How can you a tell a fiberglass from a steel body 308 GTB?

With a magnet , hahaha just had to say it. There are 2 places that I know to look. One is the A-pillar near the windshield. There is a line near the top where the roof meets the post. The other is the rear licence plate area. The glass car is flat and the steel cars are recessed. I'm sure others will help here.

 

Easy.
The fiberglass resin available back then was of lousy quality. Today, those fiberglass cars can be identified by their ever-decomposing body panels

I will never understand why these 308's hold any special appeal (and command more $$$) than the steel bodied cars.
FLAME SUIT IS ON ----- go ahead Vetroresina-lovers ---- let me have it!!!!!

 

Look at the top corners of the windshield, there will be a horizontal joint line there in the A-pillar. The joint is not present on the steel cars.

 

See joint line at the top of the a-pillar:
http://www.ultimate car page.com/pic.php?imagenum=1&carnum=558

Rear view (non original exhaust):
http://www.ultimate car page.com/pic.php?imagenum=3&carnum=558

Google search:
http://www.google.nl/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4MEDA_nlNL292NL292&q=vetroresina+308

 

If you open the engine cover there is a row of screws along the back just above the number plate next to the rubber seal. Also if you push the roof its very bendy. The bonnet is aluminium though.

 

Check out Keith Blummels book on the 308/328 series. he has pictures of fiberglass and steel cars.

The gap at the top of the windshield is the only real way I know of telling the two apart ... without using a magnet.

 

You will also be able to tell a steel car from a glass car via how much better the steel cars look *runs and hides*. ahh I love this thread already. jk jk calm down everyone

Being serious though. The glass cars command a premium due to their rarity because of their first edition nature. I would like to have one for the reason that I am a 308 nut, never for reason that they are a better performer though. The weight difference is very small at maybe 40lbs difference

 

After having owned a fiberglass 308 GTB & steel 308 GTB concurrently between 1977-1989 I can share with you the differences.
The main difference that no-one has mentioned is that the reversing lights in the fiberglass 308 GTB are oblong in shape & are an integral part of the rear bumper - the steel model has the reversing lights incorporated into the round rear lights.
The other thing that is correct is that there were horizontal lines in the upright A pillars on the fiberglass model.
The fiberglass model had a single rear exhaust system whereas the steel model had dual exhausts.
The badges on the steel body, as I recollect, were recessed into the bodywork whereas the fiberglass model insignia seemed to be mounted onto the bodywork itself.
As for saying that the steel bodied 308s were only 40lbs heavier - in actual fact the fiberglass model felt about 400lbs lighter & more nimble and quicker to drive than the steel model by far. In fact to me each steel door felt about 40lbs heavier each than the fiberglass model. I may be biased due to my age when I actually owned both fiberglass & steel bodied cars but I still to this day think that the fiberglass 308 GTB was the best Ferrari that I ever owned, and I ran over 100 thousand trouble free miles in it.
Best regards,
Les

 

There was a huge discussion with actual figures posted from owners of both steel and glass cars, Euro, US, the whole shmeel. Not a big difference. A fchatter recently purchased a Euro glass GTB with a/c and the shipping weight was listed as 2900lbs+ or somewhere in that neighborhood. Well, add US bumpers and that adds another 80lbs. My '76 GTB without the huge US thermo reactor muffler, but with US bumpers and a/c weigh in just shy of 3000lbs (1/3ish fuel tank). People may say there is a difference but the fchat mythbusters put an end to that. There were pics posted showing just how thick the fiberglass is in some areas from a knowledgable tuner in Europe who has weighed and worked on tons of glass and steel cars.

 

All correct except the exhaust. Australian spec glass cars had the dual exhaust and were all wet sump 2 distributor cars.

 

Now that you know HOW to determine if a 308 is fiberglass, now to determine WHETHER you really have to have one. (Personally, my steel-bodied 308GTB suits me just fine .)

 

Flame suit or not, this is just bs. The glass is of very high quality on those cars, and if you want to see decomposing body panels, check out the rust on many/most unrestored steel cars. Good glass dry-sump cars sell for around twice their steel counterparts, so I guess buyers know the truth about the differences. The comparison above by the owner who had both matches my own experience exactly. Flame on.

 

found the thread I was searching for. Euro glass car. Euro bumpers and A/C. Shipping weight of 2844lbs. great read as there is some enlightening information. I am guessing a US glass car without thermo muffler with US bumpers weighs in around 2940ish. Those bumpers are killer! The last page has photos of fiberglass cut away showing just how thick the stuff is in some areas.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228757

 

I always found it amusing that if any other car in the world has a fiberglass body it is considered inferior, but Ferrari builds a fiberglass bodied car and it's something special!

Question: What other car built from 1976-77 has all of these same qualities as a fiberglass 308?

- rare (700-some made)
- is the first edition of a long-running and successful model
- fiberglass body / steel frame
- lightweight (actually lightweight -- 2000-2200 lbs)
- mid-engined, with excellent handling
- designed by one of Italy's (and the world's) greatest
- has multiple Formula One championship winning heritage
- company founder cared primarily about racing and built road cars to support the team

??? ???

 

i think you own a couple of them... but they are missing half of the cylinders

 

And they have to be restored every 6 months or so.

 

I am not saying they are poorly built, just that your figures are horribly off. There is no performance gain, or if there is it is not something that can be felt. See the below listed thread so we dont beat this horse any more.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=228757

 

Just pointing out on the reversing lights located in the rear bumper true for the Euro glass cars, but the USA glass cars had them incorporated into the rear lights. Hence, the solid amber rear lights on a Euro.
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+1 righto. US spec cars never had reverse lights incorporated in the rear bumpers. They were always in the center of the amber turn signal lens.