Ferrari Mailing List: Workin' on the 308

[robert_h_bowser [at] juno.com (robert_h_bowser]

Now that I have rebuilt the suspension front and rear, things are much stiffer 
now, and a problem I have had for a while is much worse.  Sounds like something 
is broken in the frame.  Car rides fine, but if I hit a bump, there is a loud 
sound like something banging around.  Been looking around for a while trying to 
find the source.  Think I may have found a couple of candidates today.

I had a lady sideswipe me a couple of years ago on the right front corner.  
Dented things up a bit.  I had it repaired at Symbolic here in San Diego.  They 
did a pretty good job from a cosmetic standpoint, but I think they missed the 
structural damage.  In looking at the spiderweb of welded struts in front of 
the RF tire, I found that there were several breaks in the struts.  Picture 
attached.  Not sure how I am going to fix that.  Guess I'll disassemble the 
front as much as I can and re-weld it in place.

Also found a problem in the back.  The cooling water pipe that runs from the 
water pump down the front of the engine and then over to the center of the car 
goes right above the fuel balance pipe between the two fuel tanks.  The exhaust 
system is right there also, so they installed a heat shield for the fuel 
balance pipe.  Lots of stuff there with not much clearance.  The water pipe was 
sitting just above the vertical plane of the shield.  Having nothing but the 
rubber hoses to support it, the aluminum water pipe was free to bang down 
against the sharp edge of the shield.  Don't know if it made any noise, but 
there was a definite grove dug in the pipe where it hit.  So I took off the 
shield and modified it to give more clearance.  Of course, the shield is a 
sandwich of two metal plates with some stuff in between.  Probably asbestos.  
So I'll probably die of asbestos poisoning sometime in the next 100 years....

Those of you with 308s might want to check that pipe clearance when you get a 
chance.  There is also a potential clearance issue on the top pipe as it passes 
by the oil filter.  Mine was contacting one of the nuts for the intake 
manifold.  Punched a hole in the pipe.  Had to do emergency repairs in 
Victorville CA.  110deg in the shade that day.  Not fun.

Bob
'01 Corvette Z06
'78 308GTS
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