Making the small NACA ducts operational

[Bill D]

I am going to make the small NACA ducts provide fresh air to the cockpit so I don't always have to use the AC. I did some searching on the Internet and came up with the following solution. I want to run it by you guys for comments/suggestions.

I bought the NACA inner ducting from Bill Hough and will have them glassed in.

I will run 2-1/2" duct hose through the chassis to a 2-1/2" woodworking blast gate made in ABS plastic.

2-1/2" hose will run to an ABS "Y".

One end of the "Y" goes to the AC evaporator, the other to the blast gate.

The other end will go to the eyeball vents.

I will add a cable under the dash (both sides) to open and close the gate.

Is it workable?

Bill D

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Bill,
I presume you will be making two large holes in the front of the chassis for this??
I have another solution for you so you dont have to cut he tub up...give me a call.

 

[Bill D]

Thanks for the suggestion Fran

 

[Ron McCall]

Bill,
I presume you will be making two large holes in the front of the chassis for this??
I have another solution for you so you dont have to cut he tub up...give me a call.

And what is that??????
Share it with the class!!!

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

OK...
using the access panel that sits above the footbox...acquire another from RCR or fab a second one.
Using two of these Brake Ducts attached to the access panel lid and then run the hose to the NACA duct in the nose.
This way no need to put holes in the tub....and when you dont want to feed air in or use the car in cooler weather just spend 5 mins to swap the panel back or disconnect the hose...
(alternatively maybe you could use the unattached NACA to feed warm air from behind the rad in cooler weather...just a thought)

not as convenient as turning on the AC but for a track based car..it would be worth the trouble I think
You would be amazed how much more comfortable the cabin will feel.
One thing that is often overlooked is that the air must be exhausted from the cabin too....otherwise you are just sitting in a stale/moist/stinky environment.....if you open the small side windows you can really feel the difference....

 

[Ron McCall]

Great idea Fran! I was thinking of installing a small heater on a spare panel as well.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Hope this is not a dumb question but how do you stop water entering the cockpit along with the air when it rains?

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Drive your GT40 in the rain......good Lord man what are you thinking.....

Just kidding..
the scenario I described would be for a track type non AC car......

To stop the water you would just disconnect your hoses and cap off the duct into the cockpit... or switch out the panel...(half a dozen screws)

 

[Lynn Larsen]

Pete,

If the air is sent through a box with enough volume that its velocity can drop, the water will drop out of the air and can be drained out of the box.

Lynn

 

[David Morton]

Sort of a coalescing box with a drain Lynn?

 

[40 Bud]

Be careful trying to do this. I believe that the originals had a problem with this when they raced in the rain. Of course if you never run in the rain - no problem. I find that I get plenty of fresh air thru the helicopter vents and don't need more.