kahmann Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 A few guys have asked me for some under hood shots of my SS hood vents, so here they are. Since these vents weren't designed to fit into any hood other than the Super Snake hood, this install was pretty tedious. After receiving the vents from Champion Mustang, I found that if I was to simply bolt them to the top or underside of the hood, they wouldn't sit flush at all. The mounting flanges on either side cut directly down the middle of the louvers, so that without a spacer of some sort, the louvers would stick out of the hood, which looked a little too Trans Am-ish to me. First, I tried using an epoxy to mount 4 bolts to the underside of the top layer of the hood on either side. I didn't want 8 more bolt holes punching through the top of my hood, so this seemed to be the only solution for that. I put some spacers on the ends of the bolts, then the vents, then the nuts. I was able to achieve the desired height of the louvers this way, but the bolts broke off as soon as the engine got hot. I tried another couple of epoxies, but the same thing kept happening. No matter the strength of the epoxy I used, the heads of the bolts were too small for a tight enough bond to form. Second, I cut thin strips of steel and welded 2 bolts to each strip. I also welded the spacers to the plates, so that the louvers would still sit flush. I then epoxied the steel strips to the hood, which had a lot more surface area to form a strong bond against. The vents went on the bolts and they were nutted down with a lot more torque than before. So far, this method has kept them in place without issue for several months. I had photos of the entire install, but my external hard drive took a dump late last year, so I lost them all. Here are some pics I took last night, however. Hopefully they're helpful. The only thing I have left to do is figure out some sort of bezel for the vents. The holes are cut really straight, but the unfinished edges don't look right to me. I'm thinking of using just a small rubber seal around the edges, but I haven't found what I'm looking for yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildAzCat Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 WOW, those scoops look so bad ass. Your ingenuity continues to amaze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 ^Thanks a lot my man - this one was a serious PITA to get right, but I'm really happy with the overall look and function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EL SHELBY Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Ken, thanks for posting this. It looks terrific, but it's no glowing dolphin..... Seriously, this is a mod I've pondered in the past wondering how it would work and look. I'll take on this mod when I have the stripes painted. Thanks once again for being the the SGT guinea pig, um, I mean innovator! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 LOL thanks a lot Dolf (I think)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slbgtsc Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Thank again Ken, they look great. I love the stock hood/scoop and making the scoop functional certainly helps keep things cooler, but I am sure the vents release a lot of under hood heat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Greenwell Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 i really like your hood modification. GG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Thanks lots fellas - I wish I had some IAT readings before/after the scoop was made functional and before/after the vents were installed. I need to figure out a way to plug off the new vents and maybe even the scoop hole to try to get some honest results on paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalwrench Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Just to be sure, the mount stripes with the bolts on them are epoxyed to the underside of the hood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 ^Yes sir the strips of steel are expoxied to the hood. The bolts and spacers are welded to the strips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordRocks1 Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 One of a kind, that looks stealthy Ken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socalwrench Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Nice. 1st, let me put where credit is due and say: Superb job, you are the K man!; 2nd, I have to ask: what kind of epoxy did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard m.switzer Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 ^Yes sir the strips of steel are expoxied to the hood. The bolts and spacers are welded to the strips. very nice work , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard m.switzer Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 very nice work , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rush_junky Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Looks great Ken ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Nice. 1st, let me put where credit is due and say: Superb job, you are the K man!; 2nd, I have to ask: what kind of epoxy did you use? Thanks for all the nice comments fellas. As for the epoxy, I don't recall the stuff I tried that finally worked out the best. I picked it up from my paint/body guy. I'll call him up tomorrow and find out though. I do remember using E6000, good old JB-Weld, and one of the Hy-Poxy kits (I can't recall which one for sure). Sorry that I can't be more specific off the top of my head, but it's been many months since I worked on this. Anyway, like I said, I'll get back to you on the epoxy that I used last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthLord Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Make some templates so everyone else will know where to cut, and make a little cash on the side for mods! Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RACERX009 Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 A few guys have asked me for some under hood shots of my SS hood vents, so here they are. Since these vents weren't designed to fit into any hood other than the Super Snake hood, this install was pretty tedious. After receiving the vents from Champion Mustang, I found that if I was to simply bolt them to the top or underside of the hood, they wouldn't sit flush at all. The mounting flanges on either side cut directly down the middle of the louvers, so that without a spacer of some sort, the louvers would stick out of the hood, which looked a little too Trans Am-ish to me. First, I tried using an epoxy to mount 4 bolts to the underside of the top layer of the hood on either side. I didn't want 8 more bolt holes punching through the top of my hood, so this seemed to be the only solution for that. I put some spacers on the ends of the bolts, then the vents, then the nuts. I was able to achieve the desired height of the louvers this way, but the bolts broke off as soon as the engine got hot. I tried another couple of epoxies, but the same thing kept happening. No matter the strength of the epoxy I used, the heads of the bolts were too small for a tight enough bond to form. Second, I cut thin strips of steel and welded 2 bolts to each strip. I also welded the spacers to the plates, so that the louvers would still sit flush. I then epoxied the steel strips to the hood, which had a lot more surface area to form a strong bond against. The vents went on the bolts and they were nutted down with a lot more torque than before. So far, this method has kept them in place without issue for several months. I had photos of the entire install, but my external hard drive took a dump late last year, so I lost them all. Here are some pics I took last night, however. Hopefully they're helpful. The only thing I have left to do is figure out some sort of bezel for the vents. The holes are cut really straight, but the unfinished edges don't look right to me. I'm thinking of using just a small rubber seal around the edges, but I haven't found what I'm looking for yet. Nice work as always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWEDEMAN Posted March 15, 2011 Report Share Posted March 15, 2011 Excellent mod/work. Is that hood scoop the SA new one or Chip Becks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahmann Posted March 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 ^Thanks Tony and Swede. This is the latest generation scoop from Shelby. The quality is impeccable, in my opinion. Took them awhile to get it right, obviously, but I don't have any doubt that this scoop will outlive most parts of the rest of the car. I forgot to call my paint guy today, by the way, to ask about the epoxy he gave me. I'll try to remember in the morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2007_Shelby_GT Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Looks great Ken - definitely different! I would be interested not only in temperatures but also pressure reduction, does it reduce cowl shake and or buffeting at higher speeds? As for trim, someone on the forum posted pics of their functional hood scoop install - he used black plastic door edging/combing/guard , and that looked really good. Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RACERX009 Posted March 17, 2011 Report Share Posted March 17, 2011 ^Thanks Tony and Swede. This is the latest generation scoop from Shelby. The quality is impeccable, in my opinion. Took them awhile to get it right, obviously, but I don't have any doubt that this scoop will outlive most parts of the rest of the car. I forgot to call my paint guy today, by the way, to ask about the epoxy he gave me. I'll try to remember in the morning! Hey ken talking about expoy have to mention this I was watching the speed channel and did the factory build of the Aston martin DB9 the chassis is expoy together. If anyone has seen this it was cool they said if the glue gets on your skin good luck getting it off. But talk about being anal as I am to detail they repeatly measure all body gaps at every stage of the build till its a complete car painted by hand with 7 coats of paint. Thats love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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