August's Car of the Month is Stewart Dench's 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS
Here is Stewart’s story:
"In 2018 I started to look around for either a Ferrari 308 or 328 as it was a poster car from my childhood. After looking at a number of cars I decided a carburettor 308 was what I wanted thanks to the induction sound of the carburettors and I also preferred the interior switchgear of the 308 and the look of the 14 inch wheels (16 inch wheels were a factory option).
In May 2019 I found the car I have now owned for six years, a 1979 308 GTS. I had just met Hazel but had not told her about my impending purchase. On the way home after collecting the car from Kent I decided to drop by her house and her initial reaction was ‘that’s nice’. It was only when she sat in the car and saw the badge in front of her that she said ‘is it a Ferrari?’. Hazel is now my wife and frequently come with me to Sadcase meetings. Hopefully the car is not the reason she decided to marry me.
Yes, like most old cars the 308 has needed a bit of fettling with both of the 46 year old crankshaft seals being replaced last year and the windscreen was also taken out and the rubber seal replaced with the correct metal trim. Servicing is not too expensive for a Ferrari with the cambelts needing to be changed every 3 to 4 years but this can be done via the wheel arch, rather than requiring an engine out.
I collected the car with 44,000 on the clock and it is now approaching 51,000 miles so the car does about 1000 miles per year.
My 308 was manufactured in late 1979 although the exact date is unknown as the factory lost its records in a fire. The original telex order was for a Giallo Fly (bright yellow) car but this was changed at the last minute to Blue Dino metallic and the car was shipped to Maranello Consessionaires in Surrey in March 1980. The original invoice shows an invoice price of £11,952.
The car was then probably used as a demonstrator by Coopers of Leicester until it was sold and registered in March 1981, hence it is on a W plate. DVLA records did have the date of manufacture as December 1981 (yes after when it was registered), which was clearly incorrect, but this has now been changed and we believe it is now closer to the correct date, however DVLA have not replied a 2020 letter to confirm the exact date on their records.
As you will see from the invoice the car was originally Blue Metallic Dino but was repainted to Rosso Corsa sometime during the 1980s.Yes, I have thought about returning the car to its original colour but the costs are rather high.
About the Ferrari 308
The Ferrari 308 GTB (Berlinetta) and targa topped 308 GTS (Spider) are 3.0L (2927cc) V8 (hence 308) mid-engined, two-seater sports cars manufactured by Ferrari from 1975 to 1985.
The 308's body was designed by Pininfarina's Leonardo Fioravanti, who had been responsible for some of Ferrari's most celebrated shapes to date such as the Daytona, the Dino and the Berlinetta Boxer. The 308’s F106 AB V8 2 valve engine was equipped with four twin choke Weber 40DCNF carburettors and single coil ignition producing 255 PS (188 kW; 252 bhp) at 6600 rpm (7700 rpm redline).
All 308 GTS used a wet sump engine and were steel-bodied. GTB models used a dry sump given they were used as race cars and pre 1977 models were fibreglass bodied (vetroresina).
There were 3219 GTS and 2897 GTBs made from 1975 to mid 1980. This is 1 of 180 RHD 308 GTS carburettor cars. The GTBi and GTSi models which followed were fitted with Bosch Fuel Injection to meet USA emissions and were produced between 1980 and 1982. This change resulted in the loss of about 40 bhp. The GTB and GTS Quattrovalvole (4 valves per cylinder) was the last iteration of the 308 and restored the power back to around 250 bhp. The 308 was replaced in 1985 by the 328 model which saw an increase to 3.2 litres and the interior was changed to black plastic dashboard with orange dials.
Did you know?
Ferraris are associated with the colour red and given Enzo Ferrari’s passion was racing then his race cars were painted rosso corsa (racing red) as this had been the Italian racing colour since the 1920s. This is why you also see Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Maserati race cars in red. The international racing colours were German – silver or white, French – blue, Belgium – yellow and British – green etc. Some suggest that the true Ferrari colour is actually Giallo Modena (yellow), as this was the official colour of the city of Modena.
Ferrari road cars had a chassis number which is an odd number, as the even numbers were reserved for race cars.
Most historic two seater race cars, including the Ferraris, are right hand drive as most tracks are driven clockwise and so cars were built for the driver to be the closest to the inside of the curves as possible and to provide the best view.
And yes, this model is known as the Magnum P.I. car as it was driven by Tom Selleck in the TV series. Three different 308 GTS models were featured, with a 1978 308 GTS appearing in season 1."
