Our Cars: Maintaining the 308GTB QV

By Pete Vack

Still sexy after all those years, the 308GTBQV is ready for a major maintenance session.

After nine years, it’s time to pay some attention to our garage queen, a 1984 Ferrari GTB QV. I thought it might be of interest to our readers if we pass on a few tips or hints as we proceed. Bear in mind that we will not, nor dare not, be too specific--that's what the manuals are for. Still, we can encourage owners to take on maintenance jobs, and provide some insight while doing so.

Shortly after we bought the 308 in 1995, we (meaning my wife and myself) performed a complete, major maintenance which included cam belts, gaskets, all filters, cam and crank seals, plugs and distributor gaskets, caps and rotors. But now, our Ferrari needs brake work, and a small leak near the pulley end of the cam cover led us to the conclusion that after almost a decade, we might as well change the cam belts, camshaft seals, belt tensioner bearings, and of course the offending gasket. Rule number one: there is no such thing as a small oil leak on a Ferrari.

First, Do No Harm
In this segment, we’ll begin with preparation. Here, the old adage about emergency room patients applies: first, do no harm. Another old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is most applicable.

Some of our favorite cleaning products. Autosport’s Car Wash worked very well on the Ferrari, while Spray Nine is for tougher jobs.

Begin by thoroughly washing the car and engine bay. No one likes to work on a dirty car, and it allows you to check for those oil leaks, and helps to avoid scratches from accumulated dirt as you work next to the paint. And you will be very close to the paint. When washing, you might consider the Autosport line of car washes, which worked very well on our car, gently raising the grit to the surface.

For tough areas around the engine and suspension, we generally use Spray Nine—hard to find but good stuff. Gunk Engine bright and BrakeClean are other useful products we find handy. Those blue "ShopTowels"—paper towels—are great to have around and can be used and reused several times. Just don’t try to clean glass with ShopTowels, as whatever they are impregnated with will just smear dirt on glass. For interiors, the Lexol line of products has worked wonders for us and we highly recommend it.

Next, we decided to create a molded cover for the rear of the car. Ferrari dealers usually have Styrofoam molding to cover critical fender areas at the rear of the car, but a very satisfactory facsimile can be constructed out of cardboard boxes. It doesn’t have to last forever, but will protect the fender area unless you decided to drop a ten pound hammer on the surface. While construction is straightforward, remember that cardboard, though soft and aborsbent, picks up all sort of grit and even rocks.

Constructed in about 10 minutes, cardboard fender covers will help protect the paint and bodywork from all but the most philistine worker. Note the towels, glued to the underside of the cardboard to further protect the paint from scratches.

Make sure that the side facing the body work is clean, then for further protection, glue a towel to the underside of the cardboard before placing it on the car. Place a short, thin piece of plywood or masonite over the rear luggage compartment. It provides a neat shelf for small tools, while protecting the vinyl cover or conversely, dropping items into the luggage space. Finally, keep the car cover on the car, folding it back to allow access to the engine bay when you are working on it.

Working on the 308 series seems impossible at first sight, but once the decklid and fiberglass inner fenders are removed, there’s really quite a bit of working space. Removing the rear decklid is the next project. This is a two person job, so plan ahead. Again, protect the car. We used a spare car cover bundled up on top of the engine, and plenty of towels around the forward edges of the lid. As the bolts are removed, the lid must be carefully balanced to avoid scratching the "flying buttresses" near the rear window.

Removing the decklid is a two person job. It should then be set aside, well out of the way of flying tools or tripping fools.

Pre-Maintenance Assessment
With the lid removed and placed out of harm’s way, the engine bay clean and plenty of room to work, determine exactly the current condition of the car and engine. If you are new to Ferraris, a good idea would be to use a digital camera to photograph the engine bay and all components, wiring harnesses, etc. before you start taking things apart. Start the car and see how it sounds. Is it running evenly at idle? Does it backfire? Is there smoke? And, if so, when and what color? Does it pull smoothly throughout the rpm range? Make notes. This is your baseline — when you are all done, the car should run at least as well as it did prior to your maintenance.

Better yet, run a compression test, and a leakdown test as well if possible. When performing a compression test, take readings both wet and dry, and write them down. Then you’ll know if you have any problems before you replace the belts.

Check the cam timing marks, either using the "quickie" method or just after you remove the cam covers.

Far better access to the rear bank with the decklid removed. Our 308 has a turbo, and the plenum chamber should be red crackle finish. Well, there goes any FCA concours awards.

Make notes. Remember, once you remove the cam covers, you are into it for dollars. The more you remove, the more it’s going to cost. Pound for pound, gaskets have got to be the more expensive item on a Ferrari. If you do remove the cam covers at this time, check all valve lash readings. This takes time to be done accurately. Write them down.

Once you are sure you have a viable baseline, it' time to get the car up into the air. At least the rear end. This often poses a problem, at least for us short folks. Most jackstands (oh yes, buy good quality jack stands!!) are a bit high for the Ferrari. The higher the stand the more difficult it is to reach the nefarious rear bank. Any lower and you won’t be able to crawl underneath.

Remove the rear wheels and carefully (remember they are only fiberglass) remove the inner fenders, which are secured by eight screws and washers. They don’t pretend to be waterproof. A brave new world now awaits you.

Don’t use the Internet as your bible. Buy one of these. Use it. Read it at night. Follow the instructions. This is for the Mondial, but the specs are the same as the 308GT.

By the Book
But wait. If you do not have a factory 308 workshop manual, and a companion parts manual, buy a set NOW. This is critical. In this series, we will provide hints and tips and experiences, but we will not detail the steps involved in a full maintenance. The steps are clearly outlined in the manual, with good drawings and fairly clear English language translation. Woe betide the guy who searches the Net and decides that there is enough free information out there and forgoes the cost of a manual. While all websites have helpful information, none, including this one, should be used in place of the proper manual. While changing belts is essentially a simple operation, in the next edition, we’ll calculate what it will cost you if you screw it up.