Didn’t buy a Pantera, bought a 308 GTS at Barrett-Jackson
 

beautiful car!

I had a long string of 12-cylinder cars (250SWB, 250Lusso, 275GTB/4, 330GTC, 365GTS/4, etc.) in the late 60's-late 70's; all bought in Europe and imported here. Got the bug again in 1997 and found my 1985 308GTS/QV (Quattrovalvole, 4-valve) at Ferrari of Washington in Virginia. It was a one-owner trade-in with only 8,000 miles on it and a fresh major service, so I flew to Washington, bought it, and drove it home to the Detroit area. Stopped on the way home after 8 hours on the road and took First Place at the Ferrari Concours d'Elegance at the Meadow Brook Historic Races in Clarkston, Michigan.

Had lots of fun with it, put a lot of weekend miles on it, attended many Ferrari Club of America events (I was one of the founding members of the FCA Great Lakes Region). Drove it for four years and sold it to a fellow NCRS member looking for his first Ferrari - had 12,000 miles on it when I sold it. Wonderful car, never had a single problem with it, did routine servicing myself.

Easy car to live with - I'm sure you'll thoroughly enjoy it. I still recall just sitting in the garage with a beer and marveling at that beautiful Ferrari. :thumbs:

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Here is my '79 car, built Sept 1978, SN 25521. I bought it in 1984 from the original owner, and put 40K miles on it. Back in the 1980s, girls would follow me home when i was out driving. ;) Not so much anymore....:( Started doing my own service as paying someone was too expensive. The engines are bullet proof, I missed shift once and watched the tach climb to about 11,000 RPM, with my heart in my throat,and it seemed like it took forever to drop below its 7500 RPM redline. No harm done. My car is a bit unusual as it has Euro gauges, and few other Euro only things, even though it is not a grey market car. I think the body was destined for Europe, but they diverted it and put a US engine in it and shipped it to Newport Imports. I repainted in it the late '80s as the original lacquer paint was checking badly. The car has never been wrecked or dented. The 280Km/hr speedo makes some people look twice as they don't realize it's in Kilometers. ;)

Have fun with your new toy! I always liked the red cars, but thought they were cop magnets.

Beautiful car you bought, be careful with it, you will learn the word 'Unobtanium", when it come to a few certain parts.
Doug
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a good pantera is way cooler then a 308

but I love Ferraris too

Congrats on buying a FANTASTIC Enzo era Ferrari! These are some of the easiest to own F-cars ever, and the last of the analog cars. You can actually wrench on these yourself, unlike the newer ones.

I've been working on my "bucket list" for the past 10 years or so, and one of these was on it. I found a very clean low-mileage well cared for example of a 328 in nearby New Jersey from a very poorly written eBay ad with horrendous photos, so I went to look at it since these are usually the best opportunities. I'm glad I did....the owner's house had a big security gate across the driveway, I had to call the security guy over to let me in....yeah, it was in an uppity area of NJ. The owner greeted me at his 50-car climate controlled including humidification parking garage.....no kidding! Complete with terrazzo floors and umpteen hyper exotics decorating the place. So he shows me this 1988.5 example (it has the updated suspension but not the often troublesome ABS system) and of course I'm smitten. Love at first sight. We strike a deal, I pay the man and I back my open trailer towards the garage. He starts to freak out! He's shocked that I would even THINK about hauling it home in anything other than a climate controlled enclosed trailer. hahahah. Sorry Bub, I guess I'm ghetto!

Anyway, here a few photos of it. It's a fantastic car, never has a single issue with it. These cars are not fast, but they are capable of keeping up with a KIA, and they handle like go-karts! Getting in/out is a challenge being so low to the ground, but there is ample room in the cockpit, even for a tall driver. One thing to consider: if you are a shy person like me, you DON'T want one of these cars; you WILL be followed, photographed, and questioned everywhere you go with this car. Another thing I've learned too: Ferrari owners in general are extremely nice to other Ferrari owners and love to share knowledge and experiences. I first thought the opposite, but I was happy to be proven very wrong! I now have a few friends from the Ferrari world, and have met one of the best 328/308 indie mechanics on the East coast, so my rolodex got deeper and better.

As stated, I'm a bucket-list guy.....I buy cars that are on my list, enjoy them for a few years, then sell them while hunting for the next car on the list. (Some people think I'm a "flipper", but I'm not, I just love lots of different types of cars and want to experience as many as I can before I turn to dust. But I can't and don't want to keep them all. As my wife says: I have more money than brains, but she enjoys and supports my dreams). Anyway, I sold this car recently on BaT to a local enthusiast. He stays in touch and absolutely loves it too. Who wouldn't? These are simply one of the most fun, and affordable Enzo era cars ever made.

At the very top of my list is a Ford GT40. Once I get there though, I'm done with the list! But I still have a ways to go in order to reach that lofty goal. Hope I live long enough to get there! haha

Anywho, that's my story, here's my ex 328. I miss this car a lot, but I'm onto the next bucket-list car.....

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yep,it would need to be a 71-74 regular body car,,[but I know a guy that bought a new ''GTS'' flared car and its cool too],,and most panteras are rust buckets,[ive had a basket-case one 30 years ago],,and your 308 is gorgeous,,,,the ford part made them a low maintenance car,[a ford could be fixed everywhere]

Nice!

Love the wheels on your car, vettebuyer....they are like a cooler version of the factory wheels. Much more high performance looking. Are they larger than stock? If so, even better; more choice of tires.

The originals were 14" wheels. Made by Cromadora and some otehr mfgr. They were true magnesium alloy wheels and incredibly light compared to aluminum wheels.
I went with 17" aluminum wheels and 245/45-R17 tires in back and 235/45-R17 tires in front, though after installing them, I figured I could do 245s all the way around.

14" tires that were V rated were horribly expensive, and only one or two choices which is why I went with 17".

The tires and wheels cost less than half as much as just 14" V rated tires would have. Plus, the original factory lug bolts were ugly due to chrome flaking and new factory lug bolts were about $40 EACH. Times 20 lug bolts...the log bolts for the aftermarket wheels were $2 each.
These wheels mount hubcentric, so you need to know your hub size is if going after market,and buy adapter rings if necessary.

I had the tires taken off the original wheels and put them in the attic.

PS: If your rear axle CV joint boots ever tear, certain year 911 boots are identical and cost 1/5th as much.

Doug

Wow, Such a beautiful car. . :cheers:

Do people restomod old ferrari's like they do muscle cars, porsche's, etc. from that era?