308 with carbs vs. 328

Worked in the business since carb 308s were new cars and have never asked myself that question. 328 all day every day. Better car in every way.

 

Hi Brian
You've been a member of this forum for almost 20 years now. Many of the members here defer to you in matters pertaining to these cars, as do I. However, your statement that the 328 is a better car than the 308 in every way is rather broad brush. If you are comparing the generations purely from a mechanical/technical standpoint I can understand your assessment. As the 308 evolved into the 328 I'm sure it was Ferrari's intention to make it a better car, whether by desire or in response to prevailing/emerging governmental mandates. Build quality also improved, I'm sure. I have never driven a 328, so my opinion is biased by my limited experience. Having said that, I feel that the 308 betters the 328 in purity of design. Mine being a '76 Euro 308, and having heard 328's in person, I would argue that the carbureted 308's sound far better than the later injected 308's/328's. Properly set up carburetors are very dependable, and don't need a lot of fiddling once they're right. Where I am going with this, and I think you would agree, is that one's determination as to which is the better/preferred car is as much influenced by subjective/aesthetic opinions as technical considerations. Thank goodness, however, that we all love these cars for what we feel they are.

 

Styling and sound are matters of opinion and in no way impact how good the car is which was my statement.
As far as injection vs carbs since I installed the engine 12 years ago I have not touched a single injection or ignition component. Carbs are pretty trouble free. Fuel injection is vastly better.

When the 328 was in production employees in Ferrari dealers were pretty unanimous in the collective opinion it was the best car Ferrari had ever made.

 

Not only a 308 with carbs for me, I am actually keeping my eye out here and there for one.

But I have been driving a injected 308 for 28 years so that's why.

 

That makes total sense to me. The injected 308 is very different from the injected 328 performance-wise (and different from the carb'ed 308's also).

For me, the order would be 1) 328, 2) Carb'ed 308; 3) Injected 308

 

I can appreciate that from a mechanical/technical standpoint. But I feel that one's opinion as to whether one car is better than another, taken as a whole, will in many instances also take into consideration styling/aesthetics/emotion. Age old debate.

 

On paper the 328 is a better car in every category, but a well set up 76-77 carbureted 308 is a far more fun and rewarding car to drive IMO. Totally different experiences though, very subjective. One is more old school sports machine more like a Dino, while the 328 is more of a refined feeling GT cruiser

 

328 is a better car because:

1. It has more horse power
2. It has better cooling capacity
3. It has better electric design
4. It has fewer oil leaks
5. Its ignition system is better than carbs and lots more reliable and easier to tune and maintain
6. Its emergency brakes actually work
7. Its suspension is better
8. You can still get 16 inch performance tires (versus 14 inch wheels)
9. It does not spit or pop during warm up, or does it even need to be warmed up

Of course, you might not like any of the above and prefer the spits and pops personality.

 

Far better brakes, handles better and better HVAC.

 

You can modify either car to the limit of your money but as delivered a 328 can run circles around an early 308.

 

Absolutely, it can also run circles around a Dino. There's a reason they're half million $ cars though. different strokes and all that I guess.....

Did you see that Dino on BaT recently with the original 24v Stratos racing race engine setup? Man that thing is awesome. Talk about rare air

 

And a 355 can leave a GTO for dead but not sure it has any more to do with this conversation.

 

Comes down to what you prefer. I think both are good cars and both have the potential to be expensive to repair. I prefer toggle switches, carbs and GTB's.

 

Was going to say the same thing about switches. I had a beautiful low milage ‘86 euro 328. But every time I saw a 308, I envied the toggle switches and sliders. Now I have a ‘77 carb 308…


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Same

The 328 is a better car but I didn't want one. I wanted a 308. When I bought mine in 97 I didn't want the carbs. Thought they would be a headache and I had driven about a hundred million 100.00% trouble free miles (and I mean ONE HUNDRED PERCENT trouble free) with K Jet on various VW Sciroccos over the previous 13 years.

Now I don't want the injection. I want the carbs just because I want the carbs.

 

Depends what you want out of the Ferrari experience with the 3#8 route .What your previous car history is and to some extent what else currently is in your car stable , where your daily’s performance envelope is .

There’s no wrong answer .

Then when scouting around ( presume Italy ? ) the condition and potentially how much more € s the prospect needs tipping into it .

Assuming all is equal because it’s not gonna be used as a daily imho there’s just something special about carbed classic cars , simple analogue zero electrotwackery cars .The whole starting knack running the fuel pump to fill the bowls , pumping the accelerator ( choke if applicable);the warm up period , the whole 9 yards of hearing carbs , knowing there’s a bit like your garden strimmer simple mechanical linkage between foot and the motor ……easily adjustable i will add .

We know your granny in her new ish todays VW golf / Rabbit got a better technical car AC wise , NVH , all weather etc .We know every iteration of F car generally improves on the next .The Q wasn’t that ….which is best …..which Brian jumped in and answered .

Nope it was “ which would you get “= Carbs all the way given a choice.

 

Why does the F market price 246 ; 208; Dinos 5/6X more then ? Which fall waaaaaay down on every once of your 9 points compared to a 328 .The Q wasn’t “which is better ? “: But thx for volunteering what we already knew .

 

The 328 has always been and will always be the better Ferrari going all the way back to when the 308 came out in 1976 I believe was the year. The 89 328 being the last iteration of the 308 / 328 run, is the very best. As a matter of fact when it comes to reliability as well as so many other things, the 328 is most likely the best mass production car that Ferrari has ever produced. Im happy to say I have had my 89 for 25 years, it has 105,000 miles and it still runs like it did with 20,000 miles.

Big G

 

We are talking about "better" cars, not "more expensive" cars.

But, for you carbureted GTB loving people, feast up.

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The OP question was not "which is better." The question was, what would you prefer

 

There is no universal "better", because everyone's individual preferences are unique. Some may dislike fuel injection for the same reason someone else likes it. Neither is right or wrong for their own purposes. All the versions have there advantages and disadvantages -- I don't think anyone can go wrong with a 328, QV 308, or carb'ed 308. The injected 2-valve 308 was not a great performer just because of bad timing -- Ferrari had to scramble meet tightening emission specs and hadn't yet figured out how to do that while maintaining performance (also impacted the performance of the Mondial 8). The QV fixed that, even more so in 328.

 

Thought I made that point .Anyhow Tnx for trying again .

 

I prefer the better car.

 

Mike, stop stirring **** up.