Shortly after moving into my current house, my son and I were working out in the garage when I heard the sound of a high-reving Italian engine roar by. Sure enough, a red Ferrari 308 was the composer of this masterpiece. It wasn’t long before I introduced myself to my neighbor Stuart and a friendship began. Everytime my 3 year old son hears the Ferrari coming from off in the distance he says, “Daddy hear comes the Ferrari”!

Ferrari 308GTSi

I asked Stuart if he would like to provide some helpful experience and stories of Ferrari ownership. I learned new and interesting things about Ferrari from him and hope you do to.

I also have to thank Stuart as his 308GTSi is the first Ferrari I’ve ever driven. For some reason my Ebay searches are now scouring the vintage Ferrari’s.

Featured Car: 1980 Ferrari 308 GTSi in Rossa Corsa (race red).

Owner: Stuart H.

Years Owned: 18 Months

History on the 308: The 308 is credited with saving the Company from extinction in the seventies as they’d survived on making small batches of cars to support the racing passion of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari. Roughly 10,000 308s made world wide between 1976 and 1986 with a few variations of the model. The first 700 were all Berlinetta (hard top) and rarest since they were done in fiberglass. ‘77′ to ‘79 were carbed and came in either Berlinetta or spyder (removeable top). 1980 cars were fuel injected for the first time and the i added to the 308 badge 308i. In 1983 four valves per cylinder and QV added to badge 308QV (for quattrovalve).  
 
 The car became a media darling in the era with shows like Magnum P.I. and the Scene where Christie Brinkley passed Clark Grisswold in “Vacation”. and the chase scene with the black 328 driven by James Woods and the red Porsche driven by Jeff bridges in “Against all odds”
 
Personally I think this is the last of the great Ferraris. This car is  handmade using old world technology.  Body panels are banged out by hand and imperfections are filled and smoothed out with hot lead. Each frame and engine built in Ferraris’ factory and poured from the Maranello foundry. This car made Ferrari a household name. 

Tell us about the search: I travel alot for work and would check various sites for cars in the areas I’d be in. I was on an odyssey to find my dream car. I’d be amazed at how nice a car could like in pictures only to see a mess of a ride in person. By the time I found this car advertised in Atlanta (12th car I’d looked at) I didn’t expect much but was pleasantly suprised at how clean the car was. I knew within 5 minutes of driving it that it was the one. 
 
Where is your favorite drive: In North Florida twisty roads are hard to come by but scenic ones are everywhere. Favorite drive is North up to Amelia Island for the ocean views while driving.

 
Do you service the car: I’ve learned to get my hands dirty a little with this car. I’m not much of a mechanic but I do enjoy the connection I get to the car by doing things like oil, plugs and cleaning grounds and other smaller things.
I was able to diagnose an overheating problem to a fan with a worn bearing and fix it myself. The big jobs like timing belts will be done at the mechanics. 
 
Have you modified the car: I pretty much like to keep the car stock as to my eyes the car is the most beautiful car ever made. Only thing I know that isn’t original are the front louvers being blacked out instead of body color which is correct for my car. I upgraded to the 16 inch wheels found on later Quattrovale cars 1983-1985 also.  

 
Advice for people searching for a Ferrari 308: Only advice I’d have for someone looking for a 308 is to see the car in person and along with the important reciepts use your own knowledge of what to look for in a car. Start it up and look for smoke let it idle under a bridge overpass or at a drive thru were noises can resonate and listen for anything funny. Always check for over heating and check the coolant tank to see if any oil has mixed with coolant (white foam). The most important reciept to have is the one of the last timing belt change. 308’s have interference engines and an old belt or worn tensioner can do in an engine in short order. Some aren’t satisfyed until they’ve had a leakdown and compression test done as the cost of rebuid is steep (15-20k).
 
Know too that unlike any car I’ve ever owned a Ferrari gets ALOT of attention..most of it good but some of it bad. Constantly get the Magnum P.I. thing and “how much does it cost” and  “how fast have you had it?”  guys pull up next to me at lights asking if I wanna race. Best response is ” I’ve already won”. Seems young boys know what a Ferrari is even though the car is way before their time. I do enjoy when a polite person comes over to the car awstruck by it and tells you it’s beautiful and walks away with a big smile. The thumbs up is always nice too.

 
 On the negative side people will yell “show off” to you or tell you how their Mustang is faster or better than your Ferrari when you just sitting at a stop light minding your own business. I’ve had at least a dozen women tell me they like my Mustang. It’s common on the Ferrari forum to hear of keying and drinks thrown at cars etc. I wasn’t expecting this kind of attention and i’m still a little in disbelief about it. 
 
What’s your next car? Next car (someday) i look forward to is a Lamborghini Countach. The Countach and the 308 were the super cars of my childhood and something about them still draws me in. I’d like a low body 1980 with carbs.