My 308GT4 jigsaw puzzle | FerrariChat

My 308GT4 jigsaw puzzle

Discussion in '308/328' started by kiwiokie, Apr 26, 2014.

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  1. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #1 kiwiokie, Apr 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I took delivery of my first Ferrari on Good Friday. It is a US '75 308GT4 that was sold new in California and resided there until 2014 when it arrived in Oklahoma. The car was advertised on Craig's List late 2013 as a partially completed project. Some of you might remember the ad since it include a picture of what the car could look like when completed which some found suspect. After talking to the owner a few times and looking at some better photos I felt he was a decent sort but did not do a good job putting his ad together. The story goes that the seller bought the car in 1999 with about 20,000 miles on the clock and put 30,000 on during his 15 year ownership. Apparently the nut retaining the lower drop gear had come loose causing the gear's eventual demise. At that point he decided to have the car taken back to bare metal and painted. The engine was removed to paint and detail the engine bay. The exterior color was changed from black to grigio ferro. After painting the seller was unable to complete the project and it was put into storage for 6 years. Somewhere along the way the heads were removed from the engine and the valve gear disassembled to solve a blow by issue that the car had experienced. Apparently the engine was very strong, did not smoke but had oil accumulation in the air filter housing. The engine was found to have high compression Borgo pistons and it was suspected the ring gaps were too large for a street engine. Here are the pictures that I first received from the seller.
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  2. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #2 kiwiokie, Apr 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    As you can see from the photos there is much work yet to be done on reassembling the car even outside of getting the engine back together! Despite this it seemed to be a pretty complete car that was worthy of further investigation. Early 2014 GT4Joe and Dom were kind enough to go look at it for me to get a set of independent eyes on it. Their reports were generally positive - paint nice but not perfect, original QV wheels, decent interior. Overall a solid starting point but a long way to go to get to completion. I am not new to older cars and have a good group of knowledgeable car guys to draw upon so decided to take on the challenge! The first part was to reunite the car with its engine since the car was in Laguna Beach and the engine in San Diego. On to the flatbed went the car to receive the engine block for transportation to Tulsa.
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  3. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #3 kiwiokie, Apr 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  4. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #4 kiwiokie, Apr 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  5. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #5 kiwiokie, Apr 26, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    colinoz and ItalianOne like this.
  6. greg 19425

    greg 19425 Formula 3

    Jan 6, 2011
    2,471
    Wake Forest, NC
    Full Name:
    Greg
    Great project, whish I had the time to do the same. Good luck and please keep us up to date on how the project is doing. :)
     
  7. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    Normally when buying a car I would try and find one that is already "done" that someone is selling for 50 cents on the dollar invested (which seems to be about the normal discount) but there seemed to be no cars like this out there during the 6 months I had been searching the Internet. Most cars were driver quality that could very easily require an engine rebuild, transmission rebuild or repaint soon after purchase. Faced with this I decided that at least with this car I would now exactly what went into it and how well it was done. I have spent the last week unpacking boxes of parts, cleaning and working out what I have and what I might need. This is a long term project that I will document here with photos of the progress and along the way I am sure I will have many questions for people on this forum so wish me luck and don't be shy about giving me your input. Cheers, John
     
  8. boeingfan

    boeingfan Rookie

    Feb 15, 2007
    19
    Auckland, New Zealand
    Full Name:
    Paul McDermott
    G'day John,
    Looks like a car worth saving. Looks in better condition than I thought. I hope all the engine parts etc are there in the jigsaw.

    What does the interior look like?
    Regards
    Paul
     
  9. gt4me

    gt4me F1 Veteran

    Sep 10, 2005
    5,637
    UK
    Full Name:
    Lewis Mitchell
    That'll look great when it's done.
     
  10. Todd308TR

    Todd308TR F1 World Champ

    Nov 25, 2010
    11,070
    LA
    Full Name:
    Todd
    #10 Todd308TR, Apr 27, 2014
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2014
    Welcome, unlike many people you know exactly the condition of your car.
     
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  11. Nielsk

    Nielsk Karting

    Dec 8, 2012
    179
    Central Florida
    Is that Grigio Ferro? It looks great, one of the most attractive color schemes on the car IMHO
     
  12. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    I believe it is grigio ferro metallic but the seller did not know the name other than it was an actual Ferrari color. Looking at photos of other GT4's if it is not the exact color it is pretty close.
     
  13. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    I contacted F-Chat user 134282 about the history of the car and was pleasantly surprised to receive quite a bit of information (thanks Carbon!):

    "It was for sale through Tower Pontiac-Cadillac Imports of Fresno, CA, via the 12 June 1977 issue of the L.A. Times: black with black interior, chrome wire wheels, stereo/cassette; one of a kind with modifications, less than 2,900 miles, still in warranty.

    Then, as per Denny Schue's Dino Register, the car was owned by someone named Follett of Santa Monica, CA, until 1990; the date/year in which Follett acquired the car is unknown.

    In 1994, it was owned by Marshall Buck of Los Angeles, CA; Buck offered it for sale in '99: black with black interior, fresh motor with Borgo comp pistons, soft clutch pedal kit, no smog pump, 16" Cromodora Ferrari wheels, six-point harness with harness bar, fire extinguisher, 20,000 miles."

    Much to my relief this matches exactly the sellers story about the car that he bought in 1999. So originally black, black interior and chrome wires. Not my preferred look on a GT4! You can still see the wear marks in the rear leather where the harness bar would have been. It also has some holes in the front valance that suggests it had a front spoiler.
     
  14. ME308

    ME308 Formula 3

    Nov 5, 2003
    1,542
    Munich, Germany
    Full Name:
    Michael
    great colour !

    restoration will be fun ... and eagerly awaited ;)

    lot`s of knowledgeable people around here that have already walked that walk
     
  15. pmichaelg

    pmichaelg Formula Junior

    Apr 21, 2006
    256
    Minnesota
    Full Name:
    Michael
    Looks like a very nice starting point - best of luck to you!
     
  16. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 5, 2002
    8,475
    Awesome man! You have a big job ahead of you, but it will be worth it when you are done. I'm glad you were able to get in touch with Carbon on the history. Can't wait to see more pics as you finish your quest.

    Best Regards,
    Dom
     
  17. GT4 Joe

    GT4 Joe Formula Junior

    Oct 19, 2010
    833
    Dana Point, Ca.
    Full Name:
    Joe Williams
    Glad you got it there and are sorting out the parts and the project!
    Just take a deep breath, plan your work and work your plan.
    I think it will be worth it.
    Joe
     
  18. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    OK my engine disassembly has ground to a halt. I believe I have all of the nuts removed (even the ones tucked under the lip on the flywheel end). Did not care much for the one behind the differential but fortunately the last person in there had the same trouble so it was not as tight as the others. I was hoping some judicious taps with a soft hammer and lifting the block would separate it from the sump/transmission - but no movement. I end up lifting the sump as well. Can anyone offer some advice on how to separate? I dont want to pry on something and cause damage. Thanks in advance. John
     
  19. 350HPMondial

    350HPMondial F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 1, 2002
    5,187
    18 mi from the surf,, close to Pismo, CA
    Full Name:
    Edwardo
    Big 2x4,, pry away.
    Banging will not help,, they are stuck togather with Silicon,, or. a halomar product.

    Good luck,
    Edwardo
     
  20. robertgarven

    robertgarven F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Feb 24, 2002
    5,269
    Ventura, California
    Full Name:
    Robert Garven
  21. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    Thanks Edwardo, I used a 2x4 to lever at each corner which broke the seal then with the hoist lifting the block only was able to lever again and get the block separated. Then it was only a matter of guiding the block so the oil pick up cleared the baffle while continuing to lift with the hoist. Both are apart now and the block is on the engine stand (sort of). There is not enough thread on the bell housing studs to snug the block up to the arms of the engine stand so I will make a spacer out of some spare pipe and then I should be done!
     
  22. guygowrie

    guygowrie Formula 3

    Sep 19, 2011
    1,400
    ct
    Full Name:
    guy s
    #22 guygowrie, May 10, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  23. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    Exactly right. Must have been ordered by an Elvis impersonator. Wire wheels look wrong on any model after the 250 series IMO. To me even the Daytona looks like a kid whose mother dresses him funny when shod with Borrani's. Interestingly the floormats are the same black/blue jute as used in the luggage trunk. Never seen anyone mention having those before. I will post some pics once I have cleaned them up.
     
  24. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #24 kiwiokie, May 10, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    After removing the outer nuts of the flywheel housing I noticed one of the studs in completely missing a nut. Must have been a weight-saving measure?
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  25. kiwiokie

    kiwiokie Formula 3

    Aug 19, 2013
    1,455
    Tulsa, OK
    Full Name:
    John McDermott
    #25 kiwiokie, May 10, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017

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