SNEAK PEEK AT NEW 348 CHALLENGE GRILL !

Assuming that the back end of the 348 spider is identical to that of the TB and TS, yes, it will fit.

 

What, you mean with the horsey and all?

 

Going to be approximately $1,300 plus shipping. A tricky thing in all of this is the price of carbon fiber. I've found out this stuff is almost like a commodity - few suppliers, expensive, and the price seems to change daily. That said, my mule panel is fiberglass and is absolutely stunning. The lights need to be bought separately, though I am exploring options to include them pre-installed in the panel right now.

 

I do think that we will provide a fiberglass version. There will be some cost savings - it will just be minus the cost of the carbon fiber since that's essentially the only difference. I don't know exactly what the price difference will be yet - we are looking at what our options are in terms of the source for carbon fiber rolls.

This fiberglass piece is already so darn light, I honestly don't know how CF enhances this particular product. CF is stronger, yes, but this piece isn't under any stress. And since it's painted black, no one but the owner would ever know it's CF.

I'm figuring most owners will just go with the fiberglass to save some $ but we will almost 100% certainly offer both options.

 

Thanks for the positives, guys. The next photos I post will be the introduction of the grill, and you will see it mounted on the 348. I will have a number of pictures for you to look at. We are still working out some final fitment details, though I expect that we will be ready to launch on or around October 20th. I may well have photos of the piece installed by Monday or Tuesday of next week. Of course, that's barring a kink somewhere in the process, but we have got the the grill 99% ready. It's that last 1% that we have left to go.

Stay tuned...

 

Update:

I took the entire day off of work today to work on final details on Mule grill #1. Mainly consisted of tooling steel brackets for the grill. Sounds easy, but we (me and my Dad) had to get angles right, the lengths right, the holes properly placed, etc. Additionally, we made lots of notes for the technical writing (translated: installation instructions). We brainstormed quite a bit about "what ifs" to try to idiot proof the thing and its installation. We also made some minor modifications to the taillight mounting method in order to decrease the amount of trimming to the existing rectangular taillight bracket.

Brackets are completed, and Mule #1 now fits perfectly. Tomorrow, it's back to the manufacturer so that he can integrate the brackets, modify the taillight mounting, and send me what hopefully will be the second and final Mule. If the Mule #2 fits, she's staying on and we're set to go! I don't look for it to take long to get the Mule #2 back, but I figure 4 days shipping, 2-3 days doing a new one, and 4 days back. So 11 days or so.

In the meantime, I am working up installation instructions and illustrations.

Stay tuned!

 

Albert, I meant no offense. I suppose if you bowed the grill outward considerably (maybe using a modified 355 grill?) then that would be possible. In other words, in that instance, the lights would not be able to come in contact with the rear rectangular taillight support. They would be out over the bumper much more. It's not so much the lenses, but the rear housings. If I remember correctly from today, you still need about 5.5 inches of "height" to get the housings where they need to be for the grill to be snug. The stock configeration only offers about 4 inches of height.

But again, if you are working with a totally different grill shape with a more pronounced concave, then it is certainly possible that the taillights wouldn't even come in contact with the stock mounting bracket. I looked a lot at the idea of modifiying a 355 grill, but felt the cutting and pasting on the corners was a compromise I wouldn't be happy with. And with the 355 grill, you pay $1200 or more for it, then pay someone hundreds $$ to re-work it, and even then you might not like the outcome. Kind of like buying a $1000 toupe and then letting a barber shop give it a $20 haircut. No going back.

Again, no offense, as I think yours looks awesome as is.

With the grill I am designing, some trimming of the bracket is necessary. However, the bracket can quite easily be restored with very minor (and easy) welding, and of course one would never know the panel had been trimmed and/or re-welded since the taillights and their casements cover the bracket up completely. Therefore, it makes no cosmetic difference in the car whatsoever. But if someone has an aversion to trimming a metal taillight bracket, they need not keep an interest in the grill I am desigining.

That said, I am sorry if I offended you.

EDIT: ANOTHER WAY you could get by without trimming is if your taillight lenses are pointed more UPWARD to help them avoid having to deal with the mounting bracket. This would in turn swing the housings up and more out of the way. In looking at the photos of your car on f-chat it appears that yours are installed in such a way. ??? BTW, they look great!

 

Wow,that's interesting stuff on the 550 lights. Are they a pig-tail plug of some sort? With the 348 lights, it is a single plug. With the 355s, it is a 2-plug - one for each light. So you either make your own "harness" from that joins a 348 plug up to the 355 plugs (quite doable), or you do some splicing (which is actually easy but takes a little time). It sounds as though the 550 plug is actually the 348/355 conversion harness? If that's the case, HURRAY!

I have been busy sourcing a manufacturer to make the harness I need, and I think I'll have some by the end of the year. In the meantime, this is the piece of the puzzle I don't have solved to my satisfaction, although it can be managed.

BTW, I did look through my emails and indeed, you told me of your panel not having to be cut. I totally forgot. My sincerest apologies.