Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Intercooler hood scoop installation
Over two years and no updates - the project continues, despite some setbacks to the schedule.
An attentive reader might recall a post from the distant past detailing the intercooler hood scoop I imported from Australia, which arrived with the surrounding hood attached (the entire assembly was cut free from the hood with a saw). I have finally gotten around to installing the scoop, details below.
The hood structural supports are different on a hood with an intercooler scoop; instead of meeting at a center crossing point as they do in a normal hood, the main supports are cut and two new members are fitted which avoid the hole punched for the intercooler. Additionally, there is a steel ring which fits into the cutout, providing the bolt-on mounting for the rubber sealing gasket. The scoop itself is fiberglass and attaches to the hood with studs from the underside. The scoop is centered on the hood, while the hole beneath is offset to the passenger side to match the location of the intercooler.
To install the scoop onto my hood, I drilled out the spot welds securing the two structural members, their support gusset plates, and the sealing gasket attachment ring on the imported hood section (after disassembling everything and removing the scoop and gasket).
I then removed the rearmost structural member from the hood section by cutting it away near its attachment at the panel's outer skin. What was left was the skin of the hood section, which I used as an overlay on top of my hood to scribe the locations for the bolt holes and intercooler cutout. I also used the structural members I removed to scribe the cuts to the members on the underside of my hood, as well as to scribe locations for holes to be cut in the rearmost structural member to allow access to the studs which secure the scoop.
With everything marked, I cut the structure away on my hood using a cutoff wheel. I then marked the location of the hole for the intercooler with tape and cut it with the wheel, finishing the radiused corners with a die grinder. I also used a hole saw and die grinder to cut holes for the scoop mounting studs in the rear structural member (nearest the cowl).
The replacement structural members were then attached to the hood using panel adhesive and tack welds (to mimic the spot welds; technically these are probably rosette welds). Using panel adhesive, available at paint/body suppliers, is important so that the skin of the hood stays tied to the structure. This is how the factory constructed the hood, so I thought I should imitate the procedure.
Following that, the sealing gasket mounting ring was tacked to the upper side of the hood and the scoop mounting holes were drilled and adjusted with a die grinder to fit. I also did a quick job of painting the welded areas and cleaning things up a bit.
The scoop was then bolted into place with some silicone sealant instead of the foam gasket I found underneath it on the imported hood section, and the hood was reinstalled.
I am happy with the result, although my measurements were slightly off to one side and it's not perfectly centered. Someone else might not notice unless it was pointed out to them, though, as it's really close.
An attentive reader might recall a post from the distant past detailing the intercooler hood scoop I imported from Australia, which arrived with the surrounding hood attached (the entire assembly was cut free from the hood with a saw). I have finally gotten around to installing the scoop, details below.
The hood structural supports are different on a hood with an intercooler scoop; instead of meeting at a center crossing point as they do in a normal hood, the main supports are cut and two new members are fitted which avoid the hole punched for the intercooler. Additionally, there is a steel ring which fits into the cutout, providing the bolt-on mounting for the rubber sealing gasket. The scoop itself is fiberglass and attaches to the hood with studs from the underside. The scoop is centered on the hood, while the hole beneath is offset to the passenger side to match the location of the intercooler.
To install the scoop onto my hood, I drilled out the spot welds securing the two structural members, their support gusset plates, and the sealing gasket attachment ring on the imported hood section (after disassembling everything and removing the scoop and gasket).
I then removed the rearmost structural member from the hood section by cutting it away near its attachment at the panel's outer skin. What was left was the skin of the hood section, which I used as an overlay on top of my hood to scribe the locations for the bolt holes and intercooler cutout. I also used the structural members I removed to scribe the cuts to the members on the underside of my hood, as well as to scribe locations for holes to be cut in the rearmost structural member to allow access to the studs which secure the scoop.
With everything marked, I cut the structure away on my hood using a cutoff wheel. I then marked the location of the hole for the intercooler with tape and cut it with the wheel, finishing the radiused corners with a die grinder. I also used a hole saw and die grinder to cut holes for the scoop mounting studs in the rear structural member (nearest the cowl).
The replacement structural members were then attached to the hood using panel adhesive and tack welds (to mimic the spot welds; technically these are probably rosette welds). Using panel adhesive, available at paint/body suppliers, is important so that the skin of the hood stays tied to the structure. This is how the factory constructed the hood, so I thought I should imitate the procedure.
Following that, the sealing gasket mounting ring was tacked to the upper side of the hood and the scoop mounting holes were drilled and adjusted with a die grinder to fit. I also did a quick job of painting the welded areas and cleaning things up a bit.
The scoop was then bolted into place with some silicone sealant instead of the foam gasket I found underneath it on the imported hood section, and the hood was reinstalled.
I am happy with the result, although my measurements were slightly off to one side and it's not perfectly centered. Someone else might not notice unless it was pointed out to them, though, as it's really close.
posted by acy76, 9:08 PM
