Exhaust Grille Questions, ‘84 308

The bottom part, which looks like the only part to be bent a little bolts up to the underside of the car so I think you're good.

Maybe a couple of the little vents are bent slightly but no biggie.

I would blast off the rust first (I did)

I re-painted mine with engine enamel and it's held up just fine.

 

Bolts, screws, washers for mounting?

Metric, assuredly; local hardware store is where i get small quantities of fasteners. Just need to figure out what size/thread pitch

Doug

 

Yep what Doug wrote, you should be able to see the screw holes (at least you can on mine) where they attach. I don't recall the exact sice, but I THINK they are M8.

 

depending on what plating and head you want on the bolt, if it is indeed 5mm x 14mm long, this will get you started:

https://belmetric.com/hex-bolts-8-8-m5x0-8-coarse-din-931-933/?sku=BR5X14CLZ

 

Would only add to use stainless hardware if available. It won't rust (while not many of our cars get driven in the rain, most are still being washed with water I'd guess) and will resist tarnishing and oxidizing better than steel or galvanized. If you wanted to save some weight, you could go with titanium (kidding).
- Dave

 

I would use round head/pan head. Allen. But that just me. Phillips can strip the X too easy and can't be tightened very well.McMaster-Carr PN 90909A725 or 97654A663 They come in packs of 10 or 25 Assuming an extra 2MM won't matter

Dunno what concours correct is

 

I've had the exhaust shield (grille/cover/diaper) off many times. They only came on US spec cars, I assume it's a US car? Some people left it off to give it the Euro look. It appears you have a Euro or aftermarket exhaust, so you may want to measure to see if it can mounted. If the exhaust tip layout fits, you should be able to mount it. You may need to loosen the muffler/exhaust and hardware to ensure proper fit. Do you have the bottom protection plate? (Part 114745, #18 on the exhaust diagram) Ferrari 308QVUS EXHAUST SYSTEM - Ricambi America, Inc. It attaches to the shield by welded nuts in the perforated holes and then to the frame of the car. This plate covers the catalytic converter. As for the finish, I've had good luck with light blasting, sanding and powdercoat.

 

I had to elongate the exhaust tip holes a bit to clear the ANSA exhaust tips on my '79 car.

Doug

 

@Nick308 - This actually occurred to me last night....not necessarily to emulate the euro-look, but because given the right exhaust system, it simply looks better than the diaper (accounting for "Beauty in the eye of the beholder" and other considerations, etc, etc, etc).
It's hard to tell from the angle your pic was taken from, but you appear to have such an exhaust .....there's a reason it's the called "The Diaper" you know.
Kidding....you do you and everyone else can wank-off.
- Dave

 

Personally, I think an exh covering of some sort looks better than a bare muffler.

OTOH, the factory 'diaper" looks, well, "full", if you know what i mean.

I think a simple two plane angular, louvered cover, in semi- gloss or satin black, would look the best, in black. Not much different that the factory cover in dimensions, but lose the bulging roundness.

Doug (armchair automobile stylist)

 

Tough call; I think you could go either way depending on personal preference. Some 308s look fantastic with exposed exhausts. The euro single outlet style has an especially clean design and is a fave of mine.
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That said, I am not a fan of the stock diaper (former QV owner) and agree with Doug that there are much more attractive alternate designs if 100% factory original isn’t your thing.
- Dave