SPF GT40-Upgrades and accessories-INPUT PLEASE!!

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Also I will have samples of the potential front inner hub bearing seals next week. My original idea of a item that would press into the hubs spined area did not work out. I have located a plastic seal that would press into the upright and seal the area. It may or may not work so I'll report after install.

 

[John]

Thanks Rick. I made my license plate bracket for my MKI. Its stainless steel, uses pre-existing holes in the body for mounting it to the body and two motorcycle style led lights/bolts to hold the plate to the bracket. I'd be more than happy to make some more if people are interested.

Cheers,
John

 

[Rich E.]

I originally scrounged up a piece of aluminun that I was going to have milled to make a bracket but when I got down to it I didn't like how far down I would have to mount it to escape the curving under the lower edge of the clamshell does when opened. If anybody has got a picture of a fix I would appreciate it.

Rich.

 

[Richard]

Rick, the "block" at the bottom of the A pillar looks like the one I already have, my car is 2197. Is there a chance I already have the updated seals?

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Rick, the "block" at the bottom of the A pillar looks like the one I already have, my car is 2197. Is there a chance I already have the updated seals?

Probably. The block is the only big difference between the early and later chassis.

The roof vent drain kit is coming soon.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Also I will have samples of the potential front inner hub bearing seals next week. My original idea of a item that would press into the hubs spined area did not work out. I have located a plastic seal that would press into the upright and seal the area. It may or may not work so I'll report after install.

Well the samples arrived and they are .125 too small. The manufacturer is GLAD to make what is need, tooling is ONLY $4500.00!!!!

Back to the research mode.................

 

[Steve C]

Rick,

Hope you find something as this is an area that really needs a seal.

Tx for your efforts, Steve

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Rick,

Hope you find something as this is an area that really needs a seal.

Tx for your efforts, Steve

Have not given up, looking at some other ideas and perhaps a made to order piece if the costs can be held in line.

First glass bulkhead windows arrive today. Tub seals in tooling and should be off the moulds by the 28th of October.

Moulds for roof vent system are done, just being polished up and first plastic pieces will be done shortly, some fitting and testing and they will be ready to ship.

The issue with tooling for parts is we have a potential market to date of around 175 chassis's and even if ALL buy the pieces, the tooling amortization is spread amoungst a small number and keeps the costs high. As I will not go offshore (read China) for these pieces I must find affordable, cost effective ways of doing it.

 

[Richard]

Sorry for the duplicate, too early in the morning with to many windows open. This is my answer to the shift knob question in your other thread.

I would go for one of those especially if it came with one of the medallions like JimmyMac had made up. Only problem is I would need one of each color as I don’t seem to be able to make up my mind if I want red or black.

Didn't I read some somewhere where the new GT40R comes with one of these?

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Richard,

Yes the "R" has that knob.

Almost forgot the AC box to tub seals are in! I am doing up the instruction sheet and picking up the adhesive this weekend. I'll have the kits ready to go Monday and will post pitures and final pricing.

 

[Mike Drew]

Here's a thought.

Although I'm still years out from getting my SPF Mk 1, that doesn't stop me from intensely thinking about the details.

I have always liked the look of open Weber stacks, but my practical side insists on some sort of filtration. I always wondered why, if the Webers were contained in a cold air box that sealed against the underside of the rear clip, that some sort of filter couldn't be incorporated into the two air intakes on the side of the bodywork. Then I got a good close look at GT40 P/1043, Colin Comer's car, at Road America this summer.

Clearly, somebody was thinking along the same lines. Here's a view through his rear window, looking at the air intake:

And here is the view from the outside, looking in:

While this setup is obviously effective at keeping birds and small children from being sucked into the motor, the actual filtration obviously leaves a bit to be desired. I was actually thinking of getting a pair of Kool Blue panel filters, which are basically a direct competitor (read: rip-off) of K&N filters, except they're (conveniently) sort of a Ford Guardsman Blue in color:

These things are available in zillions of different sizes. It seems to me that a little judicious cutting could result in a GT40-shaped filter that could be bonded to an aluminum frame, which in turn could be affixed to the inside of the hatch opening. If the frame was painted black, like the inside of the panel, and the filter was blue, like the outside of the panel, it would be all but invisible, yet should provide adequate filtration.

I'm going to the SEMA show in a couple of weeks, and I know Kool Blue (and K&N for that matter) will be displaying there. If somebody would be so kind as to make a cardboard template of the inside of the opening (and are Mk 1 and Mk 2 the same, or different???) and send it to me, I could ask them what it would take to get a panel filter made specifically to fit the SPF cars.

Whaddayathink?

 

[Mike Trusty]

Mike:

Few comments about your filter thoughts.
1. The area of the filter media would be very restrictive and not near enough for a heathy engine.
2. The real problem is sealing between the deck and the bulkhead in front of the engine. Most of the air for the engine would actually be coming up from in front of the engine. This is compounded with a Mark I because of the integral engine cover with rear deck. On a Mark II you can cut the removable panel to fit a filter base like on my car but not so easy with a Mark I and I know that a Mark I is what you will have.
3. If it is the exposed trumpets that you want just have Jack Houpe build you a clear filter like on my car. The cover is also made and gasketed to seal around the base of the filter to prevent hot engine air into the air box. I don't have a picture with the rear deck closed but you hardly notice the filter media. You can even make the media out of the blue stuff. All I did for the media was buy a stock K&N filter with the right height and cut it. It actually took two filters. Plenty of free area in the filters and you can still see the velocity stacks.
4. Another problem with sealing between the motor and rear deck air box is the movement of the motor relative to the rear deck due to flexible motor mounts. This is not a problem on my car because the motor has solid motor mounts.

Attached is a picture that Ron McCall took at Road America of my motor that shows the filter assembly that Jack Houpe made for me.

I like the open stack look too but there WILL be positive filters on my motor.

Here is a little warning for those that might test drive their chassis without the rear deck installed and with open stacks. The rear tires love to through little rocks up in the air and toward the front of the car. Wasn't me but it could have been.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

I have also thought often about this idea and as Mike points out, the front of the MK I is the problem. On P1116 we did the same type of thing Mike, did but used aluminum for the lid to hide the fact that the carb was a Holley and not Webers.

If there was a way to effectively seal off the deck to window area in a MK I that would be a trick way of filtering. A MK II is a different animal as the deck tray is removeable alloy plate and seald to the front somewhat. I have no doubt a system such as proposed could be done but it will take some thinkin' and figurin'

 

[Mike Drew]

Mike:

Few comments about your filter thoughts.
1. The area of the filter media would be very restrictive and not near enough for a heathy engine.

Yes, I wondered about that. I had randomly looked at the filter for 1990s Camaros, figuring that it would give a good indication of what was deemed reasonable by OEMs. The Camaro filter is 6 5/8 x 6 5/8 inches, so I hoped that the two openings in the GT40 hatch would approximate that amount of square inchage. However, I failed to recognize that the Camaro uses *two* of those filters. No chance of getting that much air in through the GT40 upper inlets. :shrug:

2. The real problem is sealing between the deck and the bulkhead in front of the engine. Most of the air for the engine would actually be coming up from in front of the engine. This is compounded with a Mark I because of the integral engine cover with rear deck. On a Mark II you can cut the removable panel to fit a filter base like on my car but not so easy with a Mark I and I know that a Mark I is what you will have.

I failed to recognize that the U-shaped cover that is part of the Mk 1 hatch did not extend all the way forward. My recollection was that when shut, that the leading edge of that cover basically touched the firewall. If it doesn't, is there any reason WHY it doesn't?

Actually, now that I think about it, I know why--it doesn't need to. The back and sides of the U-shaped channel should seal against the top of the cold air box.

I hadn't considered the gap between the front of the cold air box (turkey tray) and the firewall however.

But in looking at a photo of a typical GT40 engine bay:

you can see that the gap is quite small. Just a small strip of foam between the leading edge of the cold air box, and the firewall, should seal it just fine. If an open-cell foam was used, it could even act as a sort of air filter and allow air to pass through while stopping debris.

So there you have it. The cold air box is now sealed on all four sides. :thumbsup:

3. If it is the exposed trumpets that you want just have Jack Houpe build you a clear filter like on my car. The cover is also made and gasketed to seal around the base of the filter to prevent hot engine air into the air box. I don't have a picture with the rear deck closed but you hardly notice the filter media. You can even make the media out of the blue stuff. All I did for the media was buy a stock K&N filter with the right height and cut it. It actually took two filters. Plenty of free area in the filters and you can still see the velocity stacks.

Extremely clever, exceptionally well-made, unquestionably effective. But it's oh, hmm, what's the word....?

Well, it's certainly not very 'authentic'-looking. My whole ambition is to come up with a pragmatic solution to the filtration problem without compromising 1960s aesthetics too much.

4. Another problem with sealing between the motor and rear deck air box is the movement of the motor relative to the rear deck due to flexible motor mounts. This is not a problem on my car because the motor has solid motor mounts.

I would think that if a seal of sufficient height/width/squishability was used on the three sides of the underside of the hatch, that it would 'give' enough to maintain a seal even with the minimal engine movement that takes place. I have a poor-man's cold air box on my 427 Cobra, formed by a simple flat sheet of stainless steel that acts like an air filter base and sits flat on top of the Holley carburetor. It's got closed-cell foam on all four sides, which seals against the underside of the hood; fresh air is introduced solely through the hood scoop. A rectangular K&N filter surrounds the carburetor opening and is covered with a flat stainless steel lid.

Anyway, that's where I got the idea of sealing the GT40 hatch underside against the lip of the cold air box, with a similar type of rubber or foam--like drag racers and roundy-round racers do, with their cold air boxes.

Attached is a picture that Ron McCall took at Road America of my motor that shows the filter assembly that Jack Houpe made for me.

I like the open stack look too but there WILL be positive filters on my motor.

Here is a little warning for those that might test drive their chassis without the rear deck installed and with open stacks. The rear tires love to through little rocks up in the air and toward the front of the car. Wasn't me but it could have been.

Ah yes, that technique would negate all of the advantages of the sealed airbox...:laugh:

 

[Ian Anderson]

I have also thought often about this idea and as Mike points out, the front of the MK I is the problem. On P1116 we did the same type of thing Mike, did but used aluminum for the lid to hide the fact that the carb was a Holley and not Webers.

If there was a way to effectively seal off the deck to window area in a MK I that would be a trick way of filtering. A MK II is a different animal as the deck tray is removeable alloy plate and seald to the front somewhat. I have no doubt a system such as proposed could be done but it will take some thinkin' and figurin'

Fit a second perspex window that is attachd to the rear clip at the front that in effect makes the bulthead window "double glazed" (One will stay on the chassis and the other lift as the clip is opened)

That with a good turkey pan means all the air would have to come in through the side vent holes

Another thing to emember is that these holes will get pressurised at speed "scooping" the air through the vents.

I remember doing a calculation once that with a 5 litre engine anything over about 75 moh would cause a positive pressure inside the rear clip.

Ian

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Fit a second perspex window that is attachd to the rear clip at the front that in effect makes the bulthead window "double glazed" (One will stay on the chassis and the other lift as the clip is opened)

DOH!!!! Never thought of that!!!

 

[Mike Trusty]

Ah yes, that technique would negate all of the advantages of the sealed airbox...:laugh:

Ah, maybe I misunderstand your statement or you didn't understand the installation. The filter housing that I'm using seals, with a foam seal, to the underside of the cold air box that is a part of the rear clip. ALL of the filter intake is within the rear clip cold air box with NO hot air entering from the engine compartment. The base of the filter extends to the back side of the bulkhead window.

The filter is 3.5"x 60" which is 1.5 square foot of filter face area not to mention the low restriction of a K&N element.

And no, it's not authentic or original. But, what else is on my car? But there is no chance of fine particles entering the engine. That is worth a lot more to me than someone thinking it actually looks, "authentic". One off track event on a dusty day could destroy the engine.

But I do appreciate your enthusiasm about maintaining an original look.

 

[Mike Drew]

Ah, maybe I misunderstand your statement or you didn't understand the installation.

No, what I meant was, driving around without the clip on the car at all, and throwing rocks into the air for them to rain down onto the engine, would negate the advantages of having the airbox sealed to the underside of the clip. :laugh:

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

No, what I meant was, driving around without the clip on the car at all, and throwing rocks into the air for them to rain down onto the engine, would negate the advantages of having the airbox sealed to the underside of the clip. :laugh:

That's the redneck way of ring seating..........