Tall person 328 search - reporting back in after test

I've owned both a 308 and a Mondial QV. I'm 5' 10" and slight-of-build so I fit both cars just fine. I find the Mondial has an 'open' feel. It seems to be designed to feel spacious. (Upper door panels tilt out, etc.) The 308GTB, which I still own (9 years now) feels like I "put it on" when I get in and I "become part of the car". THAT is the feeling I like, not the open 'passenger' feel of the Mondial. Still, they are both GREAT cars.
Disclaimer: These opinions are worth what you paid for them.

rick

 

For "visceral experience" you need to try a 308qv , the 328 is a little too refined for for some people.

 

You drive a GTS, or a GTB? The GTB has more room. Both in the roof, as well as longer tracks for the seat.

I drove both a GTSi 2V, and a QV, and still wanted my dream car, an early 308 GTB with carbs. Thats got to be a lot closer to a 275 than anything you mentioned, at least sound wise. No masking the sounds of webers.

 

For the ultimate visceral Ferrari experience, you probably need to go to an older carb'ed car - maybe an early 308. You will sacrifice the easy startup, driveability and lesser maintenance of the 308QV/328. Fuel injection just doesn't have the drama. Even people who love the 328 and 355 will admit it's a different sound/smell/experience. A 355 with a Tubi is pure symphony, but a different kind of music than a carb'ed Boxer or even an early 308.

I've driven '86 and '87 328s; I haven't driven a Mondial. From discussions and reading, I've heard the 328 is quite a bit more visceral (loud and immediate feeling) than the Mondial, due to its shorter wheelbase and the proximity of the engine. I would guess the 328 you drove needs tuning, or better gas. The Tubi exhaust on mine makes a slight difference, but to my ears it's not night and day different than the stock exhaust.

I was told when I bought my car that the 328 was more "refined", but in comparing the last 308 QVs and the early 328s, now that I've owned one, it really is splitting hairs. The cars have the same frame, basically the same drivetrain and the same absence of soundproofing. If the seat padding is different, it must be by a few millimeters, and the "climate control" in the 328 is still pathetic compared to, say, a 2004 Kia Spectra.

Maybe they tweaked the shocks, but you'd have to be pretty intimate with both cars to say one is "less raw" or "more comfortable". Carb'ed 308 --> injected 308 = huge difference. 308 QV --> 328 = some difference maybe.

 

Here's a great reason to buy a 308GTB with Webers!
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BAD ASS!!

I agree that if you want the visceral experience, there is no substitute for carbs. But I worry that an early 308 in the Bahamas will rust in short order. These cars have no rustproofing AT ALL and will not respond happily to salt air. What island do you live on and how far from the sea?

Birdman

 

Rick, that car gets better looking every time you post a pic. So keep posting pics, lol.

Hard starting with carbs? Key on, wait a few seconds...1..2..3..tap gas pedal 1/4 squirt..4..tap..5..tap..twist key ..6..tapVROOOOOMMMM..tapVROOOOMMMM..tapVROOOOMMMM......putterputterputterputterputterputterputterputterputter.......tapVROOOOMMMM.....

Or in lesser doses as required to keep hair from pushing out of the neck of your shirt. Between the carbs, the gutted air box, the K&N filter, and the ANSA exhaust, its pretty wide awake back there. I think there are some posts regarding a carbon fiber targa top. More head room, more storage space/seat room, etc., if you need a GTS. There are also ways to alter the car/seat for more room.

Reliable? I went off into Wisconsin last fall on my 48th birthday as a present to myself. I put on over 400 miles that day, on a points ignition carbed car no less, and got lost. Pic was taken far from anywhere you could roust any help, no cell service, 30 miles from any town. Not as pretty as Ricks, but shes a good lil driver....
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Still one of my favorite Ferraris and favorite Ferrari photos !!! Stunning.

 

Thanks Guys. you're convincing me to finish the interior! Here are a few shots, some you may have seen:
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I too am 5'10", medium build, and I agree with you on the "fit" of a 308. It's like the designers took my measurements and designed the car around me.

BTW - Your car looks awesome!

 

Dude, that is an awesome looking car. (Of course I am a bit partial to that color)

 

Love the early 328 wheels on it. Probably the cleanest wheel Pininfarina ever did.

 

I agree. Simple and elegant.

 

+2

 

Will no-one mention the obvious solution for this guy? An early fiberglass 308 gtb. Costs a premium but also has much better upside potential IMHO.

 

Or an early steel Standard Specification (Euro.) car. Rust? Yea, my silver GTB had some degree of rust on EVERY steel body panel. We stripped it bare, repaired every spot with new steel, acid-etch primer and new paint - even the backs of all the panels. Would it stand up to salt air? Dunno. The original paint stood up to salted roads up north for 20+ years.

 

All I know is that I have friends in Hawaii near the ocean, and everything metal on their house and cars gets corroded in short order! Their window hardware, door handles, garage door hardware, etc. is all nasty looking from the salt air and humidity mixed together. An early 308 would not last well at all in that environment. And you will BAKE in the car, so get a GTS!


Best advice? get an '84 QV (galvanized!) and put Webers on it! Now ya got something!!!!


Birdman