. When the roof is off and stowed behind the seats, my head pokes out like Magnum, but there's no roof so no worries. I figure given my local climate, I'll usually do the best of both worlds: Roof off, but not behind the seats. I have already ordered both Hill steering wheel spacers (25mm and 50mm) from Ricambi.

The QV: Car looks great cosmetically. Low mileage, under 19k, and it seems to have been used very little in the past 10-15 years. (Not all good news: As an Alfa owner, I know these cars like to be run, and HATE to sit.) The current owner bought it at Barrett Jackson, and it just had its major service done at Ferrari of Seattle late last year (has done about 15 miles since). Ferrari of Seattle also put in a new steering rack, new thermo switch, new (presumably OEM) fuse box, new front brake pads, and it's having a shift-shaft oil leak fixed and the combination light switch rebuilt right now (though they're sending the switch out for the rebuild).

Things it still needs: They say it could use new bushings and motor mounts; they said some fuel hoses are worn (and I see no evidence they replaced those). Tires seem good and recent. I'm sure there will be a long list eventually, but so far that's the stuff.

Plan: I will have it shipped down to me in CA in early February. I'll have it VIN-verified (it's a 50-state car) and smogged, registered here, and then get some work done to it.

Work to be done:
-I plan to get all the bushings and motor mounts done (recommendations: use stock ones? My mechanic says urethane bushings are available but they squeak).
-Might do the fuel hoses if needed.
-I will have one of the two steering wheel spacers put on.
-After reading a helpful thread on here about whether Birdman's fuse box is a useful upgrade EVEN TO A BRAND NEW OEM fuse box, I may well swap the (brand new OEM) box out for a Birdman one as well.
-I've had fuel pump relays die before, so I like the idea of replacing all the relays at once just to be safe. Anyone have a source? (Prior threads here recommended rockauto.com, but they don't seem to have the relays anymore?)

Other stuff:
-I'd like to get the shift gate vault shifter lock (cool idea!), though reviews on the slick shift gate seem mixed.
-I like the idea of a window accelerator, but not sure it's worth the effort since my windows go up and down pretty quickly (3 seconds or so).
-I've ordered some cocomats (put them in all my cars, love them).
-I would really like to source a nice fire extinguisher bracket for my Halguard, but the Garven one is no longer being made...!
-I'm wondering if it makes sense to replace the seatbelts as well (holdover from race cars; belts have expiry dates, just like tires. Just that no one ever replaces them.)

Anyway, would be interested to hear your thoughts on things to look out for / anything to do before I start driving it.

Super excited to get the car, and since it'll be a couple weeks at least before I see it again, I'm going to content myself with discussions here on FChat (most recently, how to get the headrests up and down).

Cheers
Goodspeed

 

Congratulations!

308s are wonderful cars and you will discover it is like nothing else you’ve owned. Glad you’ve had some old slow cars in your garage because it doesn’t compare well to modern cars although, with your butt only 9 inches off the ground, 50 mph feels like 100 mph. Enjoy. They are much beloved by the general public and you’ll see a lot of overt affection. Thumbs up everywhere.

Sounds like you’ve done your research, have found a good car and know its issues.

The “fuel hose” issue is infamous on the cars. They have gas tanks on either side just in front of the rear tires which are connected by an aluminum pipe but with rubber pup hoses on each end; if those leak you risk a major car fire. Many of us replace the pup hoses (and a bunch of others) no matter how good they look.

Many people lean toward rubber suspension bushings just because of the squeak issue with poly. Superformance in the UK has custom-specified bushings with a rubber formulation that is firmer than stock rubber so those may be a happy median (I have them, but I have no basis of comparison to anything else).

Are the motor mounts really shot? I thought they were pretty much indestructible?

The issue with the stock fuse blocks is that they oxidize over time. If the car just got new ones, you’re probably good for a long while.

I find the Hill Engineering shifter gate lock to give me good peace of mind.

Three second windows???!!!??? Stop complaining!

Yeah, no one replaces their seat belts.

Welcome to the loonie bin. There are a lot of nice people here.

 

I'm smaller than you, but this is how I roll 99% of the time.

I made mine, but yes, I have about a 1" spacer behind my steering wheel and it makes a big difference for comfort.

I have replaced bushings twice, once urethane and once stock rubber. I will never do urethane again. Even with the special Dow lube they eventually start squeaking and creaking. And for what real-world advantage?

There's quite a few 308 owners in the Bay Area. Shoot me a PM with your location if you want. Probably there's one of us near you.

 

Great advice. I assume folks prefer the SRI Scuderia Rampante orange hoses from out in Colorado? They sell a fuel hose set, but I'm not sure if that's all of them or just a few of them. Sounds like I'd rather get all of them done.

Also very useful and matches what my mechanic says. I'll probably just get stock ones then, that seems to be what he recommends anyway. As for the motor mounts, beats me, I haven't seen the car on a lift so I'm going by what Ferrari of Seattle says in their PPI (which interestingly, the PRIOR owner had done, but I have the report).

As far as the fuse block, the plot thickens -- I asked the Ferrari dealer where it was serviced today, and they said they did not in fact replace with OEM blocks, but with rebuilt blocks with "modern internals." Not sure what that means; I've asked for a photo. Sounds like the "turtlefarmer" block might be a better option for me with the spade fuses anyway.

Any experience with the aluminum pedal set? I liked the look of it until I realized you have to do some serious drilling into the pedals. I tend to like stuff that can be put back to stock if needed.

Cheers

 

Sounds good, I will go with stock then.

Have you had any success finding the relays for the car? Folks on this forum routinely linked to RockAuto, but that was years ago... and when I go there now, I don't see them listed (or maybe I just can't find them). After having a fuel pump relay go in my 993 turbo (yay, stranded) I would rather just replace them all and be good for a while (and carry some spares maybe).

Extinguisher bracket -- I really like the Garven one but sadly there are no more being made. No one else seems to have one, though there were some plans floating around for a "Charness"... but I don't want to make my own. I will try to see if anyone has experience with the universal ones, such as from Rennline or Safecraft or wherever.

V1 -- yeah yeah, the car's not fast by today's standards, I get it, but it's plenty fast to get a ticket and I have a spare V1 (new model) that was in my 993TT. I would like to hardwire it... forum search has been strangely unsuccessful. I did see someone wired it to the map light, but I usually just do an add-a-circuit (which of course means I'd need the turtlefarmer blade fuses).

Cheers

 

Michael
Love to see some pictures if you have any. Always like siver/red combo. I have a black/red and prugna/creama. Both 85 QV GTS. Thanks.

 

Nice. Plenty of pics here --
https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1985-FERRARI-308-GTS-QUATTROVALVOLE-CONVERTIBLE-245272
https://www.parkplaceltd.com/used-cars/detail/1985-Ferrari-308-GTS/995/ZFFUA13A7F0058853

Cheers