One of the downsides to Facebook Marketplace is that the platform almost encourages owners to post as little information as possible, and there’s no real penalty for it. Let’s face it, sellers get pummeled by messages from tire kickers almost constantly with automated responses and zero commitment to actually follow through on their interest (or lack thereof.) This 1985 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole listed here on Facebook Marketplace comes with all sorts of questions, with the foremost among them why it ended up in this sort of condition on a New Jersey driveway.
Obviously, things have been going poorly for this Ferrari for some time. The aftermarket spoiler is a poor choice in many regards, but it also looks like it was never meant for the shape of a 308 in the first place. However, let’s look past the spoiler and focus on the bumpers: the front and rear bumpers suggest this is a European-specification model. The U.S. models have larger rear bumpers, and the front valence isn’t a one piece assembly with integrated fog lamps. This car has the slimmer rear bumpers and the Euro-spec front end, which suggests additional benefits beyond the more attractive appearance.
The European-specification 308 had 9.2:1 compression, generating approximately 255 horsepower, which is a nice bump in output over the U.S. model’s 230 b.h.p. So, there’s a good reason to pursue a restoration of this forgotten 308, even if the interior is borderline terrifying. Seeing exposed wiring in a vintage Italian car always gives me tremors, and the missing door panels don’t help matters. The seats appear to be in decent shape for a needy project car, and the seller mentions that he has “…the parts for the car,” so hopefully the door panels are in storage on the property.
The hood is also included with the sale, and surprisingly, the seller confirms it runs and drives. However, this is borderline terrifying since the 308’s engine is an interference design, which means the engine-out timing belt service is a must-do before you drive it any distance. This is obviously a car without any significant paper trail indicating recent maintenance, so the next owner is going to be embarking on a 5-figure repair almost immediately. The asking price of $75,000 is quite ambitious for a project, but hopefully a reasonable number can be reached so this 308 can be saved.
Belt service on a 308/328 is not an engine-out operation; that requirement started with the 348 and Mondial T, which have a longitudinal engine with the belts right up against the rear bulkhead. These have a transverse engine allowing the belts to be changed with the engine remaining in-situ, via a removable shroud in the right rear wheel well.
That said, the adage, “Nothing more expensive than a cheap Ferrari” certainly applies here. Even if you do all your own wrenching, which these are reputedly quite amenable to, any parts needs alone would likely hit the ol’ wallet pretty hard.
Putting ye ‘ol credit card on the skillet!
$75k for this?? I do not think the car came with that red wing.
$75K are you kidding! It will cost another $75K to get it back in shape. Skip the Magnum PI and go for a good old Ford Country Squire Wagon.