Sold my '84 308

Good luck Dan. The 360 is a sexy model.

 

It's funny because a lot of people I know that own 360s either, sold their 360 and bought 308 or bought 308 in addition to their 360.

 

FYI Dan,

This one is available, and in great condition,
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/northwest/397404-upgrade-time-itch-again.html

 

Read my mail...bought my 99 360 3 years ago...added my 80 308 GTSI last October...love both cars....power vs a classic...

 

Sounds like logical reasoning and you have some good choices to move forward with from here. Let us know what you decide.

Regards,
MB

 

I am going to have to stop reading these threads. My "one owner" 85 Qv is now 28 years old and I just don't get why it seems every time I open a thread I read about maintenance. I change the oil every spring and driver the car. Put it way for winter, repeat....for 28 years. Change the other fluids once in a while, did the 15 and 30k, and they were the only time in 28 years that belts were changed. Did brakes once. Car runs as good as the day I bought it. I'm definitely not obsessive about it, but everything works.

What do you guys do to your cars to cause all these problems I read about? These cars a bullet proof for the most part, at least that has been my experience.

I'm afraid if I keep checking in here my cars may start having problems.

 

LOL, it is probably because the cars you are reading about have not been properly cared for...if you have owned yours that long and haven't abused it, you will be fine regardless of what thread you read here on Fchat!

 

AGE does funny things - there's "stuff" in, and on, your car that was NEVER designed to last for 20 years. Your suspension, for one. All the rubber 'bits' in your A-arms, shock bushings, steering rack, etc. I'll wager $100 they're all dry-rotted. Nothing 'wrong' with that - they're under-load whether you drive the car or not.

Rubber hoses - same deal. Should be changed every ten years or so. It gets hot in your engine compartment, and some of those fluids are under-pressure. You gonna wait until something ruptures before you think about it? That odor you smell might be gasoline....where is that gonna leak and splash?

Gaskets - same deal. After 15-20 years, they start to seep. Heat, pressure, liquid....eventually, they just leak. That's fine, no gasket lasts 'forever'.

Shift-shaft seals. Electrical contacts and relays quit due to internal component fatigue or exposure/corrosion. Voltage drops from OLD copper and corroded connections. Stuff stops working right. Father Time can be cruel.

 

+1 ... the Volkswagen I use as a DD is ridiculed for its unreliability and problems so much on Internet forums you'd think the thing is the worst car to ever come out of Germany. Of course, it's also a model that has mostly attracted the younger modification crowd. I've had mine since new for over 10 years and 140k miles and only changed the oil and filters, still runs and looks like new. I really think it's the owners, not the car itself, as the issue.

Similarly, a lot of what you're seeing about these Ferraris isn't what the current owners are doing or not doing, it's the 3 or 4 or more previous owners most of them have had that didn't buy them with keeping them long term in mind, and treated them as a toy they could sell when they got tired of them. With that mindset preventative maintenance and proper storage has probably been neglected at some point in the cars' pasts, and it only takes a few years out of that 28+ years to really amplify the usual effects of time.

Also, to paraphrase from Allen S. Bishop's book "Ferrari Guide to Performance," one of the problems with most Ferrari engines isn't their supposed unreliability, it's how darn well they will continue to seem to run and sound even when horribly out of tune, tricking some owners into not doing nearly enough preventative and regular maintenance.

 

If you are still looking for a 360 and are willing to compromise on the color, The Stable Ltd in Gladstone, NJ has an absolutely beautiful 360 spyder that has been there for a while. It is red, with only 6100 miles. I've looked at the car several times when I've stopped down there, and it is spotless. If I were looking for one, I'd give this one serious consideration. You can check it out at The Stable, Ltd.. Tom Rossiter, who owns the place, is a really nice guy, and everything is "negotiable". This may not be your preferred color combo, but you would be hard-pressed to find a nicer example, IMHO. NAYYY, just a happy customer and frequent visitor.

 

The 1965 Alfa Romeo 2600 coupe looks neat though.