[308] Upgrades: pedals, shift knob, air intake, and exhaust

Cool upgrades!! Thanks for posting!!

 

Outstanding! Nice visual improvements. I may have to buy that shift knob with the red gear pattern.

As for the pedals, I killed 1 electric drill, two drill bits, and 1 Dremmel tool to install mine. I was glad that I wore safety goggles, as one bit flew at pretty high speed when it snapped. The factory pedals are tough!

 

Those upgrades look nice. With a little bluing, that Larini will really look nice.

 

Oh come on guys, installing the pedals is a piece of cake. Did it on the Mondial last spring with Ultimate pedals. Two tricks. First, get yourself a spring loaded awl to mark the pedals. It makes a nice deep dimple so the bit doesn't slide around. Second, use a good, sharp titanium tipped bit in a variable speed electric drill and it goes through like a hot knife through butter.

As far as killing the back, if you need extra room, simply remove the seat first. Four screws, that's it. Then you've got plenty of room. Put some padding on the ground, kneel down, lean in and go to work. No biggie. All three pedals took me about 1/2 hour, including break time to drink a beer.

 

Dude, you must be stoned.

Ferrari pedals are made of Kryptonite, as far as I can tell. I warn/caution all my customers who buy the Hill Engineering pedals sets to ONLY use a fresh drill bit. In fact, I'm probably going to start *including* a nice new bit with the pedals -- just because they're so damn hard to drill through.

 

Great post and it IS nice to see all the mods in one place. Now that your Ferrari has already 'opened' all its Christmas presents, I hope it won't be disappointed on the big day. A 4 grand run through the gear ought to be gift enough for both of you.

Shift knob - great. I mean that suits the car. I hope it doesn't cook in hot weather, but it looks good enough to forgo branding your hand on occasion.

I saw you got the 'satin finished' Motovanti, and if you ever want to swap that out for the full polished version, just send it back and we'll swap you right out, no problem. I have about 4 polished and 1 non left.

As far as the performance increase, OF COURSE it was the Motovanti! No I'm sure the exhaust opened up the breathing on that factory strangler quite nicely. Great combo anyway.

I put aluminum pedals on my twin turbo Porsche about 6 months back and still can't stand up straight. Total pain. On the dead pedal though, I did do the 'dimpling' awl which is the way to go, plus Titanium bits. You'd never guess those were hard to do but, well, that's what we get for guessing.

I'm putting an exhaust on my car over the Holidays (the twin turbo and a PSI 'quiet' exhaust if anyone cares) but only throw that in to say that this car passion of ours sure is fun. "Happy Modding" to you all.

Adams
www.motovanti.com

 

Excellent reference post!!
Merry Christmas to all!

 

Don't feel bad, mine doesn't look much better. I, also, need to paint the airbox logo and repaint the plenum. Great job on the upgrades.

 

If I can give some cheap advice for drilling the pedals:

1. Put a block of wood under the pedal being drilled so you can push down on it with the drill.

2. Drill hard metal *very* slowly. Most people push hard and run the drill as fast as it will go, thinking it will go through faster. Not so. The harder the material, the slower the drill must go so it can "bite" the metal. Run the drill very slowly. Running it fast just dulls the bit immediately and makes it really hot. Don't take it just from me. This is machine shop 101 and you would be surprised well well it works.

Birdman

 

BigAl we think alike. My 328 also has a chrome shift knob-thanks Daniel, pedal set-came with the car, Motovanti intake-thanks Adams. Waiting on a custom muffler to be made....

 

mod pics... pictures speak better than the description...
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6'2", 225 lbs, 56 years old. You want difficult? Try working in the engine bay of a Jaguar XJS V-12. Adding these pedals is child's play by comparison. I guess everything is relative.

Oh, one other tip, which was mentioned -- wedge a block of wood under the pedals to keep them all the way up. Much easier to reach and push against that way.

BTW, do NOT use a portable drill for this, unless you've got industrial quality tools. Use a good variable speed corded electric drill. And as noted, do not run it at high speed. Low speed, constant pressure, and it will cut right through. Use a good quality, sharp (preferably new) bit. One mistake folks make is to use a bit that is not really meant to cut metal. You must have a good metal bit (I use titanium tipped, as noted). The best way to do it is use a small bit to run a pilot hole, then the larger bit to cut the full sized hole. And I just can't believe all you wooses think this is such a major project.

 

Ohmigosh Steven, that engine bay looks outstanding. Can't wait to see the Motovanti on that unit!

The detailing is really fine - good inspiration for the rest of us. (The line "Festivus" comes immediately to mind. If you weren't a Seinfeld fan, never mind.)

Send a photo when you do your next mod. I see my New Year's Resolutions and Goal List lengthening the more time I spend on this board!

A Hudson
www.motovanti.com

 

I am generally a "purist" and want to make things look like the original but I can honestly say those mods/upgrades are excellent.

 

We are doing various mods and will have it on the car and dyno'ed this spring. During a dyno event can do a before and after. One thing i might do, sorry and all, is get a CF version made as your unit is a bit heavy and the metal might absorb heat. thereby causing the flowing air to go up a few degrees.

Your unit is very good and not 'heavy' per se, but every ounce matters. Can you make a CF version? Price?

 

Ditto, but there are some stock parts on the 308/328 where the OEM seems substandard. Ferrari did "cheap out" on some obvious things.

I have Ultimate pedals on my 328, and they really look like they should have been added at the factory (in fact I think drilled aluminum pedals came with the F40's). Likewise, the original stock exhaust should have been stainless, and you can change it without ruining Pininfarina's design.

I'm staying with the original shift knob -- plastic is fine, and many classic cars from the '50s and '60s use plastic. IMO, there's ample metal in the shifter area anyway.