blueovalz Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 As some of you know, I’m contemplating the installation of a 48 IDA Weber set-up on the BlueOvalZ. I was quite surprised to find that the front air horns will extend up past the surface of the hood by about 1 ½”. So before I start whacking away on a perfectly good hood, I decided to mock up a blister that will be sufficiently high to not interfere with the reversion cloud that forms over the horns at high RPM and allow sufficient air to the carbs. This is a foam piece, and if I like it, I'll go ahead and make a fiberglass piece. And if I like the finished fiberglass piece, I'll go ahead and whack away on the hood and pop-rivet this thing onto the hood. The following is the minimal sized blister. Yes I could go a little less conspicuous, but function has always been my game. For those of you that are very familiar with the AutoWeek “Body Double”, you’ll enjoy this: Now, as bad as this initially looks, on the car it's not as bolbous as it appears here in the photos, so I'm going to go the next step to the fiberglass part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 Hate to be to brutal, but I really think that kills the lines of that hood. HOWEVER; You are the freaking master, and I will bet that I love whatever you end up with LOL. Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Yeah, it's gonna be a challenge to make this look right. I may forego the whole affair and sell the set-up, but I want to take it as far as I can before permanently changing the hood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 How about cutting a big hole in the hood, making an airbox to seal the carbs to the underside, and using a cowl induction setup a couple inches out from the windshield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 How about cutting a big hole in the hood, making an airbox to seal the carbs to the underside, and using a cowl induction setup a couple inches out from the windshield? Terry, I would second a cowl induction-style raised portion to the back. I had dreams of taking your GT40 hood and adding a cowl to the raised portion (just like a typical Z cowl-induction hood) would give the intake more room with the added benefit of than having a more "correct" or more "balanced" look. I figure that the cowl + GT40 cooling = sexy-like-the-Doublemint-twins package I agree with Evan that you are the master, so if it doesn't come out to your specs, you'll just change it. I think if anyone can balance the form vs function part of aesthetics, it's you. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I completly read your post before scrolling down to the pictures and expected to see some abomination.... I don't, it doesn't look bad. I think the part that makes it look weird, is that the front is higher than the back and it tapers down to the cowl area. If it were to continue back more parallel with the hood, more like a cowl hood idea, the front edge wouldn't look so prominant. Another idea I see that could work well, is to extend the bubble towards the front of the hood and bridge the hole there. Now before you scoff, I'll try and eplain how to make it functional and look good. So basically the "buldge" could be extended at the width that it is now, accross the vent, and some distance down the front of the hood to make it blend smooth. Then on the underside where the vent is, another piece can be added to direct air flow around the bubble, basically taking the vent and splitting it into two. I think this would also help from creating a pretty flat area right at the back of the vent too, that could effect the way the vent works. I think even with the bubble that you show, the air flow would be more diverted to either side as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Six Shooter had some good points, the width of the bulge being one of them. Wider is better, I think, and will help blend the look. A narrower bulge looks good on cars with nothing else going on, but I think a wider one in this case, like a cowl induction type, is going to look better. I admire your work and I look forward to your thoughts and pictures Ah, you inspire us, Terry!! Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffer949 Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I would make it as wide as the exit hole and have it follow a nice gradual and maybe even flow it into the vents you have there already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritech-z Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 raised it a little in the back to give it some more "cowl" type look, also massaged the angle in the front so it didn't look so much like an exaggerated version of a stock l-series valve cover. I don't know what exactly you can get away with clearance wise, so take this with a grain of salt (or discard it all together ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritech-z Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted September 29, 2008 Author Share Posted September 29, 2008 Interesting contributions. Thanks to all, and the modified photos to help me see what you are talking about. Now to ponder once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 excuse me for saying this- the fact that you, yourself, have associated the look of the hood buldge with someone who is as hideous as can be should make it fairly apparent that the results of what you do to that hood with a picture of him in mind will not be far off from his level of hideousness. I think there are nicer ways to accomplish what you need, and the rest of your car and all your other contributions to this site clearly show that. LOL. how about angling/curving the velocity stacks so they have a slight curve towards the back of the car, that would allow you to slope the bulge lower and keep almost the same profile your car currently possesses. I know everyone wants to keep the velocity stacks as straight as possible but there are plenty of high performance race cars and street cars that have slightly curved velocity stacks for clearance issues (look up SLR 8000 Holden) and they look way better, and offer just about the same performance if you do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Definitely, have a clear lexan velocity stack cover molded up. Like the classic Ferrari stack cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 My favorite option is just cut a hole in the hood and let the stacks breath through that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 My favorite option is just cut a hole in the hood and let the stacks breath through that. I was just going to go back and edit my post to add that option. I concur! There is nothing hotter than a nice set of exposed stacks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 I was just going to go back and edit my post to add that option. I concur! There is nothing hotter than a nice set of exposed stacks! you're right dave, i saw a great pair of exposed stacks in playboy the other day! no plexi covering, just out there for visual enjoyment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Ok, so I cut down the front a little bit, rounded to top profile and and gave the front less rake, and raised the rear for "some" cowl induction support. The rear will be cut back about 4", which will provide a larger rear opening, and later I will recess the area under the back portion of this blister to provide an even larger rear opening. Anyway, I grabbed some cheap spray-on paint (close match) just to get a final idea of what this will look like before I commit to cutting the current hood. In the beginning: Then there was shape: Then I rounded it, spray painted the foam, and decided to continue on with this endeavor: Protecting the good paint: Protecting the foam: Laying up and (oops) putting too much catalyst in it (it's been a while). Peel the blister off the hood tape: Draw a reference centerline for the middle ridge (used laser level) Home Depot spraypaint to visually see if this is what I really want to do: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I think that looks better than the original concept. If it were mine to do I'd probably have the end of the scoop about halfway between the end of the stock hood and the windshield, right in the middle of the cowl. I'd also make it taller in the back, maybe like 3-4 inches off the stock hood. Looks like you have a line drawn in about the right spot in this pic: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravRMK Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I think that looks better than the original concept. If it were mine to do I'd probably have the end of the scoop about halfway between the end of the stock hood and the windshield, right in the middle of the cowl. I'd also make it taller in the back, maybe like 3-4 inches off the stock hood. Looks like you have a line drawn in about the right spot in this pic: I agree. Taller in the rear, and ending at that line. Myabe even put a raised edge like you have on the hood vent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I agree. Taller in the rear, and ending at that line. Maybe even put a raised edge like you have on the hood vent. This is correct--the cowl will follow the lines of the hood and look more like it is supposed to be there. Higher and open in back. You sure are making progress, Terry. It's coming together for sure. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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