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We are pleased to offer 1977 Euro model 308 GTB “Vetroresina” s/n 20751, a Fiberglass 308 GTB project that is well on the way to a full rebuild as a Michelotto bodied Group 4 cars rally car. All the right parts were ordered, starting with a complete lightweight fiberglass Michelotto body by Makela Auto Tuning, the Group 4 rally guru, in Finland. The very lightweight body included a lower front valance; a front bumper; a complete upper front body; a front bonnet; both doors; a complete roof panel; a lower rear valance; both rear fenders; both lower wheel well flair panels; a rear engine bonnet; Kevlar inner fender panels and a complete floor at a cost of $23,247.37. Shipping the body to the US by DHL was another $2,545.81 and the customs entry fee was another $808.57 for a total of $26,601.75. A full Group 4 spec roll cage was installed by Sean Creech Motorsports of Jupiter, Florida at a cost of $13,814.70. Once the roll cage was installed the entire chassis was sandblasted and powder coat in light gray by Tolliver Powder Coating in West Palm Beach at a cost $1,289.35. 
                                                        
                                              Fitting the Michelotto Group 4 front body

Fitting the lightweight Michelotto Group 4 body and suspension required many, many hundreds of hours. Up front metal brackets had to be made and bonded into the front bumper and bumper tubes had to be made and fitted to the secondary chassis structure to support the front bumper. Triangulated support bars had to be made to support the front valance, to align and mate the front valance to the upper front body and to support the pop-up headlight mechanisms. Another tertiary framework had to be built and fitted to support and attach the upper front body and hood pin supports. The lower front valance was about 1/2 inch too narrow and so a 1/2 wide strip was skillfully bonded in place. An alloy radiator was ordered from Nick’s Forza Ferrari in Culver, WA at a cost $1,169.10 and lower radiator support brackets had to be made and installed. Alloy ducting to direct air from the radiator up through the hood was fabricated and installed. A Ferrari 512 BB hood grille was ordered from Mc 115 Fabrication LLC at a cost $1,200 and installed to vent the radiator air out of the hood. Front guide plates had to be made to align with the hood pins to secure the hood in place. Rear guide plates had to be made and bonded to both inner rear corners of the hood to align the rear of the hood to the hood opening. The driver’s side front fender did not align and so the upper seam was cut and a wedge skillfully bonded in place. 308 GTB left and right front turn light assembly were ordered from Superformance in the UK at a cost of $355.66

                                        Fitting the Michelotto Group 4 center body
 
Moving to the center body, new steel outer rocker panels were supplied by Wade Nunez Ferrari service at a cost $3,000.00 and then installed and welded to the inner support structure. The lightweight floor was installed and a hole was cut in the floor to lower the driver’s seat. A new Racetech 1000 seat and SPARCO base were supplied by Wine Country Motor Sports at a cost of $776.82.  A new alloy dash was made, covered in the correct Charcoal colored cloth and a gauge panel and fuse panel were fabricated and fitted. A set of Autometer gauges including an Autometer 5″ tach; water temp; oil pressure; oil temp; a volt meter and fuel level gauge filled the gauge cluster at a cost $668.20. A switch panel was also installed in the lower gauge cluster and a fuse board with a kill switch was built into the navigators side of the dash.  New door hinges were machined and bolted to a vertical alloy front hinge mount panel which was bonded to the leading edge of  door shell. The door latch mechanism was fitted and aligned with both doors. A 3/8 alloy strip was bonded to the top edge of both door to add rigidity. The shift tower and mechanism was fitted and installed. 16 gauge premium automotive grade wiring in orange; black; yellow; purple; green; grey; white; pink; blue; brown; orange and tan were ordered in 50 ft sections to build an all-new wiring harness. An oil pressure warning light and amber; green; red and blue lights and boxes of male and female fittings were ordered as part of the new wiring harness. A quick release steering wheel was added and a pair of lightweight anti-slip mesh screens were fabricated, one for the driver’s feet and the second for the navigator’s feet. The roof was about 3/8 of an inch to narrow and so the roof was sectioned, fitted and skillfully re-bonded. The roof was then bonded to the upper frame structure. The windshield is glass and the rear window is lightweight plexi-glass. The door windows are also made from lightweight plexi-glass with a sliding opening for the driver’s side. There is an invoice from T. Rutlands for glass seals and glass scrapers at a cost of $1,241.54.

                                                   Fitting the Michelotto Group 4 rear body

Moving on to the rear body and fame, the rear frame is seriously reinforced with a double triangulated heavy gauge structure that connects the main frame to the upper shock mounts on both the left and right side and then to the rear bulkhead. Additional roll cage tubing connects the top rear of the roll cage to the upper rear suspension mounts and engine bay rear bulkhead. The engine bay rear vertical bulkhead and trunk floor are metal, for improved rigidity. The area in the upper front engine compartment under the rear window has been boxed in aluminum for additional rigidity. Both fuel tanks were cleaned and boiled-out by 3 Star radiator, Fort Lauderdale at a cost of $322.00 and new fuel tank straps were provided by GTO Engineering at a cost of $130. Additional tertiary framework supports the rear body and rear valance. A new oil tank, fittings and lines were ordered from Kartek at a cost of $1,870.79. The oil tank is mounted in the front of the trunk area while a large oil cooler fits into the rear panel. The oil cooler is mounted on a small aluminum frame with hidden circular air vents cut under the oil cooler allowing hot air to escape. Hood pins were bonded into the upper inside of the rear lid and guide plates were bonded on to the left and right rear corner of the rear lid to help it align in place. Metal “U” brackets were made and bonded into the rear bumper and bumper tubes were made and fitted to the secondary chassis structure to support the rear bumper. New 308 GTB tail light assemblies with built in reverse lights and rubber gasket were ordered from Superformance in the UK at a cost of $842.91. The total time in the project is eye-opening for anyone who hasn’t been in the restoration business. The total labor billed was 1,951 hours at $185 per hour = $360,935 but a much lower price was eventually negotiated. Cost included the body, brakes and electrical parts plus the original cost of the 308 GTB “Vetroresina” donor car takes the total costs to well over $300,000  invested to date.

 
                                                     Brakes, suspension and steering

The suspension, brakes and steering are more-or-less fully rebuilt. The upper and lower control arms and spindles have been painted or powder coated, all new poly-graphite solid suspension bushings were order from Nick’s Forza Ferrari in Culver, WA at a cost of $355.60. There were at least three brake or suspension related orders for 308 GTB upper and lower ball  joints with a fast-rack ring and pinion plus yellow nylocs from Superformance in the UK at a cost of $837.52. Additionally 308 GTB front and rear suspension bushings plus a front bonnet gas strut were ordered from Superformance in the UK at a cost of $1,506.87. Last but not least 308 GTB front and rear brakes in red powder coating were ordered plus an aluminum pedal set was sourced from Superformance in the UK at a cost of $2,685.90. Dual Wilwood brake masters and a Wilwood clutch master were also ordered and mounted.

                                                                      Mechanicals in process
 
Mechanically the engine liners have been bored, there are new high-compression pistons and rings still in their box, the connection rods appear to have been trued and re-bushed and the valves are new or freshly ground. When new and fitted with four 42DCNF Webers the stock engine was good for around 250 HP. With a set of high compression pistons, race spec cams, some cylinder head porting work and different carbs power should be good for 280 hp and the addition of Bosch Kugelfisher-based mechanical fuel-injection system should be good for 300 hp – 320 hp at 8000 rpm. The transaxle can be rebuilt to stock specifications which will allow for user-friendly smooth shifting driving. Close ration crash-box gears can also be ordered for those who want a serious rally car. As always in building race cars and race engines, how fast you want to go is a function of how much you want to spend?

                                                                Whats included, what’s missing                                        

There are about 150 pages of invoices with endless invoices for small parts; plexiglass sheeting; “L” angle; “U” angle and flat aluminum tubing; structural adhesives; square steel tubing; aluminum sheeting; electrical pins and relays; washers; rivets; Cleco fasteners plus nuts, bolts, washers and the list goes on. 308 GTB “Vetroresina” s/n 20751 came to us with the engine block, transaxle and cylinder heads on small roll-around dolly’s. We also have six large plastic totes filled with both old and new parts. As an example of no-longer-needed parts, all six original gauges are with the car yet there are no race wheels or racing seat belt with the car. If any parts are in our photo set, they come with the car, if something is not in the photos, it is not with the car. 

                                                         The story of the Michelotto Rally cars

Between 1978 and 1985, Michelotto built just 15 Ferrari 308 GTB rally cars in both Group IV and Group B guises, the beginning of the Padova-based outfit’s alliance with the Prancing Horse. Michelotto started by building 11 wide-arched Group 4 variants, which swiftly proved to be fearsome competitors in Europe’s rally stages. The best finish in Group 4 was Jean-Claude Andruet’s second at the 1982 Tour de Corse in his Pioneer-liveried 308. By 1983, Michelotto were ready to unveil their super hot Group B-spec 308 GTB, which would go on to secure first place finishes at Italian events such as the Trofeo Villa d’Este in 1983 and the Rallye Citta di Bassano in 1984 to name a few highlights, but in the end only four of these mid-engined machines were ever built. Today any of these 15 cars is valued close to or over $1m USD!

                                                      1977 Euro model 308 GTB “Vetroresina” s/n 20751

1977 Euro model 308 GTB “Vetroresina” s/n 20751 offers an excellent opportunity for a serious enthusiast. All the big money and long hours have been spent. The donor car used is easily worth $125,000, the body and hard parts were well over $50,000  and a very negotiated labor rate still confirms that well over $300,000 has been invested to date. 308 GTB “Vetroresina” s/n 20751 comes with a Louisiana title, will be delivered as a “roller” with roll-around after-market wheels and is priced to sell at $195,000 or best offer.