Believe me, one cannot make a living by writing one book every few years as I do. I also have a proper job. Nathan
Another way is to collaborate with the likes of Bluemel to update and expand upon an existing publication. Personally, I am less interested in the evolution of oil temperature gauge placement and more interested in the relationship of the car to popular culture and the stories related to the ownership of the cars. Is there not ANY reason that the Factory would find advantageous to collaborate, or even officially sanction, such an undertaking?
Carl, this is an excellent post, and amply illustrates the size of the task for anyone who tackles this subject. It really is a minefield and I'm not inclined to go there. I would be prepared to edit and produce the book, but it will need a lot of input from others who know more about the subject than I do. Any volunteers? Nathan
[QUOTE=" Is there not ANY reason that the Factory would find advantageous to collaborate, or even officially sanction, such an undertaking?[/QUOTE] Out of subject but I would like to know their answer
The factory could only provide one useful aid and that is access to their build records on these cars. Beyond that they can really be of no other practical use unless they can find an employee that was building these things who is still their. Doubtful. This car was a moving idea going to paper nearly 50 years ago. Those directly involved are retired or passed away, they aren't sitting behind their desk at the factory this morning. Those on the assembly line or over at Scaglietti making the bodies saw the last roll off and away when Reagan was one year into his second term. Some of them may still be there - but who are they are are they willing to sit for a recorded interview? The records in Classich are the goldmine. My vision is a double or triple bound set with one book dedicated to each 308 chassis as reported from those build records (not ownership unless it is extra unique). Just the basics. Chassis #, build date, country, color and (the very few) options. THAT'S what the factory can help with. The rest, we could do on our own.
Tommy, there is NO chance of getting any information from the factory’s Classiche records. It’s closed shop these days. Don’t forget that Classiche is a profit centre. Nathan
When I visited Classiche back in 2009 the director showed me the original records for my 330GTC. When I jokingly asked if there were a copying machine nearby he looked stunned for a moment until he realized I was having him on......
To get the Factory to be “on board” or contribute you need to find a way for them to benefit. The factory is concerned with more than just money, they have a legacy and mystique to hold up, hence Classiche. I think the opportunity would be for Maranello to tell the story as they see it - history is written by the victors... In some ways you have to think from their perspective on why it would be beneficial to open and publish their records. I’m sure there is an angle, I just don’t know it at this point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yeah. Convincing the Millenials in the executive suites would be the hardest part. Especially nowadays while the fail completely. Styling (they fired Pininfarina). Formula 1 being the saddest part currently. Best Martin
I really like the idea of a 308 book, though I would consider making the Bertone Dino 308 GT4 and variants as one book and the Pininfarina Ferrari 308 GTB and variants as another. At least as two volumes in a set. The factory saw them as quite different vehicles and it would be hard to pack a lot of information into just one book. I would look for photographic evidence from the film negatives of “Road & Track”, “Auto Motor und Sport”, “Autocar”, etc. It’s a timely record and much easier than finding unmolested original examples. Also, when I got the keys to my car I was expecting “bye” and that would be it, but then had a forty or fifty minute “class” on how to properly use it. Not just the proper warm up, but why the design of the trans wouldn’t let it immediately go into second gear until warm, how not to kink the front hood when closing it, how to re-adjust yourself in the seat (not with the arm rest), how to reattach the rearview mirror without cracking a windshield, etc. That kind of detail may help convey ownership a bit more for those that haven’t made the plunge (yet). And save them a bit of money when they do.
Welcome to Ferrari Chat. I doubt that there’s enough to say about the GT4 to fill a volume. I think if I were going to split a book into two volumes I’d make the first about the development and production of the GT4, through development and production of the carbureted 308GTB/S variants. The second volume about the fuel injected cars through 328.
Except the GT4 is more closely related to the Mondial. And since is it, and if it makes it in the book, so should the Mondial following the same logic. Now we are back to the same problem of diluting the 308 to fit everything in. My vote is leave the Mondial and GT4 to their own volume.
Cant fit it all in one book without making it the same generic basic repeated info as every other book covering all these cars. Been there done that. For this to be different, it needs to be different.
Just pulled this out of my bookshelf and re read, just to get a taste of what could be... Image Unavailable, Please Login