true or fake about 3X8 series: legends are just legends

9} 3x8 (esp carb) have terrible heat soak into the cabin from the front

10) As the carbs wear after each journey you feel dirtier and dirtier from the emissions

True or false ?

11) GTB/GTS is still the best looking Ferrari of the past 40 years - true & non-negotiable !

 

Sorry, very true. I bought my 308 new and it was impossible (not very hard, impossible) to get second when cold. Dealer so stated when I picked up the car. Also, there was a write up as to why this is so and modification to the problem in Prancing Horse back in the late 80's or early 90's. It's basically a hydro lock due to the way the transmission is designed. Modern, synthetic oils tend to minimize the problem, but the issue is not fake.

Again, obviously not fake as you have added the caveat that you need a deep front spoiler car..... W/o the deep front spoiler the front end gets very light above 120 or so and they can be out right scary at 140+. Doesn't go straight may be an exaggeration but the car is easily pushed around by road irregularities, cross winds, etc.

 

As I said, there was a write up in Prancing Horse about the problem and the solution. The issue of shifter alignment is different and was addressed in that write up as well. The solution to the cold shift problem involved drilling a relief hole is the casing to allow trapped oil to escape when cold and highly viscous. Once hot there was sufficient clearance that the lower viscosity would allow the oil to escape w/o needing the relief hole. Actually the article I referred to is in Prancing Horse, issue 127, 2nd quarter 1998, page 45. I though it appeared earlier. I would suspect that on higher mileage cars there would be some wear and the passage in question would "open up" somewhat, mitigating the problem to some extent, and, as I said, so would the use of more modern synthetic gear oils. After 31 years and 31k miles, my car is still a little notchy, 1st to 2nd, when cold but not anything like it was when new. When new you could literally lean on the shifter and it would not go into 2nd when cold.

As far as going straight, it's like I said, the 308 w/o deep spoiler gets very light at speed. "Not going straight" is just a crude way of expressing that. I'm pretty sure that anyone who has honestly driven a short chin 308 at 120-140 will tell you that. Why do you think they made the deep spoiler option? I wasn't just for looks.

Don't know about a 328 as I have never driven one.

 

From my experience with the 328, I'd agree with John: very difficult to shift into second with a cold gearbox when I got it.

Before I bought it, the gearbox had been rebuilt by the dealer for that same reason, by direction of the previous owner.
(Previous owner got ripped off, a bit. Which is one reason I got a good price. )

I've seen the article about the rod having to fit into a tight slot, with cold oil slow to get out of the way.

Swapping the gearbox to redline synth oil made the situation unnoticable.


I can't say on the high speed question.
I don't trust the latches on the T-top enough to have pushed past 120 mph.

 

12) 308 handles like a "go kart" fake

hard to image with the stock molasses slow steering ratio it feels anything like a go kart where u can change directions with a flick of the wrist.

btw did anyone ever figure out what the stock steering ratio is?

 

1, 6, 7 are true for me (mine is a QV so that's why I have a problem with 6)

19 years of ownership.

 

Fallacies I can think of:

13. 3x8s cost a fortune in annual maintenance.
14. 3x8s cannot be properly maintained without factory training.
15. 3x8 parts are astronomical in price.
16. 3x8 mechanical design is perfect and modernization only ruins perfection.
17. 3x8s cannot be both driven and preserved at the same time.
18. 3x8 turns into a pumpkin at exactly 100,000 miles.

 

From my experience with a 328, that is very much true. Until the oil temp is warm, very warm, it is hard (near impossible) to shift into 2nd gear and pretty hard to shift into 4th gear.

Once the oil temp is warm, it is rather easy to shift into those gears.

When Road & Track road tested the 328, a new car mind you, they expressed the same.

As far as the AC, my original system which uses R12 freon (R134 is NOT freon) is blows rather cold. Now, can it cool the entire cabin on a hot sunny day? It's borderline. From what I have heard, R134, which again is not freon, does a less good job cooling the cabin than does R12.

-F

 

#5 is certainly true for me, the before and after difference with the front deep spoiler was astonishing. Have never had shifting issues ever, carbs rebuilt so no issues there either.

 

I agree with #1,5,& 6 Disagree with #7 as my AC converted to 134A is very cold, I mean cold.

 

Wow, just wow...

 

Spot on John, having modified at least half a dozen of the gearboxes to resolve the issue it's very apparent why this happens once you've got one torn down.

Oh and light at speed, yeah it's no fun when you've got 700+Hp hurling you down the road in the top of 5th ! (OK maybe a little fun ) Deep chin splitter is a must as would be a proper rear diffuser to reduce lift.

 

19. Putting the car in reverse gear can be very hard when the oil is hot: true.

Inviato dal mio Dynamic_Wing utilizzando Tapatalk

 

The cabin gets quite hot through heat soak. Afraid that one is true. I took a trip with friends to Monterey for car week. We were driving at higher speeds in high ambient temperatures and it was like my right foot was on fire. Not worried about it though. These are old exotic cars and are going to have their quirks.

 

Just select a forward gear initially (like 3rd), then move the shift lever into the reverse position.

 

I think you may just be doing it wrong. This vehicle has no reverse synchros. So: clutch in, shift into 1st, then immediately into reverse.

 

I've found this one to be speed dependent, on a GTS.

Traveling down the road isn't a problem. The airflow channels the heat away.
But once I get stuck in city gridlock, all the heat from that engine wafts forward into the cabin, when the top's off.

The oil temp goes up, too, as the oil cooler is ram air fed -- so sitting at a light doesn't cool the oil.
When I worked in the city, I was thinking of putting a fan on the oil cooler, as creeping through the 3 levels of underground parking garage would leave the oil pretty warm.
Fortunately, I'm out of that locale, now.

 

Changed my gearbox oil to synthetic at about 30,000 miles and serviced it again at about 90,000 with synthetic. Shifts quite nicely from 1st to 2nd when cold since I went to synthetic. As for the a/c the problem is not how cold the air is that comes out the vent, it,s a matter of volume. It just doesn,t move enough air to keep the cabin cool.

 

My experience, is that synthetic gearbox oil works best in the 328, and the hotter it gets,,the better the car likes it,,same as with the motor oil,,I do not use synthetic oil in the engine,,no matter what,,,it always finds a way to leak out,,After my last service,,I didnt realize they put in Mobile 1,,,I went ahead and changed it out with Valvoline 20/50 VR1,,Petroleum based,,This oil is great because it has a Zinc additive,,which I believe is better for the cam shafts...Not sure if any of you 328 guys are still using your CAT converter,,,I swapped mine out a long time ago with a test pipe,,,,and boy does it let the car not only run cooler,,,water temp wise,,,but it lets the car breath and run so much better,,,I just recently had my car smogged,,I had to re install the CAT,,,what a difference,,!! Once I passed,,the CAt came right out,,,

 

So what's the big deal? Forty years ago, Bruno Borri said "Chaz, you just a shift from 1st to a 3rd and not a worry about 2nd...It's a like that in all Ferraris." It works for my
TR too. And a stock '78 GTB doesn't go fast enough for the front end to get "light." Mine is in excellent tune and has never seen the other side of 140 mph. Too many academicians here. Sorry but that's my 2 bits.