There comes a point when you would almost expect for there to be no supercars left rotting away. Sure, you may still find some old muscle cars waiting to be discovered, but all of the exotics must have been found by now, right? Well, as long as we see forlorn sports cars pop up for sale with some regularity, it seems like we haven’t reached the bottom of the well. This is a 1985 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole that’s been parked for many years in California with a sun-ravaged interior and plenty of deferred maintenance to sort out – loosely translated, a full tear-down and rebuild almost certainly required. It’s listed here on eBay for $49,500.
When it comes to 1980s Ferraris, the “Quattrovalvole” designation is one that seems to have less relevance than I would have thought. At a time when performance was decreasing due to new emissions regulations, Ferrari introduced this model with four valves per cylinder to increase horsepower to a respectable 230 b.h.p. Other key differences include the addition of a louvered grill in the front engine lid to aid with increasing air flow to the radiator and power mirrors. This one is obviously equipped with a targa-style roof panel as well. Most of the 308s I see are painted in one solid color; this is a two-tone spec.
Ouch! You can tell this 308 has been sitting outside for a few years. It makes you wonder if it’s been parked at a repair shop, waiting for a customer to come pay their bill and they never show up. This happens more than you think; my local European repair shop has three very desirable, limited-production cars that haven’t been touched in years, waiting for owners to decide whether they want to proceed with a major mechanical rejuvenation. The strange thing is with the targa panel still installed, it’s still gotten this bad – maybe it was parked outside for a spell with the roof off? Between the mold and the dash peeling, this Ferrari has been exposed to a variety of meteorological conditions.
The engine bay looks as tired as the rest of the car, sadly. As we all know, mid-engined Ferraris need engine out servicing on a regular basis, and this one will need quite a bit more. Torque-wise, the 308 pushes out a respectable 188 lb-ft of twist, but you’ll likely need to refresh quite a bit more than the timing belt in order to hear this one run again. Good Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvoles sell for around $100,000 – $115,000, and the big question is whether this example will need more than $50,000 worth of work to get to that level. What do you think – is 308 worth saving?
Let me be the first to say: No.
My thoughts exactly.
For the owner of a specialized workshop it could be a good purchase.
Seller thinks it’s a Mopar :| (trying not to smirk)
No upside at 50k. Too much needed to restore.
This is how exotic car projects come to be:
1) Exotic car (entry-level Ferrari, Rolls, Maserati, Porsche) depreciates to a point where an ordinary schmo can stretch to afford it.
2) Ordinary schmo discovers that maintenance and repair costs are still very much in the exotic car range.
3) Ordinary schmo defers maintenance.
4) Car breaks.
5) Ordinary schmo can’t afford to fix it. Nobody who can afford to fix it wants it; they can buy something better. Car is parked.
7) Car deteriorates to project condition.
8) For Sale.
“Il peccato” (biting knuckle)
If there was a decimal removed from the ask, then it would be fun. Dare I say, LS? Faster, more reliable, any fool can work on it. Where are you gonna get that interior stuff? Not like the local wrecking yard has some out in the lot and Summit racing won’t have it in the catalog. Only a fool would even consider this purchase. I wonder what the story is here? Rich fool got it handed to him, grew tired of it and left it out behind the shed? Drug dealer had to hide it in the woods after something bad went down? This is too unusual, these kind of cars rarely are left outside, no matter what the situation. My guess is that it was owned by someone for what ever reason, money meant nothing to them. Of course, I have seen fairly new Porsches out on salty Midwestern winter roads, so again, some people have too much money, but we all understand that, esp these days.
This would be the best scenario, I know it will never happen, but if it were “cheap” enough, I would sling it in my garage and just take my time. while it would never be concourse Im sure a local shop could recover the seats etc.
might take a while, but would be fun to try “IF” it was cheap to buy in. But at 50k its way too roached. Very sad, as I can only imagine these are a blast to drive. We had a guy here start up a small used car lot with a few Mercedes / Porsche / and a silver 308. 100,000 miles on it and he wanted 30k$. I had just bought a brand new boat so I had to pass, but it was way nicer than this one for sure
If an Italian sports car falls alone in the woods, is it worth $50k?
“The most expensive car you will ever buy is a cheap Ferrari”
You can buy a well preserved original for that $$ or less. This may be the first $5,000 308 I’ve seen. Cost of revival is beyond my calculations.
Had a bunch of these. Go buy a Mondial Cab instead.
Most of what is seen can be replaced or restored like any other car that needs paint or” complete” leather interior. What is unseen or not mentioned is the “mechanical” part. For the hobbyist, it will definitely be a challenge demanding a host of skillsets. Not to mention the fact that these things have a tendency to develop rust in the oddest of places. If you plan to have someone else do the work, be aware that just a 36k mi. service runs in the neighborhood of $15000!
Might be a good start for a race car…..if you REALLY have the cash to burn!
There is a whole website and more for these cars, and plenty of do it yourselfers on there. while some parts are more expensive Im sure, if you watch their videos and how to guides, the timing belts are just a matter of due diligence. I have changed the timing belt/waterpump on an interference 1.8t VW so I like to think it’s doable. But yes, paying someone else would burn up cash as fast as throwing it on the fire.
Unlikely one could find new parts being made in Asia. Pass.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more ragity Ferrari
This is one of those I will say is a must for an ‘LS’ & those that know my posts, I don’t advocate that for any as everyone thinks its the only gas engine made. But this would be the ideal cool custom target piece to resto-rod an exotic. All that torn up interior, console, I’ve seen some nice resto’s & they bring the interiors to life!
Then as they say, drop an LS in, just get the right mufflers to give it a more Euro V8 sound rather than a regular muscle car sound & it’d be a winner. Of course a repaint, rims, etc.
ONLY if you acquired for nothing over $20k for me. As most purists want this for a total orig restore, not this price.
THEN, sell off that engine trans to a Ferrari afficionado & recoup another $15-$20k maybe?
Oh Tom, you were once so proud, hawking reverse mortgages now. Didn’t Magnum drive a 308 like this in the series? Prancing around Hawaii in those little shorts, look what they did to your car. I can’t imagine the sheer miscontempt for such a beautiful car, I can’t find a proper punishment. I suppose a more interesting story is how this car got to the way it is. Anyone especially from Cal. should have known what this was. These always bring an alleged 6 figures at the auction foolishness, so the old saying is still true, takes money to make money, and away you go.
Cars like this are head scratchers. My take is, guy with some money, in a bad marriage, they split up, she gets the gold mine, but could care less about the car. Parks it next to the garage, life takes over, and she ages out and now the family thinks because it’s a Ferrari, they can get $50k. Wakey, wakey folks.
Listed by Gullwing Motors, a reseller out of NY.
They are known for dragging cars out of the dark and just selling them as-is.
no mileage listed on this one. I would bet they got this for way less than 50k$.
what a story, would like to know just how this car got in this sorry shape.
It’s a pretty sad example. And no question that if someone gave it to you that you would be upside down before paid a shop to put it right. In the best case it’s a parts car at this point. As to swaps, there are a number of engines that are in the same character as the car and would add a heap of power. The Nismo 3.7 is good for 370 hp and would likely fit easily, being smaller and narrower than the V8 that was in there. The Nismo 370 coupled to a 6 speed from a Maxima and loaded into the back would be a hoot. It would destroy the value of the car, but at this point who cares.
What an interesting idea. 👍
No longer available, which usually means they sold it off of FeeBay. For some real fun check out their other listings, the Lambo Miura with no engine or transmission.