Engine
With its 7600rpm red-line, the GT4’s 2926cc V8 is a gem of an engine as long as it’s in fine fettle. Tough and reliable, the powerplant will cover 100,000 miles between rebuilds if looked after. But it won’t take much in the way of abuse before it starts to give serious (and costly) problems.
With its 7600rpm red-line, the GT4’s 2926cc V8 is a gem of an engine as long as it’s in fine fettle. Tough and reliable, the powerplant will cover 100,000 miles between rebuilds if looked after. But it won’t take much in the way of abuse before it starts to give serious (and costly) problems.
One of the easiest ways to hurt a Ferrari V8 is to rev it hard from cold, causing piston ring and valve wear. Blue smoke from the exhaust gives the game away, but don’t fret too much if there’s a steady stream of white smoke; they all do that! If a full rebuild is needed, you’ll spend around £10,000; if just the top end needs fettling, this figure is halved.
Each camshaft is driven by a toothed rubber cam belt, and these need to be renewed every 25,000 miles or two years – although most specialists reckon every 16,000 miles is a safer bet. If the belt breaks, the pistons and valves will get intimate and you’ll be staring down the barrel of a full engine rebuild.
Head gaskets are prone to problems, and while it’s worth doing the standard test of looking for a white emulsion on the underside of the oil filler cap, you can also check the oil itself, on the dipstick. However, a common tell-tale is the temperature gauge shooting up to maximum soon after starting the car, even when the engine hasn’t got up to temperature. If either of the gaskets has failed, expect to pay £3000 on a fix. This covers the cost of replacing both, as they should be done in pairs even if one is apparently healthy.
Setting up the quartet of Weber twin-choke carbs can be costly and time-consuming, so if the engine runs unevenly suspect everything is out of balance. It’s worth doing a compression check on each combustion chamber; you’re looking for 150psi each time.
TransmissionYou can tell the GT4 is a genuine Italian supercar by the way it refuses to allow you to select second gear until the transmission has fully warmed up. However, if this ratio is still hard to get once everything is at temperature, it’s because the synchromesh has worn. By the time this happens, the whole gearbox usually needs rebuilding – at a cost of up to £5000, although it can be less.
TransmissionYou can tell the GT4 is a genuine Italian supercar by the way it refuses to allow you to select second gear until the transmission has fully warmed up. However, if this ratio is still hard to get once everything is at temperature, it’s because the synchromesh has worn. By the time this happens, the whole gearbox usually needs rebuilding – at a cost of up to £5000, although it can be less.
Clutches don’t last long: if the car isn’t driven too hard you’ll get 20,000 miles out of one if you’re lucky. When replacement time comes round, expect to pay £750 to have the work done. Other than that it’s just a question of making sure there’s no vibration because of a propshaft that’s out of balance, and no whining because the diff or gearbox are past their best. Universal joints can also wear, leading to clonks as the drive is taken up – but even if this work does need doing, it’s not difficult or costly.
Suspension, steering and brakes
In true supercar fashion, at each end of a GT4 you’ll find double wishbones with coil springs and telescopic dampers. That’s why the car should handle so fabulously, although bits do wear if a grease gun hasn’t been used every two or three years. Without proper lubrication, the various ball joints suffer (there are four of them), while the rubber bushes can also perish, which will lead to wayward handling.
In true supercar fashion, at each end of a GT4 you’ll find double wishbones with coil springs and telescopic dampers. That’s why the car should handle so fabulously, although bits do wear if a grease gun hasn’t been used every two or three years. Without proper lubrication, the various ball joints suffer (there are four of them), while the rubber bushes can also perish, which will lead to wayward handling.
All GT4s were supplied with alloy wheels, and these can look the worse for wear if there’s been too much intimate contact with kerbstones. Also check that the lacquer isn’t peeling off; in both cases, if the damage is superficial, it’s cheap and easy enough to get the rims reconditioned. Expect to pay no more than £50-60 per corner to get the wheels looking as good as new.
There are two possible brake problems, but it’s unlikely that any one car will be afflicted with both. The first is the seizing up of components from a lack of use; many of these motors sit from one month
to the next without turning a wheel. As a result the handbrake can start to give problems, although it’s nothing that a bit of grease won’t cure – and even when working properly it can struggle to hold the car.
to the next without turning a wheel. As a result the handbrake can start to give problems, although it’s nothing that a bit of grease won’t cure – and even when working properly it can struggle to hold the car.
The other likely malady is a set of brake discs that are scored from hard use; some owners drive their GT4s brutally, and while the stoppers work fine in normal conditions, they don’t take abuse very readily. A fresh set of discs all round costs £750.
Bodywork, electrics and trim
The GT4 may have been costly when new, but it’s still a 1970s Italian car so don’t be surprised if the one you’re inspecting is riddled with rot. Superb examples abound – but there are some complete sheds out there as well.
The GT4 may have been costly when new, but it’s still a 1970s Italian car so don’t be surprised if the one you’re inspecting is riddled with rot. Superb examples abound – but there are some complete sheds out there as well.
Start by opening the doors, bonnet and boot, and looking at all the panel edges to make sure they haven’t begun to corrode. The bonnet and bootlid are made of aluminium, but the rest of the panels are steel, over a stretched 246GT spaceframe chassis (which can corrode, so check it thoroughly). If the
car has been crashed, unless it’s been rebuilt by someone who knows what they are doing, the bodyshell is likely to be twisted. However, you could struggle to spot this unless the panel fit is very poor and there’s rubbing of the door, bonnet or bootlid edges with the surrounding panels.
car has been crashed, unless it’s been rebuilt by someone who knows what they are doing, the bodyshell is likely to be twisted. However, you could struggle to spot this unless the panel fit is very poor and there’s rubbing of the door, bonnet or bootlid edges with the surrounding panels.
The rear wheelarches are especially likely to be ‘lacy’, along with most of the lower panels such as the sills, valances and back quarters. It’s the same story where the bottom edges of the doors are concerned; their drain holes clog so they rot from the inside out. The door frames and skins are both constructed from metal that’s too thin for its own good, so once corrosion gets started the whole lower part of the assembly will soon be history.
Other common rot spots include the tops of each front wing, so check that these haven’t already been bodged with glassfibre repairs – a magnet is an essential tool for anybody who is thinking about buying a Ferrari. You also need to wield said magnet around the door hinges; any bodging here is likely to lead to giveaway sagging doors. Finish off by inspecting the top of the rear window, where the ventilation slots corrode.
Your final check should be that neither of the two fuel tanks is leaking – which they will do if they are rotten. They sit just ahead of the rear wheels and cost £1200 apiece to change, including labour. Leather upholstery was the order of the day for the GT4; at first the seats were trimmed with a combination of suede and hide, but towards the end of production this became leather throughout. Whatever the car you are looking at has make sure there are no tears or splits, as retrimming a GT4 interior is costly.
It’s cliché time again, because the Ferrari’s electrics are typically Italian in that they throw a wobbly at the drop of a hat. One of the most temperamental components is the fuse box, which can create all sorts of strange happenings as it gradually overheats and blows fuses in the process. A new unit (at £150) is sometimes the only solution because the connections are too far gone to be revived.
Another common ailment is an oil-pressure gauge sender that makes up readings as it goes along. Start the engine and see if the gauge is erratic; if it is, budget on spending £100 for a new sender unit. Also check the headlamps go up and down okay; each unit has a cam to stop it popping up when it shouldn’t. When these wear, the bill can run to over £200 per side.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We reckon the GT4 offers fabulous value for money – but it also gives virtually unrivalled opportunities for hefty financial shocks. Buy a good one and you’ll need to budget significant sums to keep it in fine fettle. Buy a bad one and you could end up with a car that costs more to put right than you’ll ever get back if you have to sell.
That’s why it’s essential that once you have found a model which appears to be sound, you get an expert to ensure that it’s as good as it seems. If it is, snap it up and enjoy it before fun on the roads is banned entirely!
Text Richard Dredge
photos: www.magicarpics.co.uk
photos: www.magicarpics.co.uk
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