Ztarum - I have to post here, and say that I know you researched your car extensively! That is one beautiful car (shields and all)! One of only 748, to be exact. Being a euro, you may notice the lights a bit brighter than the American 308 counterparts. Full Congrats! It looks fantastic! Michael
I would prefer to loose the shields as well, but I am a bit chicken to pull them off. I would hate to mess up what is otherwise nice all original paint.
They will come off with some patience and adhesive remover. Once you (gently) clean away the glue residue with the adhesive remover, polish and wax. It will be as if they were never there. I have done this many times.
The headlights are clear. I haven't run the car at night, so I have no idea about their effectiveness. I'll look into the upgrade after I see how bad they really are. The Cobra was a Superformance with a 351W that dyno'd at 465 hp. I was the first owner of the car although I didn't really build it. More like commissioned it really, as I paid the engine builder to install the motor. I didn't do any of the wrenching myself. I could have handled the install, but I didn't want to build the motor myself, and by the time I bought some of the tools (hoist, etc.) that I would have needed to install it, it was cheaper to just have him do it. It was really a fantastic car. Solid, and seriously fast (0 - 60 in the 4 second range). The perfect car for a weekend blast. I would have liked to have kept it, but I only have the space and budget for one fun car at a time. When I got the Cobra, I intended to keep it for the long haul, but in the end its utter lack of practicality let it down. I expected that my wife and I would use it more together, but she never really enjoyed the car very much. It is loud, hot, noisy, and windy. She never really felt safe in it, which is understandable. The other thing that bothered me about the Cobra was that it was a replica. It shouldn't matter what other people think, and although I never passed it off as the real thing I did get tired explaining to people what exactly it was. If you consider a Cobra, I think it's best to think about it like a motorcycle. The usage and level of practicality are about the some. If your wife or girlfriend would be happy spending a couple hours on the back of a Harley, then she will love it. If not, then I would plan for mostly solo use. In the end, I decided I'd rather spend more time together than out driving by myself. With the economy tanking, I also thought it would be a good time to sell the Cobra before it depreciated significantly. They hold their value pretty well, but will never appreciate. So, why the 308. I have always wanted one, and considered it before I got the Cobra (I also looked at Caterhams). The Ferrari cache certainly helped. What kid doesn't dream of owning a Ferrari at some point. There is also enough of them made to ensure decent selection. Some of the other cars I thought about (Maserati Mistral) were too hard find. Years ago my preference was for a Euro 308 QV GTS. My tastes have changed over time and I now like the GTB's better. Having the Cobra got the convertible bug out of my system. From a performance standpoint, the Ferrari still feels like a quick car. Fast enough to be fun, but not so much that one misapplication of the accelerator would put me in a body bag like the Cobra certainly would. All this talk about how slow the 308 is seems a bit baffling to me. It feels fast. Not brutal like the Cobra, but still very quick and agile. Maybe my low expectations going in (based on what I had read) lead me to be pleasantly surprised, or maybe I got lucky and ended up with a stronger than average runner. I'm sure the no-cat euro exhaust noise helps in the "feels fast" department too. It feels as fast as the 328's I drove, but maybe it's all in my head. I don't really care. It feels plenty fast to me, and I supposed that is all that really matters.
Any particular kind of adhesive removed I should use? Is goo-gone or similar OK, or I do I need something special?
Thanks for the nice comments, and especially for giving me a chance to look your car over when trying to decide what to get.
Mine peeled off after an hour in TX sun, then I used Griot's Instant Detail to cleanup the surface. They also make a very good adhesive remover, gentle and not smelly, but I'd try it on the bottom edge of your spoiler before using it on a highly visible painted area. Definitely don't use a strong chemical product such as Goof-off or Goo-gone.
Thanks for the explanation - of course I hadn't put practicality very high up on the list of things to consider when thinking of Cobra vs 308, but now that I have a 308 it is nice to be able to throw a few bags in to the back of the 308, or have a conversation at 80mph with the top off, or have a roof A caterham for the solo weekend blast would still be ideal! Very interesting. Anyone who has ever called the 308 'dog slow' or similar should read this. I've never driven anything with close to the P/W of a cobra (but did have passenger rides around the Ring in some VERY fast cars), and I feel the same was about the 308. Bottom line: it's fast enough.
I get mine in bulk from an industrial supplier, so I am not sure about goo-gone. I am sure that pretty much any mild glue solvant will work. I would just be sure to clean, polish and wax the area that you exposed to the solvant as soon as the glue is removed from the area.
Love the hardtops! bdelp said he owned it with the boxer paint scheme. So it may not be original paint.
Woof, woof. I'd love to have one of those! I've ridden in a 289 real deal & also a 429 kit that melted the owners shoes to the floor. There is no mistake you have a snake when you pull up in a Cobra. Yeah, baby!
Uber congrats - BEAUTIFUL car (especially without the badges ) Hope the weather coincides with getting the belt service done, hopefully on the same day! Jedi
looks good zack,3m makes the best adheasive removerany paint auto paint supply store will stock the stuff.good luck
I did the 16" upgrade and like it much better. The choice of tires in that size is great too.[/QUOTE] wat about 18's 360's Image Unavailable, Please Login
I have some of that 3M adhesive remover which has a lot of naptha in it from the smell of things. If you can't find the 3M stuff just get some naptha or even WD-40 will take the adhesive off. Lighter fluid is just naptha so that route will work also, and it works well for cleaning spots/stains off leather without removing the dye and evaporates instantly. I've peeled decals off cars and trucks just from sitting that side of the car in the sun in the summer and simply peel it off. A blow dryer will work too and won't accidently burn/bubble your paint like a heat gun can. It just needs to be good and warm, not scalding hot. Beautiful car by the way and I happen to like those shields for some reason. I guess it makes it look more like a race car than a street driver...
Congrats on your car - it's beautiful! I've been admiring it for a couple months at http://www.healeywerks.com/sales/autos/. Was disappointed (with myself) when I saw the SOLD sign on her. Makes me feel a little better that she went to a FC member and we may get to see updates every now and then. Look forward to the day that I can post similar pics! Way to go - nice Euro GTB QV's are hard to find. Hope you have many years of enjoyment!
You have good restraint to join in August and this be your first post! I guess a GTB will bring things out in people.
Thanks. I really wanted a Euro GTB, and there just weren't very many available. My wife also insisted it be red, which further narrowed the field. I am happy I was able to find such a nice example. I'm about half way through doing a major service now. I just finished checking valve clearances and am waiting for a couple of shims. Once I have those I will degree the cams and start closing it back up.
