F1technical.net

F1 tech definitely makes it into Ferrari's road engines. I installed this engine a couple weeks ago.

Hey man
Can you tell us anything about your car, where you get your parts, or maybe even show us some photos?

She's a '76 308 GTB with Euro specification fiberglass bumpers. Most parts were custom made but bearings and gaskets mainly come from UK vendors. I have done quite a bit of re-engineering to this engine as it now uses a 79mm crankshaft (up from 71mm) and 83mm bore (up from 81mm) discplacing 3.4L. The intake valves are 2mm larger than stock at 44mm and the intake bowl and throat have been ported and flowed for maximum CFM. The camshafts are from Cat Cams in Belgium and are a fast road/rally cam normally used in V6 Dino engines, but they made a set for a V8 for me. 10.5:1 compression ratio from JE pistons. Titanium rods. Higher tension valve springs to deal with the substantially more radical camshaft profile. In all, the rotating mass of this engine has been reduced 13 lbs from a stock 308 engine, the main part being the new crank which is substantially lighter than stock. Engine makes about 350bhp at 8k rpm. Ignition system is a crank trigger system which required machining a 36-1 wheel to the damper and of course programming the ECU with the advance curve, which is definitely the easy part. Magnificent little engine though in a 2800lbs car. Quick.


I'm always amazed at the little details from F1 engines of the era which made its way into their road engines. F1 without a doubt improves the breed.

Is that a tube frame? It looks like what we would call in the USA a sleeper. What kind of two barrells does she have? The trany is how manjy speeds? Can you show a transmission photo? The rest of the car,?

with Euro specification fiberglass bumpers

Much prettier but don't bump anything.
You've obviously put some money in the engine, but overall how has the cost of upkeep been?

strad wrote:

with Euro specification fiberglass bumpers

Much prettier but don't bump anything.
You've obviously put some money in the engine, but overall how has the cost of upkeep been?

I couldn't stand the US bumpers, and they were quite heavy!

Upkeep is very reasonable otherwise. Nothing breaks and leaves me stranded. Change the timing belts every 3 years and that's it really. Once the carburetors are set, they are set for a long time. Parts are a bit pricey though when something does go, water pump, brake master cylinder, gearbox synchros etc. But those are not common occurrences. What's important especially with older Ferrari's are the suspension components which tend to just be old by this time and need replacing. Those components are quite pricey but once it's done, it's done, and it of course transforms the car. I've done the front end on this car and will do that back end shortly. They go well and never break when everything is as it should be though. You'd be amazed at the amount of parts that are shared with Porsche, Fiat, Alfa.

Just wondering,,A friend is toying with the idea but of course the rumours of expensive upkeep costs worry him,,I don't think he can turn a wrench,,,surprisingly his Porsche costs don't faze him.

strad wrote:Just wondering,,A friend is toying with the idea but of course the rumours of expensive upkeep costs worry him,,I don't think he can turn a wrench,,,surprisingly his Porsche costs don't faze him.

308s and 328s are not money pits and are relatively cheap to keep going. An engine rebuild is of course substantial though, figure 10k pounds. Just find a good example preferably with a rebuild already done as with 30 year old engines it absolutely will need it very soon regardless of mileage.

348s, 355s are money pits though, especially 355s. 360s are great cars but lack all personality in my opinion, and if an F1 pump goes it is insanely pricey. My guess is the collectible cars will be those without F1 gearboxes. I owned a 355 for a short time and sold it just as soon as I had to replace the valve guides and exhaust manifolds which the factory essentially under-engineered. I swore off of newer Ferrari's moving forward, but I must say the 430 is an incredibly robust piece of machinery and is essentially a Toyota with a Ferrari badge on it. Very stout in every way.

Scuderia Nuvolari wrote:Is that a tube frame? It looks like what we would call in the USA a sleeper. What kind of two barrells does she have? The trany is how manjy speeds? Can you show a transmission photo? The rest of the car,?

Tube frame, yes. Common on all Ferrari's of the era of course. Carbs are Weber 40dcnf using 36mm chokes in this engine. 5 speed 'box which is actually cast as part of the engine sump similar to a Muira engine, but of course this engine has a seperate sump for engine and 'box unlike the early Muira's which shared oil between the two.

unlike the early Muira's which shared oil between the two.

Many early Ferraris used that set up didn't they? Never quite got the reasoning

strad wrote:

unlike the early Muira's which shared oil between the two.

Many early Ferraris used that set up didn't they? Never quite got the reasoning

Nope, just the Muira and some motorcycle engines do this. And Lamborghini stopped doing it when the 'S' model came out. Since then, every Muira engine without this change has probably been changed to date as they are obviously cherished cars now. I've no idea why such a thing was done in the first place. Gearbox oil needs to be kept very clean and carry a different viscosity and nowadays have friction modifiers and the like. Odd.

Your 3.4 is the 4 valve engine? It was originally fuel injected? Do you think that you are getting more power through carburetion?

I was thinking this was only F1 engines..
Ferrari 6.9 liter engine-Can Am-1969

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Delage, back when they were works of art

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Arrows AX3

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More art..Bugatti inline 16 cylinder

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1964 Indy engine

Isn't that Bugatti engine the straight eight used in the t35, t35c among others?
Strad, where do you find all of these cool fotos?
Those headers on the Ferrari look like some kind of elbow plumbing.

The Bugatti was a straight 16 used I believe in the Royale and others..IF memory serves it was basically two eight cylinders joined together.
The pictures? Just stuff I have collected over the years that I found interesting..
Things like this early twin engine dragster with reversed heads. Talk about a set of headers....