SPF GT- Water/air sealing, the "DIY" thread

[Grady]

Don't forget we need seals under the battery and fuel system covers. I think they are the same so only one piece tooling. I don't deal with these materials very often, I was looking for black 1/8" closed cell foam if there is something better please share. It has to be compliant enough to mold around the pop threads or whatever those things are called.

You may need 3/16" thick foam but start with 1/8 SC41 durometer material. I've also used a cut-to-fit section of vinyl mat that the battery sets on that reduces wear from vibration. To aid removing the battery I made straps out of a length of 1" web material (cut from a ratchet clamp) with sewn loops on the ends that go around and under the battery to 'lift' the battery from the hole.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

After looking at ways to make a one-piece seal that would do all of the four entries between the HVAC box and the tub, someone pointed out a simple idea....use more of the round seal we developed for the fresh air intake......well, DUH!!!

We will need to modify the bottom of the seal to allow it to seat properly on the case due to the "lip" where the lower case meets the upper. We will work on this over the next week and hope to have a complete, four piece seal kit ready shortly. Also as this will increase the number of seals we need to have made, it will reduce the overall price of the kit as compared to just the single seal.

 

[Steve C]

Rick,

Report on HVAC to tub seal.

Did a fit up today and find that your seal is fine but, due to the thin factory foam seal at rear of the AC evaporator box installing your seal would not allow full compression of the factory seal (that is questionable as it is) so only way to get a decent seal on the factory foam is to cut some from length of your seal. I decided to not do this.

Best idea is to install the full kit you will develop in order to get a full tight seal on all of the AC box to tub openings.

So...thanks for the free piece but, I want to buy your whole kit as well as whatever else you come up with.

Wheras you are a SPF dealer I suggest you offer us the moulded steering shaft to tub seal as well as the moulded door to A pillar seals. Can you work a deal with the factory to supply these?

How about gaskets for the 3 access panels front tub top?

Big item needing a fix is a plug for opening in the inner upright to protect the front
wheel bearings.

Thanks again and please let us know when you will have various seals ect for purchase.

Steve P2125

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Rick,

Report on HVAC to tub seal.

Did a fit up today and find that your seal is fine but, due to the thin factory foam seal at rear of the AC evaporator box installing your seal would not allow full compression of the factory seal (that is questionable as it is) so only way to get a decent seal on the factory foam is to cut some from length of your seal. I decided to not do this.

Best idea is to install the full kit you will develop in order to get a full tight seal on all of the AC box to tub openings.

So...thanks for the free piece but, I want to buy your whole kit as well as whatever else you come up with.

Wheras you are a SPF dealer I suggest you offer us the moulded steering shaft to tub seal as well as the moulded door to A pillar seals. Can you work a deal with the factory to supply these?

How about gaskets for the 3 access panels front tub top?

Big item needing a fix is a plug for opening in the inner upright to protect the front
wheel bearings.

Thanks again and please let us know when you will have various seals ect for purchase.

Steve P2125

Steve,

We are working on seals for the other HVAC openings and will report soon.

I have an idea for the hub seal (the inner) Notice that SPF uses a hub from somebodies FWD car, if you look from the inner area you will see splines that a front wheel drive axle would have mated to. Our idea is a plastic moulded piece not unlike a cluch line up tool that will push into the splines and have a "mushroom" head on it that will seal to the end of the hub with an "O" ring. Some "roughness" on the plastic piece splines will provide enough resistance to prevent it's coming out. There would be a female thread in the mushroom head to allow a screw to thread into to allow it to be pulled out.

I will price the steering shaft seal and provide it at a discount to those who have earlier chassis and need it, also the block on the tub top at the "A" pillar that improves the door seal.

I am talking to a couple of suppliers about a seal set that would do the upper tub closure panels as well as the sponson tanks closures with a die cut seal. I am comparing the three chassis we have here to insure the screw holes are all relatively in the same position.

More to follow......

 

[Richard]

Rick, thanks for all your hard work. It's really nice to see a SPF dealer with knowhow take an active interest in improving the cars. Olthoff has been great but comes at it from the racing prospective. Both camps are needed to make a good car truly great.

I love my car but SPF has never been big on providing information. It took me several months of asking before I ever saw a options list of what could be ordered. If I'm not mistaken someone had to track down the sub-contractor to get a wiring diagram. Also for some reason service notes have always been a tightly kept secrete, when I asked for the 12V relay parts my dealer had no idea what I was talking about and when I told them I had seen a copy from another dealer they asked me for a copy. I finally got my parts directly from SPF.

Hopefully you will have better access to SPF and/or Hi-Tech and will over time be able to effect changes to improve the flow of information and all of our cars.

When I ordered my car I asked if they would take pictures of it being built, I didn't get it. I hope someday someone follows a car through the process if for no other reason but to have a historical record of the process. We have more pictures of the original cars being built than our own modern counterparts.

Sorry for the thread drift, keep up the good work.

 

[Steve C]

Rick,

Kudos from me too.

Great idea for the hub seal.

Thanks for investigating the steering shaft/tub and "A" pillar seals. Will be good improvements over shade tree fixes.

For sponson seals would need front access plates, battery cover, left cover plate and both manway covers.

Another idea is something to stop sand/pebbles from getting in between the bottom of the sponson and the sponson fiberglass covers at front and rear (after removing the cover fairing I used closed cell foam that works but, a cut to size made for piece might be useful to others).

Look forward to reaping the fruits of your labor as you improve the breed and offer upgrades to all.

Thanks, Steve

 

[Garry]

:thumbsup:.
Garry

 

[Trond]

Hi

On my car (one of the first, number 13 built) I simply used pieces of the same rubber seal used on the door openings. I pressed them on to the tub with the rubber lip outvards against the AC-unit. I used this om all three openings and they work fine. No use of glue or anything. I also used the same rubber seal pressed on to the edge of the dry sump mock-up, with the lip against the tub. A completely water-proof solution at a very low cost.
:thumbsup:
Best regards
Trond

 

[Mike Trusty]

Trond:

That is brilliant. Wish I had thought of that.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

OK,

Prints for the following parts:

*L/R cowl seals
*L/R front sponson seals (fuel tank compartment closure panels)
*L/R Battery/Fuel pump compartment cover seals

All went to the manufacturer today and I am awaiting prototype samples to fit/test. Price to be determined after all costing and testing done. These will be self adhesive and will not have the screw holes stamped as the vary from chassis to chassis (go figure!). The front sponson seals will not need to be punched before the screws are installed. The battery and fuel pump tb cover seals should have the holes cut first, I may provide a .250 gasket punch so that you can open the holes for the allen head screws based upon the pattern on your particular cover.

First batch of 3/8 safety glass bulkhead windows are in production, these will come with a new rubber seal to fit into the window mounting frame as well a connector to allow the drain tube to be cut for easier installation. Target price for this window kit is $155.00 complete.

Working on a seal for the outer sponson fiberglass cover to the tub. This will prevent the outer cover from filling up with gravel, etc.

Also awaiting pricing on the newer SPF lower "A" pillar seals as on the newer chassis and the steering shaft seal as also used now.

Designing a seal to go on the tub lip at the cowl that will seal to the inner front clip to prevent the gravel and crap that ends up on top of the cowl and fills up the fuel cap area.

I could provide more of this stuff if somebody would buy one of my chassis!!!!

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Superformance GT40 chassis seal set will include:

*Left and Right front of sponson/fuel tank access closure cover gaskets. EPDM rubber, die cut with Pressure Sensitive adhesive installed. These have a wide 1.150" outline to provide plenty of sealing area.

*Left and Right top of front cowl seals, these go on the closure plates in front of the windscreen. The seal for the plate with the fluid reserviors will either require the feed hoses be disconnected OR you mat slit the seal to allow installation. Also with PSA installed.

*Left (fuel pump/filter compartment) and Right (battery compartment) seals. The battery compartment seal goes under the drop-in battery box. As the battery box cover has opening to allow the cables to enter it is no possible to effectively seal that area. The seal provided will prevent water entry into the sponson/fuel tank area. PSA installed.

This is our part number GT40P/16740 and will include illustrated instructions. Install time is about 30 minutes (requires removal of the front body clip).

Price for the complete kit is $118.40 and shipping in the USA is $7.00, inquire for other countries.

I need to know what the level of interest is so I can plan the initial production run. Please contact me and let me know if you want a set.

I will post pictures of the kit next week when the first pieces off the tooling arrive.

The safety glass bulkhead windows will be ready to start shipping October 20 and are part number GT40P/43270. The final price is $137.20 including rubber moulding and instructions. USA shipping is $17.00. Again, I need an interest level.

Working on the final four piece AC box to tub seal set, I'll have a final price and pictures in a day or two.

Thanks,

Rick

 

[Mike Christian]

Count me in for the seals and back window kit Rick. Also for the AC box to tub seal kit.

Mike

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

I have been fabricating some seals using closed cell foam, the stuff that much computer equipment comes packed in. I have also used plain old Styrofoam as well.

The "B" pillar bulkhead is a major source of hot air. It comes via the shift rod tunnel that is unused on a LHD car but is open to the area behind the seats and thus to the engine compartment. A seal cut to the shape of the opening with beveled edges pushes right in and retains itself. I cut cardboard patterns to test and then used them a patterns to cut the foam. A serrated knife or hacksaw blade work well to cut and shape the foam.

Another hot air pump is the center console where the parking brake handle is. It also is open to the engine bay. The seal here totally eliminated the hot air that was pumping out of the handbrake area.

The blocks of foam will need slots cut in them to allow them to be installed over the shift cables, brake lines etc. but the foam will mould itself around the cables, etc. and provide at least a 90% seal.....much improved over 0%!!!

I have used furnace tape to cover the seals and the improvement is huge!

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Bumping this as some have asked about sealing the bulkhead. This is easy to do and make a real difference in heat intrusion. The more you keep out, the easier it is to cool the cockpit so well worth the time and effort and frankly easy and very cheap to do.

We do still have the A/C seal kits available, they are now $108.60 plus postage. We do not have the tub seal kits as the manufacturer lost my tooling and the volume of sales does not cover new tooling.

We also have the silicone toll/vent window seals at $$68.50 per pair as seen here: https://www.gt40s.com/threads/new-for-spf-vent-toll-window-seal-kit.47534/

We discontinued the glass bulkhead windows as Superformance went to a glass vs. plastic window some time ago.

We are working on a few new items and will post when they are ready.