Where does this go?

Had my deck/louvers redone. Body shop delivered car with this piece loose. Where does it go? Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Believe the louvers are mounted from underneath. That looks like a piece of the metal mounting structure that is riveted in place on the underside of the hood to hold the louvers in place. Could be wrong, but I think if you look underneath the engine cover you will see where that piece belongs.

 

Yes somewhere underneath but where exactly? It's not obvious and I was the guy that took it apart.

 

Senior moment? Possibly along the side of the central body colored section? It looks to be about the right length for that.

 

You know how it is when you take stuff apart, you think you have a photographic memory and that the arrangement is obvious. Well that doesn't always work.

 

I believe it's this part https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/part/ferrari/60218906 nothing to do with the louvers. Which memory tells me is right. But the body shop people assiduously filled the holes where it mounts to the leading edge of the deck. It's there to channel water I think.

 

Looks like it was a part that carried through the entire 208/308-328 run of production. The configuration of the engine cover louvers changed during the production run, but as this part is common through the production run your supposition that it could be a water channel makes sense. I'll have to check my car, a '76 GTB, to see where that part is located.

 

It appears the function is to keep water off the front bank plugs. Since I now have a longitudinal F355 drivetrain in the car, it's no longer required.

 

The vetro cars at least, and I believe all 308's, had an integral water channel that ran along the base of the rear window along its entire length, with a weep hole at each end. When the engine cover was closed, rain/water would drain off the forward edge of the engine cover, or off the roof from above, into this channel then out the weep holes to the ground. Believe this is what protected the forward bank from water. However, looking at my car I do see a riveted channel along the forward edge of the central bulge over the air cleaner housing, but don't see how it would even be exposed to water. Could it be a piece that added structural rigidity to the engine cover in that area?

 

Russ,
The more I look at it you may be right.

 

For interested parties: No.33 here https://www.ferrariparts.co.uk/Diagram/Ferrari/328-GTB-GTS-(1988)/113-Rear-Bonnet-And-Luggage-Compartment-Covering