First post... in body work stage. Looking for steel side scoops. Pro touring mod.

[scode 13]

Hi,

 

This is my first post. I hope to make some new friends and ultimately also improve my mustang projects by getting some fresh input and bouncing ideas off of others. I am in Tucson Arizona if anyone here would like to collaborate locally.

 

Currently I am in the body work stage of creating a pro touring 1969 Mach 1

S-code 390. When I found her she was a 1 owner garage find, but the owners son had tried to make her into a boss 302 clone without any budget or sense and ditched the original drive line for a 302. So with that said I felt it was a perfect candidate to go a different route with her and finally build a car that I want to keep for myself and drive on the weekends.

 

My car will be pro touring styled and so far we have done a lot of body work to her by removing seams in key places and shaving door handles, fuel cap, mirrors, quarter panel lines, emblems, trunk lines under the window, (drip edges with an added flare soon), shock towers, etc etc.

 

The current debate to be solved is this:

 

We have this idea to flush the side scoops near the rear tires, but the scoops are made of pot metal or cast aluminum so we cannot cut the metal overlap away and flush them in because we cant weld the aluminum to the steel panel.

 

Ultimately I want to make the side scoops flush to the panel and then open them up for air flow and create a brake cooling setup even if it wont be all that useful.

 

Has anyone done this before? Are there steel side scoops available on the market or will we have to fabricate something from scratch?

 

I am looking for some ideas.

 

I have included some current photos of her so you can get a glimpse of the current work before I create a build thread.

 

Any ideas are very appreciated.

Edited April 5, 2014 by scode

[scode 13]

My intention is to spend as much time at this body work stage as needed to make her as perfect as I can before going to paint. We are not that far away from being ready to paint and these last stages are crucial before we pull that paint trigger.

 

This car was extremely straight and rust free from the start. We only had to rebuild the inner fenders and front radiator supports from a previous minor accident and terrible repair job to make her perfect.

Edited April 5, 2014 by scode

[rwcstang 201]

Very nice project, though I would recommend the mods to move this in the project forum.

[fvike 173]

Welcome to the forum! I'm also in a Pro Touring build, as are a couple of others on this forum. It's always fun to see what others are up to.

 

The only car that I know of that has modified side scoops is Bud Brutsman's "Blackened". It was a Year One build, and Chip Foose modified the scoops. In my opinion, they don't look that good, they're just to small.

 

[Rsanter 152]

You need to visit metalmeet.com

Look at the techniques they use to replicate stuff like that.

You have the original scoops so if you make paper patterns of the flattest parts and then leading into the curved part, you can then transfer to metal and form the edge a bit for the shape. Weld the pieces together and continue to use the original as a form for the new part. It can be done but it a lot of work

 

You can also do fiberglass.

Use your original parts as a form to lay up fiberglass to make a mold. Pull the original part off the mold and you have now made your negative or mold. Then lay up fiberglass on the mold and you have made the part you will be using

 

Bob

Edited April 5, 2014 by Rsanter

[scode 13]

Thank you. That black car is how it would end up. You might be right about it being too small, but it does modernize the appearance a lot.

 

Fiberglass would not work as it would still have seams.

[bomccorkle 12]

3m panel bond then fill the little you have left with whatever filler you use. I'll post some pics here in a bit but my notch back has the extension seams deleted and the Shelby side scoops frenched in as well.

[bomccorkle 12]

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/z2le8m2uqfqm8to/YnT837q3Kl

[bomccorkle 12]

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/ggw1urgs6fe5tl1/PeSSicX2Y8

 

Not the greatest pics but you get the idea. Those are stock pot metal extensions. I thought I had a close up of the side scoops but it doesn't look that way. I'll try and get ya one in the next couple days.

 

Myself I'd use the stock pieces and bead blast and bond them in then fill and level as usual. The modded foose units flow too well. The stock is just stand out enough.

[RPM 1,190]

Welcome to the forum. Since the side scoop in the quarter already has the edge formed at 90° angles, it shouldn't be too difficult to make the rest of the scoop out of 20ga sheet metal. I would think you could fab it only using hand tools. And because the two scoops would never be seen at the same time by one person, they wouldn't need to be 100% the same. A little variation would never be noticed. At least that's the route I would take. Ymmv. Good luck with your build.

 

Bob

[DarkBuddha 107]

I personally love the original '69 scoops. I also dig the '69-'70 Shelby scoops, but not as much. If it were me, I'd look at recessing and filling the seams for the stock '69 scoops and make them functional. That'd be pretty badass IMHO.

[Thunderscrash 10]

I feel that the scoops look like an after thought by ford, I am also toying with the idea of doing a flush mount scoop. Mine will be very similar to the original design but will be welded to the quarter and smoothed. The Need For Speed 69 mustang drift car has modified scoops that really don't look bad.

[scode 13]

OK thanks for all the input. What we ended up doing is grinding off the original overlap on the original pot metal scoops to make them seat in and then epoxy glue them to the car. A metal filler was used to finish which was then ground smooth and covered with primer.

 

The end result is clean and looks great.

 

From here we are installing air flow honeycomb type mesh and porting the rear brakes for cooling. WE will slightly bend out the edges of the insert frames to fit clean to the scoop and we used a dremel to cut out the inside to open them up.

[scode 13]

p.s. I learned that epoxy glue is so strong that they use it to connect frame parts together in modern cars instead of welding them. Go figure.

[DarkBuddha 107]

Exactly what I would've done... it looks great, and totally functional. Best of both worlds!

[jmandcb769 10]

Personally I would be worried with the pot metal and metal quarter not welded together as you can't anyhow. I know you mentioned filler but that's a very stressed out area under power.. Hopefully no cracks in the future. Does look very good though

[DarkBuddha 107]

I think the epoxy will be plenty solid. As he mentioned, modern assembly epoxies are super strong and have replaced welding in some places in auto manufacturing for both structural and non-structural components. But if it's still a concern, I'd think subframe connectors and/or a roll bar/cage reinforcing the chassis would solve the issue.

[RPM 1,190]

Very nice work on the quarter scoops. Your earlier pics look like you're using a different front suspension. What are your plans on the suspension and drive train?

 

Bob

[scode 13]

Yes we will probably add sub frame connectors.

 

We have a 4 link for the rear and a coil over setup for the front with disks on all 4. Most of the structure for those have been welded in already and we got some plates welded in cover the missing shock towers. Im trying to figure out how to build covers for the engine compartment sorta like that car called Dragon. I think they are plastic molded, but I know I want a really finished look under the hood.

 

Engine is a performance modified 390 fe since the car is a S Code. We will add a 5 speed trans and install paddle shifters (deleted shifter) inside the stock steering wheel but I don't have a trans for it yet.

 

I can start a build thread and show all the work going on. The body work is nearly completed and it should be painted within a month or two.

[Thunderscrash 10]

That looks great. Exactly what I was planning the finished product to look like. So you just ground the face of the scoops flat and glued them in huh? I might try that.

[scode 13]

Basically that is correct , but they are also bolted in with the original bolts and then used metal filler and a grinder to clean up everything.

[SA69mach 39]

Very nice. It really changes the look of the factory scoops with the edges flushed in. A lot better than I would have expected. Very impressive.

 

I really love the work to make the scoops functional and brake coolers. Keep the pics coming, and the design for the ducting.

[MustangBobby 28]

I would love to see pics of your duct work when you get around to it. Looks good.