New to the 308 experience, but eager to learn

Got alot of other things to worry about before you get to the spedo i'd say. Did you post in the Ga regional section yet?
Some good independent mechanics in the area but the names escape me right now.

 

Congrats on the purchase. You are smart not to try to start the car without having it gone over thoroughly, and having the belts, etc. changed by someone who knows what he is doing. Starting any old car that has sat for 15 years is risky, but with these it is extra-risky because of the old timing belts. A good mechanic will know what to do to bring the car back to life and you should have a good one on your hands there. Also, you can be sure that the old hoses, both fuel lines and heater hoses, are dried out. Make sure that they are changed as well, especially the hoses between the fuel tanks on the bottom and the big filler hose above the driver's side tank. Effectively ALL the rubber on the car, including belts, hoses and tires, need to be changed.

As for starting to make changes, like changing the speedo, the first thing you have to ask is what do you intend to do with it? If you intend to drive it like you stole it, then go ahead, made the changes, but keep the original parts. If you plan on keeping it as a garage queen, showing it, entering it in concours, then don't change it. Keep it original. So, what do you want to do with it?

Enjoy! You've bought a great car.

Steve '78 GTS

 

You bought an $11K 308 without knowing anything about Ferraris? You're a brave dude, BenzmanStew!

But with a little luck, you may have gotten a great deal. Welcome to the forum!

 

Whats the vin if you please? I could never pass on something like that,please pics.

 

+1, but for $11K it could almost be a parts car and he'd break even.

What's the mileage showing on the odometer?

I'd be inclined to leave the speedometer as a kind of relic of the era. Then you can tell people it does 190mph but the government-spec speedo doesn't reflect it.

 

Good idea not turning it over. But if the car really hasnt ran since 1992, you might just want to do some preliminary work before sending it off to the dealer. Fifteen years was a long time ago and you may want to proceed very carefully, or your $11K investment will have an additional $20K repair bill attached to it, if not more, maybe a lot more. No joke.

I would have the car fully inspected near you, by someone who knows these cars before sending it off to the dealer....pans dropped, cam covers removed, transmission side covers, borescope around inside as much as you can, at least the cylinders. I would look inside everything, especially way back inside the gearbox and look for rust. Bleed the brakes and watch for rust, PH the cooling system and look the radiator and heater boxes over good. The fuel system is junk. You may as well just face facts with that right up front. Your probably already into it $2K or more right there already. But if there is any rust inside the internal areas, or if the cylinders show any signs of siezing in place from rust, you may want to carefully consider your options. There are no cheap Ferrari's. Someone else has said, "if you cant afford a good Ferrari, you surely cant afford a bad one". Well, maybe you can if you do all the labor yourself, but you start paying Atlanta to overhaul the whole damned car and to start replacing parts that rusted and it wont be a cheap Ferrari anymore. Is the rest of the car really mint? If its not just about perfect, well.....

IMHO the car needs to come fully apart. Either to rebuild it, or to part it out. Never know, but I think youll end up far upside down on this one unless you do it yourself. Even then you might.

 

someone needed to lay it out plain, simple and real.....


and...


so you have.

 

Changing the speedo will not affect the value of the car one single penny. MANY 85mph instruments have been changed. 95% of the buying population doesn't even know there were two different ones.

Your problems with hurting the car's value lie elsewhere

 

The 1980 is little loved by those that don't own them. At least the clock position and the 85 mph spedo help give this year 308 a separate identity.'

I'd keep it in.

 

Even after they change all the belts, bearings, and hoses and before you even start it for the first time, make sure you drain all the old gasoline and empty the gas tank completely.
Better yet have both of the gas tank clean or boiled out.

 

Actually, the 85 mph speedometer isn't unique to the 80 model only. It was used in 81 for sure and even some 82's have them.

 

I see.

 

Sounds like you got a lot of work ahead of you. If you can do some/at lot of it yourself, it can be a great learning experience and you will end up being well versed in the ways of the 308. A long as the engine doesn't need any major work (valves, rings, ect.)) I would go ahead and bring the car back into shape. With all the stuff that needs to be done, I would look at pulling the engine as it will make life a lot easier when replacing hoses, removing the gas tanks, ect. Good luck, post some pics and keep us up-dated.

 

A few years back I started to look at these things closely. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the pattern as to which cars had the 85 and which cars had the 180. The only thing I could tell for sure was it stopped in 83. I don't know if owner's had them changed or the factory just threw whatever in or what but there are a lot of 180's out there that probably shouldn't be (tells you something about indicated milage too doesn't it?)

I have a thick photo album at home filled with pictures of 308's that I took as a kid between 81 and 84. One set is me sitting in a new one at a car show in June 82. The 308 is an 81 or 82 (can't tell without a chassis #) and it has the 85 - it's clearly visible in one of the pictures. Another set was taken in July 83 of an 82 model ( know that car year without question ) it has the 85 also. One month later in Aug 83 another 82 308 ( I know that car well too) shows the 180.

Remember I took these pictures 25 years ago and they looked like that then

Who knows...

 

I agree with Paul. I was giving you the short, optimistic version. Paul laid it out very plainly. Was the car stored with fuel in the tanks? If so, as Paul said, you have big problems. He mentioned the obvious, but you also have to have someone look at the injectors and the Bosch system as well. Chances are all the injectors are gummed up as well as the Bosch distribution system, if the fuel sat in there for 15 years. It turns to varnish over time, gumming up that tubing, injector nozzles, etc.

I also agree that you should have a local mechanic go through the car before sending it off to a dealer, any dealer. You are talking major bucks to have a dealer do all of this work. If you are handy, you can do a lot of it yourself. But if you've never brought a dead engine back to life, don't start now. Do what you can and let an experienced mechanic check it out before trying to start it. BTW, did you try cranking the engine over by hand before you bought it? As noted, you may find that it is siezed up if it was not properly stored.

Good luck and let us know how things go.

 

Do you have any pictures of this car you can post? I would like to see what you got for 11K