914 GT 3.6 Ferrari Build, - Mechanicals coming along, electronics soon! Options

[Retroracer]

Hmm. Might have to watch the bumper top lip to make sure you get the beam close enough to the car? Like the idea though....

- Tony

[tygaboy]

Hmm. Might have to watch the bumper top lip to make sure you get the beam close enough to the car? Like the idea though....

- Tony

@retroracer Tony - That has been on the board as a possible challenge but I'm choosing to believe it won't be a show stopper. Partly because if it's dark a few feet in front of the car, I think I can live with that.
Plus, take a look at the 360 headlight position.

[tygaboy]

This "corner radiator" requires significant modification so I have to be sure it'll work. I'd really prefer a larger, better directed opening for the radiator inlet...
So here's the latest bad idea: copy the 914/8 headlight size/shape and widen the fog light grill opening to match. This would allow fitment of a nicely sized radiator and tidier airflow.
Plus, being a V8 swap, it'd be a neat nod to the factory 8-cylinder car.
It'd requires fabricating a new headlight bucket and covers, as well as some sunstantial mods to the hood. I think I'll try this on the other side of the donor chassis and see how it goes.

[Cairo94507]

Would you then go with 2 5" headlights on each side? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[tygaboy]

Would you then go with 2 5" headlights on each side? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

@Cairo94507 Michael - no, I need all the space I can get for the radiators so no room to stow pop up headlights of any size. The plan would still be the small LEDs in the rear panel of the headlight bucket. The 914/8 design is about getting as much room for radiators and grill openings as I can. Plus the style points / tip o' the hat to the factory 8 car.

[East coaster]

Love the thought process and the noodling through this. I had considered something similar for my Suby setup, but chickened out.

[burton73]

@tygaboy Thought’s on putting a clear Uvex or Lexan covers, somewhat like the Ferrari has?
If there is anything that I can help you with on the plastic, let me know. My Blue M Industrial oven is plenty big for these. Picture of Lambo with plex

Best Bob B

[Krieger]

How about the cover panels sliding back under the hood?

[tygaboy]

Now to start roughing out the size/shape. It's made a little more difficult because the factory car has those wonderfully unique turn signal lenses that change the perspective on where things are. I have a couple other pics I can reference and I have a ways to go before anything gets cut.
I think the covers are wider than what I've laid out - which is good because wider = more space for the radiators.
It's a process.

[tygaboy]

@tygaboy Thought’s on putting a clear Uvex or Lexan covers, somewhat like the Ferrari has?
If there is anything that I can help you with on the plastic, let me know. My Blue M Industrial oven is plenty big for these. Picture of Lambo with plex

Best Bob B

@burton73 Bob - thanks for the offer! I'm going to do all I can to keep the headlights covered and as 914-ish as possible. But I'll certainly keep you in mind. Thanks again.

[tygaboy]

How about the cover panels sliding back under the hood?

@Krieger Andy - interesting idea but the frunk needs to be sealed and I don't know if there's room enough for a channel and/or something that would allow the cover to drop, then slide back, etc.
After looking at things with this wider, shallower cover, it seems that pop up may be the way to go. But even as pedestrian as that is, I do have one pretty cool idea up my sleeve... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

[Chris914n6]

1999 flash back (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

I did a one-off set for RH on a Rayco Boxster body. Had to trim the bumper to get a horizontal line to the lights. Haven't found pics yet if I even still have them. They were the 90mm Hella projectors so your 60mm would fit better.

A low profile popup is almost easier. Just change the lengths of the pivot arm and lever. The pivot is an awkward angle but you like that kind of challenge.

Last thing, that truck support you cut out to place the rad more inboard is an important structural component.

Couple pics HERE

Think about moving the bumper mount inboard, as it looks like it's in the way of what your trying to do. That part of the body is going to be weak anyways with the big holes in it.

I cut a mock-up mount for the Hella LEDs I'm considering. Mounting info in the pics. They're 60mm lenses, DOT legal, separate hi and low beam units. Looks like they'll work.

Bonus idea, thanks to @horizontally-opposed Pete, is that I think I can get them to sit fully behind the rear wall of the headlight bucket and rather than have the light covers pop up at the front, like stock, they'll hinge at the front and drop down at the back, exposing the bulbs. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

Yes, it'll require permanently connecting the eyebrows to the covers and working up a new hinge system but, hey, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.

[Krieger]

Opel GT

[horizontally-opposed]

Now to start roughing out the size/shape. It's made a little more difficult because the factory car has those wonderfully unique turn signal lenses that change the perspective on where things are. I have a couple other pics I can reference and I have a ways to go before anything gets cut.
I think the covers are wider than what I've laid out - which is good because wider = more space for the radiators.
It's a process.

Hm. Good point about the 914S's prototype turn signals, which I have always dug. They do change some of the perspective a bit, but maybe not all that much? Would be neat to measure them as well as the fender humps vs the production stuff…have never thought to do so.

Looking at your taping, I am wonder about headlight height, as the production opening looks like it will place your LEDs higher than the wider/lower openings, and then how to fill up the wider opening with LED lights—especially if you stick with just two headlights per side in a nod to the 914S.

It's always easy from a desk with a cup of tea nearby (right?), but I wonder about just how big the radiators need to be in the smaller/lighter 914 of if that's fundamentally irrelevant and it will all come down to efficient/tight ducting on the way in and easy venting on the way out.

It's actually more work to find images of Ferrari 360s without their front bumper than I would have thought, but the 360's intakes aren't all that big. If Tamiya is its usual self in terms of accuracy, the radiator angles and (apparent?) direct venting to the wheel wells is pretty interesting, and very different to the Porsche method employed on the 986/996. You might have more luck with the Ferrari method in a 914 due to the front fender space you mentioned when we were together…assuming the 914 wheel wells can be cut away in a similar fashion? Then maybe feed with the regular bumper vents and see if you need to add a third feed from the 914-6 "GT" setup? Or, maybe "cheat" a little more airflow between the bottom of the bumper and the top of the valance, as Porsche did on some of the later impact-bumper 911s.

With all that said, I do like that 914S front end... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)

[tygaboy]

After a bit more cutting/fitting/understanding on the donor chassis, I think it's now about how best to get the air to the radiators. This is a huge mod to the chassis and I won't feel comfortable until I have enough radiator area and frontal openings that pencil out and I know I can more than adequately cool the engine.
Today's exercise was seeing if I could avoid the 914/8 headlight mod and the required s*!+ ton of work and come up with a larger grill opening that I think looks good with the standard headlight cover size.

This is V1. Modeled on the black cars (with some "stretched" 914 bumper grills, one wide at the top, one wide at the bottom), then on my LS car in some scrap mesh. Both feature some bad photochoping, but it gives the idea.

I think it might work. And I like the look, particularly with the stretched factory grills. Perhaps some 3D printed items are in my future...

As always, I'll need to look at it for a while and see how it ages.

[horizontally-opposed]

I think you are onto something here...

[East coaster]

When I had contemplated this I was thinking of going down into the valance vs wider. My thought was 2 separate grills on each side joining into a common entrance plenum. Might be easier and keeping a sorta stock look? I’m sure you’ve already looked at that but figured I’d throw it out there anyway.

[tygaboy]

And here's the Part 1 video on the corner radiators, if you're interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH3T6EjJMYk

[tygaboy]

When I had contemplated this I was thinking of going down into the valance vs wider. My thought was 2 separate grills on each side joining into a common entrance plenum. Might be easier and keeping a sorta stock look? I’m sure you’ve already looked at that but figured I’d throw it out there anyway.

@East coaster - yep, you'll see I call out this very thing in the video. Keep the ideas coming; I need all the help I can get!

[Cairo94507]

I look forward to all of Chris' videos. He is a just so enjoyable to watch with my morning coffee.

@tygaboy - (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)