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Thread: Ferrari 308 GTS

  1. #11
    I remember sitting in my 79 SC at a stop light in Ann Arbor when someone from C&D pulled up next to me in a red 308, one can imagine what happened next. To quote the thread starter- I got out my car a while later and thought "damn that was stupid".
    Phil
    Early S Junkie # 658

  2. #12
    looked at once - $25K - needed basic maint. - on top of the engine out basics - new tires/brakes and chasing down a/c leak - repair bill est. pushed $60K - what a bargain
    Early 911S Registry #750
    1970 911E - The Good Stuff
    2001 Toyota Landcruiser

  3. #13
    Senior Member swbstudios's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by boxster03 View Post
    looked at once - $25K - needed basic maint. - on top of the engine out basics - new tires/brakes and chasing down a/c leak - repair bill est. pushed $60K - what a bargain
    I don't know how that is even possible. A major performed by the owner is about 1800. Even quoted by the Ferrari dealer, its still between 4500-6000. and includes timing belts, fan belts, coolant hoses, water pump, fluid flush, plugs,filters,etc.
    My engine has never been out of the car to perform a belt change, although some do prefer to R&R. I just replaced my brakes-nothing exorbitant about any of the parts and tires are also inexpensive as they are not large diameter.
    That number quoted was bogus-unless the car needed a complete rebuild. The cost to rebuild a 308 V8 is no more than what many of us have spent on our flat 6 engines.
    67 911 , 69 911S, Ford V Ferrari 906LH, 85 Carrera...and-gasp! a bunch of Corvettes, Musclecars and Italian crap(330GTC,GTA/M,308GTB)

    EarlyS # 603, GroupV #2

  4. #14
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    second SWBstudios...

    I called the local Independent Ferrari dealers in So-Cal and Austin asking about the cost of repairs etc on the 3x8. Not that different from a 911 of similar vintage.

    Much of the Ferrari hate from the Porsche side of things is un-justified. Internet chat-room expert opinions based on what they read somewhere vs actual knowledge.

  5. #15
    In 1983 at 6AM on a Sunday in a Business District over by Pierce College (Desoto/Victory) I had my 246GTS two of buddies one with a 1979 308GTS and the other with a Euro 1980 911SC all lined up... The light turned green and away we went... We tried it repeatedly at the next few lights. Guess who won all of the races?

    No one!

    We were all pretty much dead even, changing each time with maybe a 1/2 car length difference up to 75-80+mph.

    Retail Ferrari repairs Ain't a whole lot different then paying Retail for 911 repairs. The thing with Ferrari parts is that each dealer/parts supplier will quote you a different price for the exact same part!

    When I bought a clutch package for my Dino the disc came from one place, the pressure plate came from another place and the TO Bearing came from a third place... I saved $500 on the clutch parts by buying from different places.
    Last edited by execmalibu; 11-05-2014 at 09:12 AM.

  6. #16
    I had an early, fiberglass-bodied GTB in the late-'80s that I bought because of the looks. I sold it shortly afterward because of the drive. I found it slow and very heavy feeling. The engine made a wonderful sound but didn't really get you moving very fast. The clutch was big-block muscle car heavy (I thought I was going to break the seat back when pushing in the clutch) and the seating position ridiculous (I felt like a preying mantis). In short, it felt like a kit car. I believe the 3X8 cars have been "undervalued" for so long because they're just not very compelling to drive. Buy one, stick it in your garage and look at it. But to drive, no thanks.

    That said, until very recently I also had a Dino that I bought for $48,000 not too long ago. At that price, it was a fun knock around car with many of the same driving characteristics of the 308. When someone offered me silly money for it, it was gone. No regrets. I'll never fully understand the Ferrari crowd.

  7. #17
    Senior Member swbstudios's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by reed View Post
    I had an early, fiberglass-bodied GTB in the late-'80s that I bought because of the looks. I sold it shortly afterward because of the drive. I found it slow and very heavy feeling. The engine made a wonderful sound but didn't really get you moving very fast. The clutch was big-block muscle car heavy (I thought I was going to break the seat back when pushing in the clutch) and the seating position ridiculous (I felt like a preying mantis). In short, it felt like a kit car. I believe the 3X8 cars have been "undervalued" for so long because they're just not very compelling to drive. Buy one, stick it in your garage and look at it. But to drive, no thanks.

    That said, until very recently I also had a Dino that I bought for $48,000 not too long ago. At that price, it was a fun knock around car with many of the same driving characteristics of the 308. When someone offered me silly money for it, it was gone. No regrets. I'll never fully understand the Ferrari crowd.
    Odd. The clutch action on every 308 variant that I've owned is comparable to a 911. I have also found the drive to be very good. Properly aligned with suitable tires, my experience with the 308 line has been completely different from yours. They are mid-engined and handle excellent. The steering feel, while not as good as my early 911(what is?) is still accurate and quick, throttle response is also very good. As to performance, as others have stated, it is very comparable to its contemporaries. I'm 6'1" and also enjoy the driving position. The quality of my current 308 is excellent-in no way does it have even a slight "kit car" feel.
    Perhaps you had a poor example of the 308?
    I suppose if I had based my opinion of the 911 on the first unloved example of the 911T that I drove years ago, I would have ignored the marque forever. It was incredibly slow, handled miserably on its old squishy tires and didn't feel special in any way.
    While I will never sell my early 911s, few of my automotive experiences have equaled time spent at speed in my 330 GTC or Daytona on the open road.
    I won't even get into a comparison of newer models, but, many of them are quite special as well.
    67 911 , 69 911S, Ford V Ferrari 906LH, 85 Carrera...and-gasp! a bunch of Corvettes, Musclecars and Italian crap(330GTC,GTA/M,308GTB)

    EarlyS # 603, GroupV #2

  8. #18
    Senior Member Macroni's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by execmalibu View Post
    In 1983 at 6AM on a Sunday in a Business District over by Pierce College (Desoto/Victory) I had my 246GTS two of buddies one with a 1979 308GTS and the other with a Euro 1980 911SC all lined up... The light turned green and away we went... We tried it repeatedly at the next few lights. Guess who won all of the races?

    No one!

    We were all pretty much dead even, changing each time with maybe a 1/2 car length difference up to 75-80+mph.

    Retail Ferrari repairs Ain't a whole lot different then paying Retail for 911 repairs. The thing with Ferrari parts is that each dealer/parts supplier will quote you a different price for the exact same part!

    When I bought a clutch package for my Dino the disc came from one place, the pressure plate came from another place and the TO Bearing came from a third place... I saved $500 on the clutch parts by buying from different places.
    scene from "against all odds" James Woods took Jeff Bridges if I recall correctly but Bridges ended up w/ the girl......
    86 Sport Purpose Carrera "O4"

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Macroni View Post
    scene from "against all odds" James Woods took Jeff Bridges if I recall correctly but Bridges ended up w/ the girl......
    Wonderful scene!

  10. #20
    Early S Reg #1395 LongRanger's Avatar
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    'Outlaw Ferrari'

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike_Moore View Post
    . . . The car to have is the euro fibreglass 308, or Vetroresina as the cognoscenti call them! ( Fibreglass sounds so much better in Italian...)
    These were the very first of the 308 and the purist in form, dry sump motor with webers carbs gave 255hp which Ferrari used in 76/77
    for homologating this new V8 for racing. All went a bit downhill after that with the introduction of wet sump and fuel injection . . .
    Hear-hear!

    Fiat --- excuse, me . . . Ferrari built over 12,000 308/328s, between '75 and '85 . . . but only ~700-800 were GRP. After the switch to steel, all the GTSs had wet-sumps, while the Berlinettas were supposed to still be dry-sumped thru '80-'81 (?)

    Depending on who you believe, steel cars only weight ~25 lbs more than the plastic ones. But, seems nobody actually weighs those cars either, so . . .

    Anyway, the early cars have carbs --- which are supposed to sound great . . . but the later cars have 4-valve heads, which --- well . . . have more valves. So, it's always sounded like the best combo would be an early dry-sump car --- steel or 'glass, depending on your climate, I guess . . . w/ carbs + a later set of Quattrovalvole heads? Euro bumpers, please

    Nobody 's done it, AFaIK

    Then again . . . nobody 'Outlaws' their Ferrari, either --- or drives them much, for that matter . . . so . . .



    . . . you could be the First One, Frank!

    .........

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