gjvander

I was browsing the Ferrari Club of America web page. I am thinking about getting a 348TB ot 328GTS some time in the future....

Any case, the Ferrari crowd is definitely different from Porsche crowd. They had few guys post questions about how to fix this and that - no replies. I guess they all take their cars in for service.

I would like to hear from some of the rennlist crowd who has driven 328 or 348's. Supposedly the Ferrari's oversteer quite a bit. I have the C4, so I have to really abuse the car in the dry to get it step out. In the wet it's a blast though! It is also disappointing to see how low the 308 / 328 horsepower output is.

I think it would also be ok to rip on Ferrari's if you decide to reply....

Regards,

Geo

Geoffrey

I have done a lot of work on a Ferrari 308 and at one time considered a 348. The thing I keep going back to is that the parts are SOOOO expensive and you have to wait forever to get them. Just as an example, the front brake rotors cost $350 each.

The 308/328 isn't all that fast and is really a 1970s design with poor quality interior. The 348 looks good and is the basis for the 355, but is really a transitional model between the old 308/328 car and the 355.

andrew964

Geo,

take a look at www.ferrarichat.com

after your 964 you'll find the 308's and 328's a little slower handling is about the same as a 911 or 964, the 348's are almost as quick as the same age turbos with similarly tricky on high limit handling.

As for servicing parts, yes the cambelt changes do hurt the wallet but only every 30,000 miles or 5 years, and most parts don't cost as much as you'd think if you shop around,
For example geoffrey's $350 brake disc, Ferrari used the same setup as Porsche did for the 964 so parts arent as expensive if you don't mind not getting them in the dinky yellow box's with prancing horses all over them (but they do look great if you fill a shelf or two with them in the garage!)

as some one whos had both its fair to say that a 964 is a car and a 3X8 is a toy.

gjvander

Thanks for the link Andrew. Don't think I will get rid of the 964 - I would just like to add a Ferrari to the garage at some point. Their prices have come down fairy steeply.

How reliable are the Ferrari's? I have heard horror stories about Porsche's before I bought one - and some of those have come true! I find the C4 very easy to take to the limit - and rewarding car to drive. Sometimes I think we (the owners) get used to driving such nice machines and take it for granted.

I was also looking at Austin-Healey 3000 MkII. Naturally not in the same class, but looks like a fun little car. Not sure how they handle.

Regards,

Geo

Mike in Chi

Geo

I had a 3000 (a BN-7) in the '80s. Very handsome car, and the 6 made a lovely sound. Otherwise, it's ancient technology and performance, and no where near as fun as a 9ll (if you like to go fast). The 3000 is alright to cruise in as long as the temperature isn't too warm. Then the heat through the firewall will melt the soles of your Nikes. And I came to believe every Lucas electric joke is based on fact.
YMMV.

Bought a new 951 in '87 and drank the Stuttgart Kool-Aid. Although the red cars do have a certain appeal.

warmfuzzies

I've only driven a 348 twice, both times on the track.
Heavy steering, heavy clutch, dogleg first, disappointing sound in the cabin, dated interior (more dated than the porker)
This and it wasn't as fast as I had hoped, altogether not an experience for the road IMHO.

Kevin.

andrew964

Geo,
the running gear is similar to a 964's ie if you keep it well maintained they will last for over 100k without a majopr overhaul (have driven a 112k miles 328 and it was pretty rattle free) the down side seems to be electrics and bodywork (typically italian! but then again every 308 or 328 is at least 15 years old) the electrics suffer from dry joints and cheap fuse boxes,
One thing to bear in mind is that they are really really easy to change the mileage (either to roll back the clock of to disconect it) so look for the usual tell tale high mileage signs (worn seats etc) the cars that have done really low mileages also have a tendancey to break when pushed back into service, so the best one to get is something with average miles but full history and in good shape

Trapps

The August 2002 issue of Sports Car Market had a pretty good 328 article which included the following key point addressing your query:

Re: the 1989 328 - "It was the last Ferrari that could be repaired by a good import shop. The following generation of V8 Ferraris evolved into temples to high tech gadgetry. When something goes wrong with one of these technological marvels, you have to truck your car to an authorized Ferrari Dealer - they are the only place that has the computer necessary to fix your car."

The 89 cars had 270 hp. I can't comment on real ( a quick jaunt on Woodward Ave.) driving, however I recall it being a tight fit for my 6'2 250Lbs.

Mark

Riccardo

Just to confirm the complication of the later V8s (355), I know a Porsche specialist who bought a part burnt out 355 cab to fix up and resell. They did all the work etc but they still couldn't get the car to run. And this is from guys which mess about with cars all day...

rutz964C4

I,ve driven a Mondial Cabrio, beautiful sound each time the car was out a new repair was on its way.

I just have a question How many of you have seen a Ferrari with more than let´s say 75.000Km and how many Porsches have you seen with that and over that?

Talking to a Friend who was at a presentation in which they track tested several cars 996TT, 550 Maranello, Viper by several magazines. The second day of the Maranello had several gears broken while the Porsche had absolutely no problems.


ALEX

wjk_glynn

I've driven a 348 on 2nd/3rd gear roads and at those speeds driving 7/10ths, it felt good.

I've heard that at high speed, the early 348's had evil handling that was sorted out in the later model years.

Here's some interesting 348 reading:

http://www.ferrariclub.com/faq/348versions.html

BTW - I saw an interesting 348 for sale in SF ( http://www.carsauto.com/detail.cfm?ID=15822 ). Its been nicely upgraded for track work.

Karl.

special tool

As far as the Ferrari guys go - you really can't judge them by the 90% 14 year old children who use that website. I used to think that surely they were a mamby-pamby bunch of nancy boys - then I went to the Ferrari club meat at Lime Rock...
Let me tell you, I was impressed. The guy with the F40 (running 1:05's) had his head buried in the engine and very greasy hands. He also actually knew that he had a plastic oem Bosch recirc valve.
There was a 512LM with Lemans history. This car had an unpainted 1/4 inch plywood splitter and at least 3 sets of holes where the mirrors had been ripped out and simply drilled and moved forward - I laughed hard at that.
In general, these cars were being worked on by owners and all had at least one dent.
The gulf painted famous 308 that travels around the world has such badly chewed up mags that they look dangerous.
These guys drive their race cars.

JoeW

..... and up on the hill above the track at LRP in a roped-off grassy area in neat rows sit all of the FCNE weekend cruisers, like Bartlett and Bambi who (this last July) saw a 12 yr old put his hands on their 360, the better to see in, and yelled at him to "not touch."

Two very different groups. J