Supercharged 308GTB almost ready to go

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Interesting. I'm probably too critical but as much as I love the 308, I've never liked the 308 exhaust note, especially at idle. I'd be very interested to hear your car's sound.

Wil

 

Done already. I repainted the calipers and they're now back on the car with brembo logos.

The compression ratio is still the stock 8:1 which makes this engine a good candidate for force feeding.

Wil

 

Thanks.

Yeah, I know one guy who lost two wheels like that already. Those stub-axles are actually Fiat parts. I think the stresses of running slicks on the race track is what they realy don't like. Machining new axles from shock-resistant tool-steel is on the agenda for sure.

Thanks for the warning though.

Wil

 

Hadn't heard that one! But it makes sense. I imagine though, that if I came up with a stronger stub-axle and up-right, the next weakest part would then give up the ghost like the lower control arm or something like that.

 

Hey, real surprise to have this thread picked up again! I've thought about sending some pictures to Forza Magazine but haven't gotten around to it yet. Should do it though! I've been really busy on another project car, that I hope to have on the road some time in 2009, and the 308 has taken a back seat for a while.

The boost on the 308 was peaking at 16 PSI and the the thing really flew but it still has the OEM cast pistons in it and I was afraid the engine might blow. Boost is at a more sane 8 PSI now and the car is still pretty quick. Really pissed I didn't change the pistons to forged units while the engine was apart! I had some silly notion about seeing what could be done with a totally stock engine if it was supercharged - waste of time. At some point in the future I'll probably rip into it again and change the pistons. I have a bunch of other mods I'd like to make then too.

Thank you for the interest,

Wil

 

Hi George,

Thanks for the interest.

My current project car is Maserati powered too but if that Merak was my car I would seriously consider installing the front drive assembly from a Ford Taurus, or something similar, into the back. The Carburetor fitted V6 in that car just doesn't lend itself to supercharging or turbo charging very well and it's an expensive engine to work on. The Taurus engine already has EFI, distributor-less ignition, intake plenums and will it make major power on a much more reasonable budget. OEM and performance parts are more available and much cheaper for the Ford. Call it sacrilege but I've reviewed the options before and what I'm proposing here makes much more sense to me. Drive a Noble some time and it'll make you a believer

Wil

 

I must have some more photos. I'll have to look but there are photos under this thread and another one on the brakes:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=202588

Well, of course the car came from the factory with steel Koni coil-overs but I got rid of that old technology and installed a set of aluminum externally adjustable Vari-shocks with adjustable ride height. These shocks carry smaller diameter springs that allow larger wheels and tires to be installed. I bought the shocks with the springs (non progressive) which were supposed to be matched to the 308 but I think the rear springs are too soft and I may try a set of progressive rate springs next. The wheels are Kinesis 17" diameter and they're modular. I don't remember the widths but they're wider than the stock wheels. The tires are Good Year Eagle F1 but I don't remember those sizes either. I'm a really busy guy and little details like that just escape somehow (no brain no pain). I was actually given the shock and wheel info by fellow F-chatter enjoythemusic who did a lot of the original leg work on those items I believe.

I actually never removed the factory bumper. This 308 was built for the German market and was originally modified by Konig. They might still have the bumper on a pile somewhere. It had what I guess was a Konig installed grille with large amber lights in it and restrictive lattice work. I had to remove all that to get air to the intercooler heat exchangers I installed under the headlights and the bigger aluminum radiator which now has much more heat to get rid of, due to the power increase and the oil-to-water oil cooler which of course sends the radiator even more heat.

 

Hello Russ,

We bought a new digital video camera a while back but I've been too busy to sit down and figure out how to work it (I don't own an audio recorder). Anyway, now you've brought it up again I'll make an effort to make a recording. Sorry for dropping the ball on that one.

Too bad you live so far away or I'd give you a ride - the car sounds great to me. It makes nice noise at Idle and sounded really wailing cool while I was standing next to it on the dyno. Not at all like a stock 308. The slight whine from the supercharger coming out of the side air intakes sounds nice too. Since I eliminated the oil-to-air oil cooler and replaced it with a second air filter to feed the engine, the whine comes in through the driver's window when it's down but the whine is subtle enough not to be annoying. If you're ever in the New York City / Philadelphia area (I live between the two) let me know.

Wil

 

Wait till Mark E has his V12 308 on the road. I'll have to install a second 308 drive-train in the front of my car to best him.

 

We'll, I could say I chose super-charging over turbo-charging for a more instant throttle response but some of the new turbos have such low mass impellers and shafts that turbo-lag is not the issue it used to be. I mostly went for super-charging because I didn't want all the heat from a turbo set-up in such a crowded engine compartment. It's hot enough in there in my opinion.

If I was going to boost a 348, 355, 360, etc, I think I would go for twin turbos because of all the room behind the engine and the comparative difficulty, compared to the 308, of dealing with the belts and pulleys on a longitudinally mounted engine.