On the subculture of car forums, and the 308

The numbers tell you that only 3x8’s matter and I guess 360’s even though none have fallen in my lap
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I too have been surprised at the camaraderie in the 3x8 tribe. I expected the worst when I bought my 308 nine years ago and discovered the best.

The 3x8 is suddenly receiving a lot of love from outside the 3x8 community. It has not always been that way. The cars have been disparaged by the urban myths of low reliability, ridiculous maintenance requirements, poor vehicle performance, etc. Finally, the cars are being recognized as lust-worthy antiques.

Too, FerrariChat has calmed down. In the past, there have been trolls and bullies lurking our pages, calling earnest people stupid and seeding anger. Some of those have left; others have learnt to how to better control their anger.

 

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To the OP - As I recall, you're the fellow in C-Bus who had his car absconded and taken down south, right?

Assuming so, I remain available locally should you ever wish for a fresh pair of eyes to assist with this or that during your rebuild.

I've been DIY-ing my own 308 for nearly 20 years now, and on other varied Italian cars for 20+ years before that.

Cheers - DM / Powell

 

I am impressed with the deep mechanical expertise on the forums for the 308/328. I haven't ventured into other parts of F-chat to know if that is typical. But the 308/328 group is a good place to be for hands-on owners. If you can come into the forum with basic mechanical skills and an eagerness to learn, it's a great place to sponge up information.

 

As a new owner and member of this forum, I was pleasantly surprised how active this board is compared to others I've been into with other cars. I was expecting maybe one post a day, and I can come here several times and day with new stuff to read and follow while I continue digging through the archives for knowledge. The SEARCH function however... not so great, ha!

 

I will echo that the 3X8 section is quite pleasant with with an abundance of knowledge and sharing. I have learned a lot over the past 20+ years and have been happy to give back where I could.

20 years ago when I got my 308 it was seen as the poor man's Ferrari and now I'm called a 'knowledgeable collector'. I never bought the car to please anyone but myself and it is funny how opinions change and sway with the passage of time.

 

I wonder how many owners of more modern Ferraris work on their cars? Many of us do, so we have more knowledge to share and often need help from others. Also, kindness begets kindness— with only one or two notable exceptions, people on here are polite and generous. I spend time on here for what I can learn, occasionally what I can teach, and for sharing in the victories and tribulations.

 

I've been on this forum since 2012, but rarely said much as I wasn't an owner then. I just lurked around and sponged up what info I could. Now I am the proud owner of a 1975 Dino 308 GT4, and I'm very focused on that car—learning everything I can about it. Just had a great encounter via phone from this forum, and there's other folks on here that I've chatted with outside of FerrariChat as well. The moment I bought my 308 GT4, I've been contacted by other owners and enthusiasts. The community surrounding these cars is comparable to no other. To put that in perspective, I own a Porsche 911 (and have owned Porsches for the last 12 years), but I've never found the Porsche community even half as inviting as the Ferrari community (and I never expected that). Don't read into that thinking the Porsche community is bad—it's not—it's just different. I just get a better "vibe" from the Ferrari folks. I will always try to impart my knowledge for anyone who needs it, but I think I'm still in the sponge stage.

 

I found Fchat because I had an old 308 that I needed info about fixing up. That was more than just a few years back. I owned my 308 for almost 12 years and I would not have been able to do it had it not been for this place and online parts places. Two invaluable sources!! I sold my 308 quite a few years ago and still check in to this section regularly.

 

Ferrarichat has been an invaluable resource to me. The independent experts that used to be called ‘consultants’ provide incredible advice.

 

I am surprised by the numbers of posts ... 360/430 followed by 308/328 followed by 348/355

I would have guessed 348/355 -- 308/328 -- 360/430

By far the 308/328 is more reliable so they should have less postings. Although, maybe they are just that much older and therefore have more issues.

The 348/355, well ... the models speak for themselves. With all the cudos heaped on to the 360 /430 for being more modern and more troublefree, why are the 680,000 postings?

 

Echoing similar to others I joined since acquiring a 208 GT 4 as a hobby car running do er upper .
It’s wasn’t a money thing as previously I ran a Testarossa dealer serviced for 10 yr and a 360 for 9yrs with FFSH .
i retired and wanted an analog car .Points and plugs carbs etc .Not wanting to get into a Pininfarina vs Bertone argument , I love both but use it to tour in the EU so the +2 bit works better .Aside they only did 840 208 gt 4 s .
Not wanting to get into a performance “ mine is faster than yours “ argument my dailey is Bentley GT and it feels faster than the 360 .So anyhow with 70 s analog the performance is so behind it doesn’t really matter the 2.0L vs 3.0 L debate .But I do appreciate guys new to Ferrari or any sporty car might want max Hp / buck .I get that .
So for me as a retirement hobby ( in my man cave workshop) this forum has been very helpful .
I do enjoy the gated gear box the carb induction even using a choke etc .Yes the 208 needs choke .

Yes they are as simple as a wheel barrow by todays electrotwackery ECU stuffed cars .That inc the 360 btw .I felt I was just a passenger flicking paddles on the F 1 box the ECUs running the show .DIY able er nope .That was fine when I was working as a surgeon, but now my hands weld spanner’s ( wrenching to USA guys )
Also learning new none medical stuff is stimulating.

Downer although it does not bother me because of past F ownership is folks think you have cheaped out .

How ever having said that in the 80s my daily’s were 911s as the 206Dino with its V6 was a lot slower .
I think the Bertone GT 4 time will come like all Gandini penned cars .
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So thx for the help thus far .