Differences in 308 headers - US vs. Euro | FerrariChat

Differences in 308 headers - US vs. Euro

Discussion in '308/328' started by dave80gtsi, May 12, 2004.

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  1. dave80gtsi

    dave80gtsi Formula 3
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    Nov 3, 2003
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    Ohio
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    Dave Meredith
    I have a US spec 308, and greatly admire the 'cleaner' design and appearance of the Euro spec non-catalytic muffler. The existing US cat converter design is a real bag of snakes, and I no longer have need of the cats anyways. I'd like to swap over to the Euro muffler, but have heard folks say that the US vs. Euro headers are different. The only thing which I can think of might be that the Euro's don't have the inspection tube plugs at the top? Or, are the headers themself in a diferent configuration altogether, so that the Euro muffler can't fit? Anybody own a US spec car, and successfully retrofitted a Euro exhaust muffler system?

    Any ideas? Thanks - DM in Ohio
     
  2. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Jan 11, 2001
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    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
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    Steve Magnusson
    A good resource for you to check would be the SPC illustrations at the FerrariUK website. I think they'll both have the CO sampling ports, but the US version headers will have external thermal insulation whereas the standard version may not (but that's not an issue for what you want to do if the collectors are in the same place).
     
  3. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Houston, Texas
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    Bubba
    Here's the deal, Lucillle.

    The MAIN difference is the external asbestos aluimnum clad wrapping, but recently looking at ANSA info has led me to notice that the 3 bolt flange locations to the muffler differ between US and Euro cars. The muffler tailpipe assemblies are NOT the same, becuase of this.

    Since these are different, Euro is Euro and US is US. But I believe and maybe ANSA can confirm that a US '78 or newer car could be fitted with a US '76 -'77 non cat system once exempt from emissions requirements.
    Not that I endorse it, understand. Your trim shroud may not match, also.

    I don't use the individual sampling tubes either, having removed and blanked them. DOT here puts the analyzer up the pipe, so do I.
     
  4. dave80gtsi

    dave80gtsi Formula 3
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    Dave Meredith
    For me, I have removed the dented and dingy aluminum wrapping around the headers and have had them silver ceramic coated, so that part's moot. Also, the 'sniff port holes' have also been plugged, so that's not a significant issue, either.

    The focus of my question centers around such items as the relative location in space of the flange ends of the collectors for both headers for US and Euro models, and the chassis mounting locations for the rear muffler section. If one were to take a US spec car, remove the entire exhaust system save for the pair of headers, would the muffler system for a Euro spec car thus fit up correctly to the ends of the headers? Would the Euro muffler chassis mounting hardware also line up with the US chassis as one might hope that it would? For that matter, if the owner of a Euro car needed to fit a set of catalytic converters so to pass a US smog test, would they be able to temporarily bolt up a complete US spec cat set and muffler so to pass the test? Certainly I can't be the first person ever to have tried this idea - has anyone else tried to do this conversion?

    Cheers - DM / Ohio
     
  5. Steve Magnusson

    Steve Magnusson Two Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 11, 2001
    25,038
    30°30'40" N 97°35'41" W (Texas)
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    Steve Magnusson
    Dave -- Have you compared the SPC illustrations for the US and standard versions in question?

    No one probably has experience here with this (buying a Euro/standard set-up from F and putting it on a US car) because the $ are outrageuos. The standard version chassis won't have the thermal insulation, nor probably the same sheetmetal/space, for the true US set-up, but the actual chassis is the same so could be done -- but why?

    Here's a shot of an earlier 2-valve 308 GTB/S US-version non-cat ANSA that bolts directly to the collector flanges for reference (but you need to look at your illustrations in the SPC and compare PNs of components between the standard and US versions!):
     

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