As i\'m a tight git, i\'ve been wondering how to get a vented bonnet with out having a buy new one and was wondering how difficult it would be to butcher the one that\'s on the car now. My concerns are...1, can i do it. 2, can i make a good job. 3, will i knacker my paint. 4, what tool do i use, i was thinking a hacksaw attachment on a jigsaw as an mini angle grinder would generate too much heat. ref point 3.
Assuming i do this, will it actually work? As i was just planning on cutting 2 sections out and leaving a hole there, i know the proper vents will suck air out of the engine bay due to their shape, but will the through flow of air from the front of the car make any kind of difference.
And as we live in such a fine weathered climate my concerns also turned to rain getting in the engine bay, how much is acceptable, if any.
Alternatively, if any one wants to swap a vented bonnet for a stock black one, that would make my life a hole lot easier.
Cheers adie
if you do anything to your bonnet at the least it will require a respray
that is propper tight lol
you need to consider were the strength of a bonnet lies and only cut were the braces are not present.
there was a place people used in my chav days called cool louvres that used to press vents into bonnets wings etc.
http://www.coollouvres.co.uk/
Hi Adie.
How much are you willing to spend if anything?
Jono at D-sign Studio had some vents custom made out of fibreglass and had them up for sale and they looked superb.
They run down both sides over the suspension towers.All you had to do was cut two rectangular shapes out of the bonnet,pretty straight forward.PM him he might still have a set for sale.
The only way you won\'t damage your paint is if you use a water jet cut machine too cut your design,but thats alot of money!
When i did my bonnets we cut out most of the centre supports and the strength of the bonnet is fine,just don\'t let some promo girl go n lie on it and you should fine..:rollin
Your going to have to very careful if you decide to cut with a dremel and have very steady hands..
was gonna say just about exactly what he said ^^^^^^
Cheers boys. Them pressed vents do look a bit chav but might be ok if done well, in the right shape and position. Havn\'t you upset the water jet guy pete?:Giggle
Quote from: Adie MooreCheers boys. Them pressed vents do look a bit chav but might be ok if done well, in the right shape and position. Havn\'t you upset the water jet guy pete?:Giggle
I concidered the press vents for a milli second then woke up,they\'ll look pants mate.
PM Jono his vents were cool and well under £100 for thr pair.
Other way round the water jet boys p1ssed me off. Still haven\'t paid:Thumbs-up
Hey pete they looked good on my fiesta turbo :Hammer
Quote from: CraigNHey pete they looked good on my fiesta turbo :Hammer
I\'m sure they suited a fiesta very well,but can you honestly see them on a rex??;)
OK, point taken. Don\'t know what i was thinking :2Confused
get antnick to post a pic up of his old fd, he done some nice work to his standard bonnet mite give u sum ideas
cheers Carlos, i\'ll drop him a pm
Actually another guy to ask would be Kev-Yorks,he did some custom venting on his cosmo bonnet. Did you see it at the dyno day? Apparently his lad at work did it for him and it turned out really well.
yeah, thats what made me think about just chopping a section out. I think i\'ll have a word with a body shop mate and see what he might do it for, at least that way it should be a reasonable job and he can sort out any painting that might need doing at the time.
In theory you wouldn\' need to cut through any of the supports,just cut the skin from the underneath around the edge of the struts,thus giving you your shapes. Cut mess to shape and bond onto the lip of the supports with slickaflex and there\'s your custom bonnet!!:King
dude, you can add mind reading to your list of good points. i\'v already had the insulation off the under side and spotted a section that will give a lovley shape, and i\'v drawn in the dust what it will look like from the out side. sweet
Great minds think alike..:cheers
I\'ll drink to that :cheers
I have & I think I\'m going to regret it in the morning ;)!!!!
Jono
I had pug vents put in mine and although had to cut the supports as this is where the turbos are itsd been bonded back to skin. I have also added since pic a cover that does not make the vents look like pug ones. Still cost to have it done but the holes were properly pressed and respray cost me £150
finaly got started on this today. just need some mesh now that i\'m gonna paint black, so hopefully it all blends in. quite pleased with the look and think it will be (a bit) functonial. dont look too close though it, was all done with a jigsaw a dremel and a hand file.
also should i put the insulation back on, obviously with the shape cut out.
Awesome mate :):)
only problem that could arise is if it rains or snows??
maybe think of putting somehing underneath them(rain trays)
Snows!? no way am i going out in the snow, its bad enough in the wet. its only used during the summer :cool but i know what you mean, as you can never take the british weather for granted and could easly get caught out. that is some thing i\'ll have to think about, your right.
adie
And now with added mesh
And now with added mesh (take 2)
Quote from: Adie MooreAnd now with added mesh (take 2)
Who\'s a clever boy then! :Thumbs-up
I like it, they look a bit like nostrils.
Nicely done mate:Thumbsup!
cheers boys, just wonder if the intake temps have come down at all. i\'m not that bothered as i know it can only be a good thing, letting some of the hot air out, but it would be a brucey bonus.
Good game, Good game
maybe spray the mesh black?
Quote from: Adie Moorecheers boys, just wonder if the intake temps have come down at all. i\'m not that bothered as i know it can only be a good thing, letting some of the hot air out, but it would be a brucey bonus.
Good game, Good game
You might notice a small drop on your temps,but nothing drastic.Its going to help mainly when caught in traffic,thats when it\'ll work its best.
Quote from: koolancemaybe spray the mesh black?
Surely if he\'d wanted black mess he\'d have bought it in the first place. Plus the paint won\'t etch itself to the anodised mess,even with a primer first.You\'d need to chemically strip the mess first and that would be more expensive than buying black mess in the first place.:)
Exhaust paint would be fine.
yeah did think about it, painting it that is (although black mesh would have been a better idea), but decided i quite liked the shinyness. Also when you look at it your drawn towards the shiny and hopefully dont notice the hack job. Dont get me wrong its not a bad finish, but its not a professional job, and i did want to do it as cheeply as poss, £20 for the mesh and i thought that was a bit steep! and job done.
£20!??!?!?!?! Think yourself lucky i had to buy 3 sheets of the stuff to do mine!!!:Laugh £52 later!!!:mad: :)