As we've had a lot of interest shown in our Ferrari 308 GTBi restoration project when it's appeared online in various places or in the background of other things that have been shot/filmed, we are offering the opportunity for someone to purchase it whilst it's still in progress, thus allowing a top class, freshly-restored car to be obtained at a great price and/or for the new owner to have their own twist put on the build if they so desire.
The rest of the text below is copied straight from our advert on eBay, so apologies if it sounds less personal, but it's a lot fo information to type out again.
Here we have a unique opportunity to purchase what will be an incredible example of a classic Ferrari 308 GTBi, for what will represent a fantastic price for the extent and standard of restoration carried out.
Please read the listing very carefully and if you have any questions at the end, please do not hesitate to send us a message.
Firstly, we are a small, dedicated restoration workshop based quite centrally in the country and the restoration of this car is currently ongoing, but unlike buying a car to subsequently restore, this particular car is past the point of any unknown/hidden nasties in terms of bodywork, structure, engine and electricals, all of which is an absolute godsend when buying any Italian classic as I'm sure most of you will appreciate!
So, in order to sum up as concisely, but thoroughly as possible exactly what you're buying into today and what work has been carried out so far and a history of the car in general, please read below:
It's a 1983 Ferrari 308 GTBi (2V), which was purchased by the previous owner in 1993, who then proceeded to keep the most comprehensive history file I have ever seen with any car. I have added a photo showing the history file on here, which is a plastic storage container full of box files. As well as your regular invoices and receipts, it is also accompanied by parts catalogue diagrams, which have been highlighted to correspond with each and every component changed. Much of this will be rendered useless in practical terms following a full nut and bolt restoration, but it's still a nice accompaniment to keep with the car and still good to see the past history of the car prior to restoration. It also contains many photos showing a detailed document of the strip down he carried out when commencing this restoration.
He ran the car for a good number of years before taking it off the road to carry out some remedial works. As this point, presumably having been very much enjoying running a Ferrari, purchased a Mondial to run in the meantime. This meant, maybe somewhat inevitably that the 308 stood around a little longer until he added a 355 Spyder to his fleet and the 308 stood around until he decided it was in need of a full nut and bolt restoration and taking back to "as new" condition.
This appeared to be progressing rather nicely, and was the subject of a feature in the Ferrari Owners Club Magazine. Then, from what I can gather, a rather messy divorce brought the project to a rather abrupt end and had to be sold on as a work-in-progress, which is where we stepped in.
Now to sum up, with works that had already been carried out and what we have carried out to date since, the below has been the extent of the restoration so far.
- Car stripped completely to a bare shell
- Shell and all panels stripped 100% to bare metal by a renowned Soda Blasting Company and coated in anti-corrosion Epoxy Primer (there's a bill on file for almost £3000 for Soda blasting alone!)
- Shell and panels found to be in overall pretty good and straight condition, but some inevitable rusting in the expected places
- All panels that were available as genuine Ferrari Parts. Parts that were unavailable as genuine were supplied by Superformance (very high quality parts made to original patterns)
- All welding completed to exactly replicate factory original welds
- Panels lead loaded where necessary
- The whole body zinc primed and underside and hidden areas hot zinc treated
- Final profiling work completed with filler/fine finishing glaze where applicable. (no filler used on anything above 2mm deviations)
- The entire body and all panels finished in Polyester Primer
- Exterior bodywork flatted back and painted in original Rosso Corsa, using only Glasurit paints, which is what was used by Ferrari at the time and is probably the most expensive paint on the market. This, however, is a more advanced and durable solvent-based clear-over-base system than was available at the time of manufacture, so we can achieve a superior finish, gloss levels and durability
- The underside and hidden areas of the car coated in Black UPol Raptor, which is a virtually indestructible coating to protect the chassis, inside of wheelarches, cills etc. The unseen interior of the car coated in the same, but tinted bodycolour
- The underbody treated with Bilt Hamber Dynax, which is laboratory-proven to be the finest anti-corrosive wax on the market - S50 in the hidden cavities, UC over the top of the underbody etc
- All 5 wheels have been professionally stripped to bare metal and refurbished to "as new" condition
- The leather seats have been professionally treated, including a full strip down of anything covering the leather and re-connolised (The leather is all original and in good shape, not retrimmed)
- The engine has been stripped down to every last component and inspected thoroughly. It has been decided that it should be rebuilt with new valves (being sodium-filled valves, this is the only sensible thing to do), valve guides etc, as well as new Piston Rings. The engine is currently away being cleaned and vapour blasted, so will look just as well as it did the day it came out of the factory as well as performing as such. Natually, it will have every gasket and seal changed for new upon rebuild and of course all new belts, water pump etc.
- The wiring harness is away at a specialist wiring company who are reproducing the harness exactly as per factory, but with the addition of a couple of improvements, such as added relays to help prevent the usual problem of slow electric windows on these cars (and many others of this era), using an original Ferrari fusebox and relay board.
- Koni have produced new suspension for the car exactly as per original (Koni supplied OEM for this car).
- Various other components have been blast cleaned, repainted, new bushes added etc. Other items still to be completed in the same fashion.
So what is still left to be done to complete the restoration? Obviously, the whole car requires re-assembly, but prior to this point, the below is a brief run down:
- Fit new tyres to the wheels (Orginal Michelin TRX is the only way to go in my opinion)
- Fit other new components where applicable to match the rest of the standard of rebuild, such as new clutch, new radiator, new discs and pads all round)
- Professionally clean all original glass
- I would probably recommend new carpets throughout, although the existing ones would go again
- Complete the engine rebuild
- Strip down gearbox and inspect. It is considered to be OK, but would be prudent to be safe after going to this extent
- Continue rebuilding components and repainting as necessary
- Fit new bushes to everything (some have been done already)
Then once the car is completed, running and MOT'd it should be ran for 500 miles as a "shakedown" of sorts and then have an immediate oil change due to the coatings on new engine components. I would also suggest a further oil change another 1000 miles later to be totally safe.
In terms of payments, this is how we would view it at the moment.
We are looking for £30,000 to effectively buy the car now and transfer ownership, which given the value of work carried out to it, plus the value of even a basket case 308 to start with, is more than reasonable! Anyone who wants to do this is more than welcome to take the car away as it is and complete it themselves, but we would dearly love to finish the car off for the new owner.
So, the £49,995 stated is an estimate includes the £30,000 to buy the car, plus all the work required to finish the car off ready to drive away, including the engine rebuild, all new parts that are necessary, new tyres, new wiring harness, new carpets etc etc.
I am confident in this price to cover everything that is needed as we are beyond 90% of any "hidden" surprises that come up in most restorations. The only remaining doubts are with the quality of some of the trims, seals etc, which until you fit them to an otherwise perfect car, you really can't be 100% certain whether they're good enough or not, but that's all up to the new owner to have the final decision on and take whichever route they wish.
Also, as things stand, if you wanted to go for absolute concours (the car would be 95% of the way there at the £49,995 price point in my opinion, but we all know how much further you need to go to make something that's almost concours, genuinely concours!), we would be happy to go further and discuss the options on this when we get there.
The car is also currently at the right stage to potentially go down a "restomod" route. The engine is halfway through a rebuild, so if the new owner wanted more power then now is the time to do it and other upgrades can be added throughout the car.
If anything is unclear or anyone has any questions at all, please do not hesitate to drop us a message. Viewings on the car as it stands or to look through the history file are more than welcome, by appointment only due to a very busy schedule at present.
One of the best things about buying the car this way is that absolutely nothing is hidden. You won't need to worry about any hidden chassis rust, damage, mechanical or electrical issues, which must be an ideal way to buy an Italian Classic!
The car is located in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, but when the time comes, delivery anywhere in the UK or further afield is never a problem.
Thanks for looking!
Additional info added:
As it's a popular question being asked, and as I meant to state this in the description earlier, but must have overlooked it, it is an original UK RHD car.
The rest of the text below is copied straight from our advert on eBay, so apologies if it sounds less personal, but it's a lot fo information to type out again.
Here we have a unique opportunity to purchase what will be an incredible example of a classic Ferrari 308 GTBi, for what will represent a fantastic price for the extent and standard of restoration carried out.
Please read the listing very carefully and if you have any questions at the end, please do not hesitate to send us a message.
Firstly, we are a small, dedicated restoration workshop based quite centrally in the country and the restoration of this car is currently ongoing, but unlike buying a car to subsequently restore, this particular car is past the point of any unknown/hidden nasties in terms of bodywork, structure, engine and electricals, all of which is an absolute godsend when buying any Italian classic as I'm sure most of you will appreciate!
So, in order to sum up as concisely, but thoroughly as possible exactly what you're buying into today and what work has been carried out so far and a history of the car in general, please read below:
It's a 1983 Ferrari 308 GTBi (2V), which was purchased by the previous owner in 1993, who then proceeded to keep the most comprehensive history file I have ever seen with any car. I have added a photo showing the history file on here, which is a plastic storage container full of box files. As well as your regular invoices and receipts, it is also accompanied by parts catalogue diagrams, which have been highlighted to correspond with each and every component changed. Much of this will be rendered useless in practical terms following a full nut and bolt restoration, but it's still a nice accompaniment to keep with the car and still good to see the past history of the car prior to restoration. It also contains many photos showing a detailed document of the strip down he carried out when commencing this restoration.
He ran the car for a good number of years before taking it off the road to carry out some remedial works. As this point, presumably having been very much enjoying running a Ferrari, purchased a Mondial to run in the meantime. This meant, maybe somewhat inevitably that the 308 stood around a little longer until he added a 355 Spyder to his fleet and the 308 stood around until he decided it was in need of a full nut and bolt restoration and taking back to "as new" condition.
This appeared to be progressing rather nicely, and was the subject of a feature in the Ferrari Owners Club Magazine. Then, from what I can gather, a rather messy divorce brought the project to a rather abrupt end and had to be sold on as a work-in-progress, which is where we stepped in.
Now to sum up, with works that had already been carried out and what we have carried out to date since, the below has been the extent of the restoration so far.
- Car stripped completely to a bare shell
- Shell and all panels stripped 100% to bare metal by a renowned Soda Blasting Company and coated in anti-corrosion Epoxy Primer (there's a bill on file for almost £3000 for Soda blasting alone!)
- Shell and panels found to be in overall pretty good and straight condition, but some inevitable rusting in the expected places
- All panels that were available as genuine Ferrari Parts. Parts that were unavailable as genuine were supplied by Superformance (very high quality parts made to original patterns)
- All welding completed to exactly replicate factory original welds
- Panels lead loaded where necessary
- The whole body zinc primed and underside and hidden areas hot zinc treated
- Final profiling work completed with filler/fine finishing glaze where applicable. (no filler used on anything above 2mm deviations)
- The entire body and all panels finished in Polyester Primer
- Exterior bodywork flatted back and painted in original Rosso Corsa, using only Glasurit paints, which is what was used by Ferrari at the time and is probably the most expensive paint on the market. This, however, is a more advanced and durable solvent-based clear-over-base system than was available at the time of manufacture, so we can achieve a superior finish, gloss levels and durability
- The underside and hidden areas of the car coated in Black UPol Raptor, which is a virtually indestructible coating to protect the chassis, inside of wheelarches, cills etc. The unseen interior of the car coated in the same, but tinted bodycolour
- The underbody treated with Bilt Hamber Dynax, which is laboratory-proven to be the finest anti-corrosive wax on the market - S50 in the hidden cavities, UC over the top of the underbody etc
- All 5 wheels have been professionally stripped to bare metal and refurbished to "as new" condition
- The leather seats have been professionally treated, including a full strip down of anything covering the leather and re-connolised (The leather is all original and in good shape, not retrimmed)
- The engine has been stripped down to every last component and inspected thoroughly. It has been decided that it should be rebuilt with new valves (being sodium-filled valves, this is the only sensible thing to do), valve guides etc, as well as new Piston Rings. The engine is currently away being cleaned and vapour blasted, so will look just as well as it did the day it came out of the factory as well as performing as such. Natually, it will have every gasket and seal changed for new upon rebuild and of course all new belts, water pump etc.
- The wiring harness is away at a specialist wiring company who are reproducing the harness exactly as per factory, but with the addition of a couple of improvements, such as added relays to help prevent the usual problem of slow electric windows on these cars (and many others of this era), using an original Ferrari fusebox and relay board.
- Koni have produced new suspension for the car exactly as per original (Koni supplied OEM for this car).
- Various other components have been blast cleaned, repainted, new bushes added etc. Other items still to be completed in the same fashion.
So what is still left to be done to complete the restoration? Obviously, the whole car requires re-assembly, but prior to this point, the below is a brief run down:
- Fit new tyres to the wheels (Orginal Michelin TRX is the only way to go in my opinion)
- Fit other new components where applicable to match the rest of the standard of rebuild, such as new clutch, new radiator, new discs and pads all round)
- Professionally clean all original glass
- I would probably recommend new carpets throughout, although the existing ones would go again
- Complete the engine rebuild
- Strip down gearbox and inspect. It is considered to be OK, but would be prudent to be safe after going to this extent
- Continue rebuilding components and repainting as necessary
- Fit new bushes to everything (some have been done already)
Then once the car is completed, running and MOT'd it should be ran for 500 miles as a "shakedown" of sorts and then have an immediate oil change due to the coatings on new engine components. I would also suggest a further oil change another 1000 miles later to be totally safe.
In terms of payments, this is how we would view it at the moment.
We are looking for £30,000 to effectively buy the car now and transfer ownership, which given the value of work carried out to it, plus the value of even a basket case 308 to start with, is more than reasonable! Anyone who wants to do this is more than welcome to take the car away as it is and complete it themselves, but we would dearly love to finish the car off for the new owner.
So, the £49,995 stated is an estimate includes the £30,000 to buy the car, plus all the work required to finish the car off ready to drive away, including the engine rebuild, all new parts that are necessary, new tyres, new wiring harness, new carpets etc etc.
I am confident in this price to cover everything that is needed as we are beyond 90% of any "hidden" surprises that come up in most restorations. The only remaining doubts are with the quality of some of the trims, seals etc, which until you fit them to an otherwise perfect car, you really can't be 100% certain whether they're good enough or not, but that's all up to the new owner to have the final decision on and take whichever route they wish.
Also, as things stand, if you wanted to go for absolute concours (the car would be 95% of the way there at the £49,995 price point in my opinion, but we all know how much further you need to go to make something that's almost concours, genuinely concours!), we would be happy to go further and discuss the options on this when we get there.
The car is also currently at the right stage to potentially go down a "restomod" route. The engine is halfway through a rebuild, so if the new owner wanted more power then now is the time to do it and other upgrades can be added throughout the car.
If anything is unclear or anyone has any questions at all, please do not hesitate to drop us a message. Viewings on the car as it stands or to look through the history file are more than welcome, by appointment only due to a very busy schedule at present.
One of the best things about buying the car this way is that absolutely nothing is hidden. You won't need to worry about any hidden chassis rust, damage, mechanical or electrical issues, which must be an ideal way to buy an Italian Classic!
The car is located in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, but when the time comes, delivery anywhere in the UK or further afield is never a problem.
Thanks for looking!
Additional info added:
As it's a popular question being asked, and as I meant to state this in the description earlier, but must have overlooked it, it is an original UK RHD car.
