Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Drove my brother-in-law's Ferrari!

Went back to Oregon to visit the family. Since I was last there, my little sister's husband picked up an '81 308i.

A hoot to drive. Not really that quick in a straight line because this was from when everybody was having trouble making any HP due to emmission controls. IIRC this one is rated at 205HP. (Considering that Ford was proud of 185hp from 5 liters in the mustang GT at the time, 205 from 3 liters wasn't bad.)

The sounds it makes are worth the price of admission. The communication of the steering, brake pedal feel, the whole experience was great. Gotta get me one of these....

Make sure to post again once he has to service/repair it and see how much he still likes it.

They're fun to drive though, for sure!

He does all the work himself. He is a salesman at a Ferarri dealership, and well aware of the weakness/strengths of the various models. He paid 18K for this one. It looks perfect. Red (of course)w/ tan interior. aftermarket wheels (got rid ot those TRX things), European bumpers. When he got it didn't have any torque above about 3500rpm's. Turned out the air meter in the fuel injection was stuck. He cleaned it, and now it runs at full power. He is so used to driving 360's and such, he almost makes excuses for it. But this one is HIS, not the shop's.

I've loved the 308 ever since Magnum P.I. The car still looks amazing today, if a little dated. Not quick anymore by todays standards. But, it must be cool to be able to say you own a Ferrari.

-R-

got beside a couple 355 spiders on the 407 a little while ago, it is surprising how quiet they are at speed. The 355 is my favorite ferrari

My cousin has a 328GTS that I got to drive on a few occasions. Cool car, loud enough to wake up the neighborhood, but what a tight squeeze for tall people. I had trouble with my feet bunching up because of the close pedal placement, not to mention the intense heat in the cabin after a lengthy drive. He uses it as a sort-of daily driver, and has over 85K miles on it.

if only i had the money and reasources for one

Actually the 308/328 series cars were the last ones produced by Ferrari that could be serviced by a non Ferrari trained, albeit competent, mechanic. With the introduction of the 348 came propreitary electronics that can only be serviced with equipment found at a dealer.

The 308/328 had simple Bosch fuel injection, a go/no go electronic ignition and the engine doesn't have to be pulled for routine service.

$18k is a great deal. Private sales of early 308's are hovering at ~$22-27k for a clean, unabused example. An '85 308 QV will bring $32k.