Ferrari 308GTB restomod

[Nacho Z]

You are doing some very nice work here.  I admire you guys who do this much modification and kit bashing.  Bonus points for doing it well!!

[John B.]

Very interesting - nice work!

[afx]

Nice looking project.

[dino246gt]

Now I can start the difficult stuff!

I started the rear lower frame with Evergreen Styrene, tubing and sheets.

Each motor mount is 3 pieces, 3 tiny pieces, LOL

After filling in the wheel tubs, I cut out enough for axle half shafts, yet to be sourced!

I cut up some Revell Enzo shocks ($4 parts kit had two sets) and decided to do a "Countach-ish" set up with 2 shocks per rear wheel.

It's slow going now though, however I hope to have the rear suspension finished soon so I can airbrush the chassis , mount the engine and start the upper rear frame.

 

[iamsuperdan]

Looking great so far!

 

 

[bobthehobbyguy]

Impressive scratchbuilding.  Very clean work.

[TarheelRick]

Never really been a Ferrari or Corvette enthusiast, but this build has really caught my attention.  Maybe its the idea of cutting up a Ferrari, I don't know.  Your build style and the fact you are sharing all the steps of this build are what is making it so interesting.  I can see using some of these ideas on other builds. Will be watching the progress.

[dino246gt]

I want a removable panel along the bottom to access the coolant lines and clutch and throttle cables, so a sheet of .010 Evergreen was glued on, primed and painted.

Then I made the rear crossmember and started making mounts for the transaxle.

[dino246gt]

The Tamiya 360 kit exhaust headers are just too wide to fit the narrower 308 so I found some 3D big block headers that needed cutting to fit.

I'll need to find headers for that big block Chevy motor when I decide to use it on another project.

So for this project block huggers were made to fit, and now I can think about extending pipes up and over the half shafts to the pair of cats!

You can see how tight the fit will be.

Ahead of the wheel tubs there will be twin fuel tanks as the 308 comes with, but the kit doesn't so I'll scratch build those, eventually!

[mustang1989]

Continuing on with the good progress Dennis. Looking good so far. I like the usage of the block hugger headers to work that'll play a little more nicely with the build. 

[NOBLNG]

Beautiful work Dennis!? And I like your calculated, methodical approach to all the scratch building/kit bashing going on here.? I’m sure your first hand experience with Ferraris helps a lot too. cheers!

Greg.

[dino246gt]

I used the Revell Enzo parts kit's axle shafts, but to fit them I had to cut off the boots and drill them to slip over the axle so I could put one end to the suspension then slide the boot to the transaxle.

Then the muffler, it was open at the bottom so were the cats, so I filled them in, made some side brackets and painted it.

I'm not that good at heat staining exhausts but for as much as can be seen, it'll do.

[dino246gt]

I have the engine glued to the rear sub-frame with nuts and bolts, fake nuts and bolts, it's still glued together.

Here's how the muffler and cats look installed.

I'll paint those side brackets semi-gloss black acrylic by brush.

Wheels and tires are not yet attached.

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by dino246gt

[dino246gt]

Now that the engine is glued in I can start to make the body fit!

Of course I've been test fitting and modifying as I go, but now it's getting to the final tweaks for fit.

That luggage compartment will have to go to make room for the Tubi muffler from the Tamiya 360 kit.

The engine top just barely clears, thanks to some plastic thinning!

I want the stock 308 engine lid to fit, and it will!

[dino246gt]

I removed the wheel centers and foiled the large nut then re-applied the centers, as it should've been done in the first place.

It's a little thing but it makes a difference.

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by dino246gt

[beeRS]

Such a cool project. I love that you shoe-horned the Enzo engine in. With the engine positioned like that, it kinda reminds me of a 288GTO. 

[Dann Tier]

Man i'm loving this build!...fantastic work!

[dino246gt]

Hey Sonny, thanks for the encouragement, but it's the 360 V8, not the Enzo V12. It is set up like the 288 but unlike that fabulous model, the 288, I'm keeping the wheelbase the same.

The 288 moved the rear wheel openings further back while keeping the body length the same.

I AM using a bunch of Enzo parts though, maybe that's why you thought I was using that engine, no matter, thank you for your interest in this weird, unusual project!

[dino246gt]

Hey Dann, you know with this kind of build the progress pictures will show some rather sloppy work as it keeps getting re-engineered and re-worked but in the end I will clean up and touch up anything that shows.

The build is so much fun, in the end it has to look good, but during, it might not look so nice.

Anyway, thank you for your kind words, Ciao!

[mustang1989]

Excellent fit of the body over the engine and speaking of engines...that powertrain looks just great in that chassis Dennis. You're really putting alot into this build and it shows.

[Justin Porter]

This is such a genuinely fun project. I'm really enjoying the neat little touches added here and there to make the build make functional sense. 

[dino246gt]

The side scoop is one of the most notable features of the 308, having them molded closed is not cool, not cool at all!

Opening them up was simple starting with a small drill and working my way up to larger bits, then files.

The lower rear valance also has an opening that is molded closed, well not any more!

Also the engine cover hinge, seriously? That thing is ridiculous, but now it's gone!

[dino246gt]

Even with all the mods I've made to the interior floor/engine bay, I just had to separate them!

Because of all the changes, the kit will not assemble in the suggested sequence, so I've glued the engine bay piece to the body.

That interior is questionable, but for starters, those little tabs must go.

They're gone!

[superbike-shaun]

Sheiiiiit bro this is  some seriously awesome kit building.everything done with care and thought love ittttttt

[dino246gt]

That muffler is way up high due to the transaxle, as it is in all modern mid engine V8 Ferraris, not the 308 because that V8 was mounted sideways.

It's going to be dangerously hot, so I made up a frame to sit some photo-etch mesh I've had for many years.

It looks like it'll do the trick, painted semi-gloss Tamiya acrylic.

I'll need to add 4 small bolts to it later and maybe a CAUTION warning decal of some Italian sort!

Ciao.