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DIY body work(pics)


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always wondered how the shaved side piece would look like. would be better if you could take some pics without so much sunlight. looks good though. about the hood, looks cool but wouldn't that have any adverse effects on cooling? (if it matters to you, btw). i'd think some air would escape before even hitting the radiator. good job though. i wanted to make a custom center vented hood, more up though. it's too bad we don't have much room to work with in the center to get a bigger vent.
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Yeah, you could be right about that, but I've been driving like this for awhile and no ill affects. I did notice after I cleaned my engine bay that steam was rising through the hood vents at idle. I would think that the ability to remove heat from the engine bay at idle is atleast an advantage over the stock hood. I'm not sure about while driving though.

 

Jerry

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yah, getting that excessive heat is a must for our cars. i was thinking about a big center vent (as big as i can fit) and two smaller side vents similar to yours but placed higher about where the '83 style hood ones go. what'd you use to cut into the hood, btw? just wondering.
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Thanks, it's my first time trying something like this as you can tell. I used a grinder to cut the hood.That was the easy part. The hard part is the sanding of the fiberglass. I'm doing it by hand to make sure I get the correct shape. I used side vents from an early model camaro. I have another type of vent that I got from a 300zx i think. It's the louvered style. Maybe I'll put those towards the top and to the sides of the hood.

 

Jerry

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did you just fill in the cracks around the b-pillar vents with body filler? If so, you might have a problem with it cracking later after you drive it. That vent piece is bolted in there pretty good, but vibrations and body shifts may cause cracking. Your safest bet in this situation is to fill in the cracks first with a seam sealer. Its simmilar to silicone caulk and retains a little flexibility once it cures. You put it on like you were caulking a bath tub, let it cure for a couple of days, then use your filler. A flexible filler will work best. Then sand, prime, and paint. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just trying to save you headaches later. I'd hate to see you get all lookin sweet with new paint and then have cracks three months down the road. I worked in body shops for 4 years and am liscensed in the state of MI for body repair. I've seen alot of cars  where they tried to make a body kit blend into the panels, and if they don't use the seam sealer first it almost always cracks. Otherwise its lookin sweet- not bad for a first attempt. In fact I hope you don't mind, but I might steal your idea, and do that to my vents as well ;)

my 2 cents

burton

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I know what youre talkin' about burton, I've experienced a few cracks already that werent visible in the pics. I fixed the passenger side with fiberglass a few months ago...I still haven't done the drivers side. Thanks for the input man, I need all the advice I can get, especially from someone with your experience. ;D

 

Jerry

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If you run into any problems, let me know. I can try to walk you through the steps over the computer.

burton

 

so just to add to that about your experience, just wondering what do body shop pros like yourself use to cut into the hood if you were to make scoops and such like that? same as jerry (grinder)? thanks

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if you have access to a plasma cutter thats the way to go. If not you want to use an air nibbler on the sheet metal. They don't generate heat. If you use a grinder or cut-off wheel, it will probably heat it up enough to warp it. use the cutoff wheel on any braces behind the sheetmatal (the frame work glued to the back of hood) then drill a hole in the center of where you want the vent hole to be. use the air nibbler to cut out the hole. If you're not sure what an air nibbler is, I'll try to explain, its a lot like a skil saw but in stead of a blade it has a little round punch that moves super fast up and down. Alot like a paper punch for sheet metal. They also work good cutting speaker holes in doors too. Let me know what your ideas on forming the vents. I may have some tips for you ;)

burton

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if you have access to a plasma cutter thats the way to go. If not you want to use an air nibbler on the sheet metal. They don't generate heat. If you use a grinder or cut-off wheel, it will probably heat it up enough to warp it. use the cutoff wheel on any braces behind the sheetmatal (the frame work glued to the back of hood) then drill a hole in the center of where you want the vent hole to be. use the air nibbler to cut out the hole. If you're not sure what an air nibbler is, I'll try to explain, its a lot like a skil saw but in stead of a blade it has a little round punch that moves super fast up and down. Alot like a paper punch for sheet metal. They also work good cutting speaker holes in doors too. Let me know what your ideas on forming the vents. I may have some tips for you ;)

burton

 

yah, the air nibbler is a neat little tool (makes a lot of mess though :P). wanted to make a center vent like the picture i'm posting up at the bottom. something similar to that but fit into our tiny little space we have in the middle of the hood (as big of a vent that will fit in the center) and maybe two little small vents at the top left and right (similar to the '83 vents). i've got a basic idea of how i'm starting this just need to find the time and energy to do it. i also have to figure out the space restrictions on how far down into the engine bay i can make the vent w/o hitting something or having water run straight down into an electrical component or something vital when it rains.

 

http://www.importfan.com/images/products/c...n_type_1_01.jpg

 

http://www.importfan.com/images/products/c...ra_style_15.JPG

 

http://www.importfan.com/images/products/c...ra_style_10.JPG

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very cool, i dont know if that last one would do you any good, placement for a functional one will have to be thought out.

 

the last one is as if your inside the car looking forward. main concept of that hood is to get heat out. so it's not getting cool air in, it's getting all that excess one out. the last two examples are really like the first one except that it doesn't have the two smaller top vents.

 

kinda debating a little since the space in between is so small to put that kind of vent w/o looking to retarded. i was thinking an '83 style vent w/ a twist like this pic (despite aerodynamics or not i might end up going w/ this design).

 

http://www.do-luck.com/img/toyota/supra/80late/bonnet.gif

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If you're concerned about water getting in, you can design a drain hose (similar to a sunroof frame drain hose) that can catch the water and drain it away from any underhood components you don't want to get wet. In those pics you will notice theres a lip around the grille. The lowest spot of the vent is below this lip (only about 1/4 inch lower) You can drill a small hole at the lowest point and run a tube (like winshield washer tube) from tha backside and route it away from critical areas.This will take care of the water that pools in the vents. You will still get some rain mist or water from when you wash the car in there. Another option would be to have a pipe (pvc) on the inside of the hood. This will be the path the warm air takes from the engine to the hood. somewhere in the pipe, have a U section that drops down witha drain hole at the bottom. This would work the best for keeping water out, however, it might limit how much hot air escapes because it would be less of a straight shot to the vent. Just some ideas, sorry this is so long. If it doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll try to e-mail some rough designs of what I mean Apicture is worth a thousand words.

burton

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I may be totally off base here and if so then someone please explain.

 

Everyone keeps saying that there is a low pressure point (the area in blue) over the center scoope of the 83 model hood and a high pressure zone (the area in brown?) right in front of the windshield. I'm sorry but I think this is wrong because according to the pic it would also mean that there is a extremely low pressure zone at the top of the windshield.

 

Also, I doubt that if you pur a glob of bearing grease on the front scoope and one at the back of the hood and one at the top of the windshield that you would see more movement in the glob at the back of the hood than at the other two spots. but this is exactly what everyone seems to be saying. I would like to see someone put streamers in those points on a starion and then take a pic from another car at about 65mph.

 

Thanx, Dave.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Has anybody ever considered or made a classic drag style hood scoop?  If one could re-route the MAS with a cone filter to top center and enclose some sides around it to form fit the hood, there would be some serious potential for great intake flow!  One prob. with that would be the intense heat from the head and the OVC pipe in the way.  Just a thought.

 

At least respond to that hood scoop idea.  That alone would help cool the engine pretty darn well.

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