Looking for a replacement for my F355 - but which car?

[Castrol for a knave]

ANOpax said:

308 GT4 - Bertone styling very different from the 308 GTB and therefore less flashy as a result. Also less costly to buy so you'll have change left over from the sale of the F355.

Video Here

Not directly related to the OP's question (sorry) but thanks for posting that. That was great to watch. I always liked the GT4 (but I like the Mondial - don't judge me).

His workshop is round the corner from my folks, so I may have to pop in when next up there - I'm looking to get a 328 or 360 in the next 12 months, be good to get his view.

OP - have you thought about a Jalpa?

[Bacchus]

Castrol for a knave said:

OP - have you thought about a Jalpa?

Not my cup of tea, sorry!

[Castrol for a knave]

Bacchus said:

Castrol for a knave said:

OP - have you thought about a Jalpa?

Not my cup of tea, sorry!

Fair enough - they are mannite.

If you can live with LHD, maybe a Dino coupe, or spider- the latter can sneak into 355 money. Ian Tyrell rates them and the spider was a poster car for me as a kid (I'd take Ian's advice over mine, obvs).

A Merak should be in budget - not many about though.

Is a 612 too modern? It seems to have hit that price point where good ones are around £75,000.

[FezSpider]

Never seen so much regrets In a single thread

[rat rod]

Bacchus said:

You are my hero I have a small daughter, the 365 would be an ideal cruiser for short weekend trips! I need something with sounds, so the 365 would be ideal!

I saw a nice (grey) 308 but it is in qv form, I fear it lacks the sound everyone talks about? Can they be converted into tbs?

The 365 will give you the noise alright, especially if you remove the middle silencers, Had the same problem as you, having three kids,dogs

i would have to leave whatever two seater i had in the garage and end up back in my daily even on a Sunday.

My kids now have their own kids , wifey got fed up trying to compete against my Italian mistresses so only the dogs to

worry about and they prefer the Hot Rods and the truck ,anything that squeaks and is rattly .

Did the QV thing but unless you fit throttle bodies to them they are a bit dull compared to the carbs and expensive to fit,

Lucky i kept my GTB and sold the QV instead, The 430 has timing chains instead of the cam belts and with prices dropping slightly

below the average F355 may be a option but still a little flash ,less so in none retail red.

The 365 GT4 is a bargain amongst the classic V12 Ferrari's and you kind of wear them like other classics, like E Types ect.

but they do respond well to scruff of the neck type of driving.

You don't have to be going that fast to enjoy them but probably need some kind of other car to do the windy B roads.

Goes with out saying get it checked over by someone who knows their way round these old girls ,Most main dealers are out of their depth

when it comes to the older cars.

Edited by rat rod on Wednesday 24th February 15:13

[priley]

Bacchus said:

Interesting that you have both! That would be my dream garage! Is the 308 rewarding to drive? The F355 lacks a bit of steering feel. I'm possibly spoilt, because my 2nd car at the age of 22 was a Lotus Elise

Yes, the steering in the 308 feels perfect to me, a bit heavy when manoeuvring but you feel everything once on the move. And I agree on the 355 steering feel; too light. I had a Alfa 4C briefly before the 308 and it felt like that was trying to be a 308. I sold it and added not much money to buy the 308.

The Dino Spider mentioned earlier is close to my heart too as I have one of those, after owning a couple of Coupe's. The sound and open-top motoring is unique but if you want something to throw around, whilst retaining the older mechanical qualities, the 308 wins again.

I'm really curious about the 365 now after Rat Rod's comments. I've never given them much attention but the sound must be epic, plus, like my old Dino Coupe's, the kids can come along too. Shame I'm out of garage space!

[rat rod]

priley said:

Yes, the steering in the 308 feels perfect to me, a bit heavy when manoeuvring but you feel everything once on the move. And I agree on the 355 steering feel; too light. I had a Alfa 4C briefly before the 308 and it felt like that was trying to be a 308. I sold it and added not much money to buy the 308.

The Dino Spider mentioned earlier is close to my heart too as I have one of those, after owning a couple of Coupe's. The sound and open-top motoring is unique but if you want something to throw around, whilst retaining the older mechanical qualities, the 308 wins again.

I'm really curious about the 365 now after Rat Rod's comments. I've never given them much attention but the sound must be epic, plus, like my old Dino Coupe's, the kids can come along too. Shame I'm out of garage space!

I know a good builder ,Love those Dino spyders ,Many years ago was driving my E Type roadster slowly in town ,probably posing

and heard a whirring mechanical noise in my ear , looked in my mirror and it was full of a Fiat Dino spyder almost attached to my rear

bumper, first one i've ever seen in the flesh, Remember it was on Roma plates , Bournemouth being full of wealthy foreign students at the

time ,probably a young rich Italian kid, We had a go for a short while as you do back then, will always remember that engine sound .

Had a couple of 246 Dino's since then when they were cheap , Will go on my long list of cars i should have kept, Hay Ho.

[johns355]

Sold my 355 gts 8 years ago- yes just before the prices rocketed! Bought a noble which I had for 3.5 years, then an aston vantage roadster, which I must admit has been brilliant. So I'd suggest get a V12 vantage while you can, John

[Bacchus]

FezSpider said:

Never seen so much regrets In a single thread

rat rod said:

Did the QV thing but unless you fit throttle bodies to them they are a bit dull compared to the carbs and expensive to fit,

Lucky i kept my GTB and sold the QV instead,

Good you mention that! What makes them dull? The qv engine? Is the driving feeling the same?

I had my eyes on this one as well :

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/ferrari/308/1...

[Bacchus]

priley said:

...

The Dino Spider mentioned earlier is close to my heart too as I have one of those, after owning a couple of Coupe's. The sound and open-top motoring is unique but if you want something to throw around, whilst retaining the older mechanical qualities, the 308 wins again.

I'm really curious about the 365 now after Rat Rod's comments. I've never given them much attention but the sound must be epic, plus, like my old Dino Coupe's, the kids can come along too. Shame I'm out of garage space!

The Dino is quite expensive! I always loved them!!!

365 :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDVarNZWCMY

[Bacchus]

johns355 said:

Sold my 355 gts 8 years ago- yes just before the prices rocketed! Bought a noble which I had for 3.5 years, then an aston vantage roadster, which I must admit has been brilliant. So I'd suggest get a V12 vantage while you can, John

Good point! I like the styling of the V12 Vantage, but the interior is not what I like (prefer interior of italian cars)

I'm a fan of the 80s Vantage, but their prices are too high!

[rat rod]

Bacchus said:

Good you mention that! What makes them dull? The qv engine? Is the driving feeling the same?

I had my eyes on this one as well :

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/car/ferrari/308/1...

If you have never driven a carb 308 you may be ok with the qv but it's the induction noise of the Webbers sucking in the air and coughing and

spitting back will help make it more special and feel like you are going faster than you are,don't forget your 355 is a quicker car than a

standard 308. , even the standard exhaust has a deeper note than the qv , the interior is more to my liking ,very similar to the qv but it's

very basic and functional just got what you need and no more, reminds me of the Dino interior, This may sound strange but the longer gear

lever on the qv makes the gear change less positive ,shouldn't make any difference but it does, the shorter one on the carb cars are more

precise ,Was thinking of cutting the lever down but didn't want to mess with it if i was selling it.

My car is different from standard as it has the Sprint pack engine offered as a factory option but not many were ordered.

Had my engine built to that spec + some, giving 290/300 bhp but will rev to around 8,750 if need be., To give it even more induction noise i've

removed the factory air box and replaced it with Piper Craft sponge air filters along with the straight pipes now won't pass any track decibel

test's so have to fit the original exhaust for track days but because of Covid have only done one last year.

Being a track/road car the brakes,suspension and steering are modified as well so not good representation of a standard car but i've had enough

GTB/GTS and GT4's to say go with carbs for the extra theatre and drama . Was looking at 328's but i can't live with the Fiat plastic switches

much preferring the toggle ones on the 308's, The 308 will feel antiguated compared to the 355 the same way the 355 feels against

my 430 but that's not such a bad thing. Problem is it would be nice to take your family with you for a blast, So back to the drawing board.

I got lucky and my wife ran off with my best friend ( yes really) and left me with the kids so didn't have that problem any more.

She never liked cars anyway and he gets his excitement from playing golf.

Edited by rat rod on Thursday 25th February 14:03

[The Surveyor]

If I was in the OP's position, looking for something Italian and V8 but not run-of-the-mill, I'd be looking at:-

a Maserati Shamal

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1128637

or

as my earlier ignored suggestion, a beautiful Alfa Romeo Montreal, race-bread V8 in a gorgeous coupe body, something like this

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1191844

[Bacchus]

rat rod said:

If you have never driven a carb 308 you may be ok with the qv but it's the induction noise of the Webbers sucking in the air and coughing and

spitting back will help make it more special and feel like you are going faster than you are,...

I remember reading somewhere that RHD 308s in carb form make a better induction noise, because the driver is sitting on the side of the airscoop
I try to find a carb 308 and test it! But the 365 is very tempting, as you said, I could enjoy it with my family!

[Bacchus]

The Surveyor said:

If I was in the OP's position, looking for something Italian and V8 but not run-of-the-mill, I'd be looking at:-

a Maserati Shamal

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1128637

or

as my earlier ignored suggestion, a beautiful Alfa Romeo Montreal, race-bread V8 in a gorgeous coupe body, something like this

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1191844

I had a look in the classifieds, Montreal is tempting, but the handling is not that sharp... the Shamal is a great shout! I love them!!!
and they are apparently very very fast!!

[The Surveyor]

Bacchus said:

I had a look in the classifieds, Montreal is tempting, but the handling is not that sharp... the Shamal is a great shout! I love them!!!
and they are apparently very very fast!!

Good point on the Montreal. I've been totally hooked on the Shamal since watching this Harry's Garage video:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCBTnsCUsbE

[Bacchus]

I met a guy in Germany, who when he brought home his newly acquired Shamal lost his license, that sums it up

I ask myself if a very good looked after Maserati Biturbo would be sufficient? Maybe a Racing with 300bhp... (for half the price)
but if you are standing next to a Shamal, it is a car similar to most Ferraris, an engine with some bodywork (especially at the front of the Shamal)

[The Surveyor]

Bacchus said:

I met a guy in Germany, who when he brought home his newly acquired Shamal lost his license, that sums it up

I ask myself if a very good looked after Maserati Biturbo would be sufficient? Maybe a Racing with 300bhp... (for half the price)
but if you are standing next to a Shamal, it is a car similar to most Ferraris, an engine with some bodywork (especially at the front of the Shamal)

The do look similar to the Ghibli BiTurbo etc until you see one alongside the other. The Shamal is just that little bit more of everything IMHO, it looks more aggressive whilst looking more elegant, and it does of course have 2 more cylinders. The Shamal styling with the black B pillar running over the roof as a roll-over bar, the Gandini signature slash to the rear wheelarch, the flared arches and that spoiler across the base of the windscreen just marks them out as being a true 1990's design classic

[rat rod]

Bacchus said:

I remember reading somewhere that RHD 308s in carb form make a better induction noise, because the driver is sitting on the side of the airscoop
I try to find a carb 308 and test it! But the 365 is very tempting, as you said, I could enjoy it with my family!

One of my 365's was in dark green, i also had a green 308GTB , not particularly looking for that colour they just came along like that and

not being a lover of red was happy to be different. On PH classified there is of all things two dark green 365's advertised, Probably one

of them is my old car but not showing the registration plates i can't tell. Also Historics have a red 365 entered in their auction on

the 17th of April, might be worth a look if only to educate yourself .

[ric p]

The Surveyor said:

If I was in the OP's position, looking for something Italian and V8 but not run-of-the-mill, I'd be looking at:-

a Maserati Shamal

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1128637

or

as my earlier ignored suggestion, a beautiful Alfa Romeo Montreal, race-bread V8 in a gorgeous coupe body, something like this

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1191844

I was in a similar position of moving on from by beloved 355GTS. Although it was forced upon me as the new house build needed a roof.
I bought a Maserati 4200 Spyder. Although a bit softer, it was probably as quick in the real world as the 355. Much torquier engine and a classic v8 sound, mine had a Larini fitted, as opposed to the 355, which had a Tubi.

My mate had a 4200 Coupe, which although slightly longer, probably handled better. They both make great and swift GTs with a bit of Italian flair.

So much so and having seen a chap on here’s Gransport write-up recently, I’m looking again at one of these for the next car. I was sort of thinking about a 997 but can’t get past the Maser being better looking, sounding better and a far far nicer place to sit.