[Guest]

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2436334536&category=6212&rd=1

Car will be de-listed before the end b/c we did a deal off line. $24,500.

Pending inspection tomorrow, I got what I wanted.

1977 308GTB Red/Tan. Only 23,000 miles.

Only thing that will kill the deal is a failed inspection tomorrow AM. I mailed a deposit today but he agreeed in writing to cancel/refund the deal if it fails a compression check. I'm expecting everything will be good and I'll fly out to pick it up next Friday with my best friend and drive it home.

I can hardly work. I haven't been this excited sicne I bought my race car.

 

[Guest]

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!!

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!!

Good for you Sean. I wish you best of luck on the PPI and all the subsequent happy miles.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Wow Sean...sounds great !!!!!

Wow Sean...sounds great !!!!!

I looked at the pics on ebay and the car looks in great shape from what I could tell. It appears you found the right car at a great price ...

If everything works out on the PPI I'll bet you'll have a trip home of a lifetime...congrats on biting the bullet and being patient !!! {

}

Best of Luck with your new pride & joy !

Regards, JRV

 

[Guest]

Thanks JRV, and thanks for put

Thanks JRV, and thanks for putting up with my questions. It's been quite a road. I should write an article and submit it to Forza! Ha

 

[Guest]

Dang, Sean, what a nice car!

Dang, Sean, what a nice car! CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[Guest]

Sean,
That car looks very nic

Sean,
That car looks very nice, with just some honest wear. Will need stuff (they always do), you will have tons of fun with that car. Just dump those ugly fog lights and get some good Hella or Cibie headlights!

 

[Guest]

Yeah, removing the fog lights

Yeah, removing the fog lights will be on top of the list with belts, hoses, and fixing the fuse system. I'll do that over the winter and get the distributors set up and a crane or other optical trigger. Maybe re-build and rejet the carbs. A guy here did his and he said it's light years better.

 

[Guest]

Sean: Good luck with your new

Sean: Good luck with your new car!!!!!!!!!! I hope the inspection goes well.

 

[Guest]

I called about the inspection

I called about the inspection and he wasn't quite done. He said the compression varied 30-40lbs on some of the cylinders. He also said I should do the water pump ASAP (which probably kills the drive back) and he's trying to adjust the clutch (so it needs one of those as well).

He knew the car had been sitting for ~1yr w/o much running and it may have a little bit of corrosion on the valves. The only way to be sure would be to drive it for awhile, then have it retested.

What do you think JRV?

 

[Guest]

Id stay away.

Id stay away.

 

[Guest]

Hi Sean,

Honestly it's

Hi Sean,

Honestly it's hard to call on the compression...had several knock down drag outs with veteran techs over "how to" do a proper comp. test only to conclude how few actually can perform a real and valid test and arrive at meaningful results.

"If in fact" the car only has 23K on the clock it's hard to imagine burned valves, however stuck rings or head gaskit issues are certianly possible given the description of low miles and lots of sitting. My gut tells me to redo the compression test following very tight standards & procedures to insure some type of definative answers and rule out poor procedures.

The WP & clutch issues sound pretty standard for a car so described in your outline.

Regards, JRV

 

[Guest]

So lets say the compression ch

So lets say the compression check comes back the same. Are stuck rings or head gasket issues something that's going to kill me 6-months from now? Or could it be the valves have a little corrosion on them like he mentioned?

I suppose I could ask him to drive it 100-miles over the weekend then test it again on Monday.

 

[Guest]

>>Are stuck rings or h

>>Are stuck rings or head gasket issues something that's going to kill me 6-months from now?<<

Niether problem above would be cheap to solve.

I'd lean towards putting some more miles on the car and retesting the compression ...or have someone else do the compression test. Then see if the results have a little more clarity. As it stands imo the conclusions are too vague to give any real insight into the issues or lack of issues.

Regards, JRV

 

[Guest]

I say change the oil to Royal

I say change the oil to Royal Purple and run it awhile. Should free up the rings a little!

At the end of the day, it's the work YOU put into it that will make up the car's value!

 

[Guest]

Talked some more, he's goi

Talked some more, he's going to test drive it Monday so I'm going to ask him if he can take it for a nice 20-30-mile drive around the city and then check the low cylinders again.

He's also going to give me a cost to do the water pump, clutch, and belts (might as well, pump and belts are connected). If it's reasonable, I may just have him do it so I can drive it back. Also, if it's done, I don't have to mess with it and I can drive and enjoy the car instead of having to start taking things apart right away.

 

[Guest]

The ignition upgrades and carb

The ignition upgrades and carb tuning/jetting stuff really has helped the running on my car. The tubi also greatly improves sound.

The very low mileage coupled with long, recent periods of sitting would worry me. Your right to figure it needs a WP, all belts, fuel lines, water lines, carb rebuilds etc.

If the compression issue turned out to be corrosion on a valve or around a seat, it would not shock me. Then again the corrosion could be bad enough that the compression may not come back after its blown off. Tough call on that, if you cant get good compresson numbers after a couple of checks.... pass on it.

Check the AC. If the AC does not work, itcan be a REAL pain in the butt to set right on these cars!

If your handy with a wrench and enjoy doing the work, I would recommend tackling the WP and belts yourself. ITs not rocket science and its a great way to really get to know your car. I learned a ton about 308s doing all the stuff to my car. It took me 8 months.... be VERY careful about the "well, as long as I'm here I might as well do..." disease! There are few limits to the things you can find to tinker with!

 

[Guest]

Well the ignition upgrades wou

Well the ignition upgrades would be on the list to do with the belts, etc.

After talking with Don McCormick here in KC, I knew the belts, hoses, fuel lines, and probably WP would need to be done. He just told me to bank on it no matter what car I found. They all need something.

I was figuring on trying to make a deal with you on your car but this one sort of fell into my lap. His buy-in-now price was $32,900 so I figured his reserve was up there too. But it met reserve at $22,600 the day before it was over so I called him and we cut a deal.

Honestly, I'm not too concerned about the compression. Only two cylinders were lower than the rest (I'll get the #'s Monday) and after talking with my race car engine builder I'm comfortable it was the valves. Based on that, and discussions with the PPI mechanic, worst case is I'd have to pull the heads and lap the valves. No, not an EASY job, but certainly something myself and a good mechanic friend can accomplish.

Whether I do the belts, etc. or not depends on what they give me for a cost. Then I have to factor in the cost driving it back (fun factor) and being able to drive it now and being secure in the knowledge that it's DONE and will run fine for several years versus the cost of shipping it (which means I have to WAIT 3-WEEKS!!), then immediatly start working on it (which means winter is here and I can't drive it until next spring).

 

[Guest]

>>Tough call on that,

>>Tough call on that, if you cant get good compresson numbers after a couple of checks.... pass on it. <<

The compression bothers me also...on a 23K mile car I'm very surprised the compression isn't right on the money. If in fact the compression numbers are truly out of spec it's more along the lines of an $18K car.

You really don't want to pull heads Sean unless you have some $$$ cushion built in. On a 77 B a valve job with associated servicing runs around $5K-$7K in a shop.

Regards, JRV

 

[Guest]

Sean,
I bought a 15k mile &#3

Sean,
I bought a 15k mile "garage queen" 78 308 GTS and the first thing done was rebuild the carbs, install need plugs, and then put about 700 miles on the car. My mechanic wanted me to put some gentle miles on before performing the major service to seen what all might spring leaks or whatever, initially from sitting so much (it was driven a few miles each month).

I then had the major performed, all coolant and fuel hoses replaced, Crane boxes added, and lot's of little stuff fixed (heater control cables, clock, etc.) Was a great driver, with great cosmetics.

 

[Guest]

I dont think $24K or so is too

I dont think $24K or so is too much for the car, even if it needs belts, carbs, WP, hoses and all the other stuff in a major service. Even if you do pay someone to do it, you will only have $30K in the car tops. If all the cosmetics are really fantastic thats not bad.

But if the compression is low.... you may end up with $40K+ in it. I would be concerned that the car sat for very long periods without running. This allowed the oil film to run all the way off the valves and allowed corrosion... If there are pits and such it will never come back until replaced.

If your were going to go to all the effort to pull the heads, I dont see how you could not end up doing a full rebuild. Heck, I know I wouldnt be able to resist! If I had the engine on a stand and the heads off..... no way it would go back in the car without 10:1 pistons in it!