Bonnet air scoop

[Grease Monkey]

I've cut out the majority of the hole (roughly where the black stripes are) but am wondering what other GDers have done.

If i file it back top and bottom level with the bonnet i'll end up with white bits where the fibreglass has en edge, but no gelcoat.

Any ideas ?

[Miket]

Should have bought a decent kit that have the holes cut out as standard, can't understand paying so much for a body, then having to do all the hard work yourself. :thumb: :finger:

[Grease Monkey]

OK so i have to cut out the holes, but compared to the Dax, the flashlines on the GD are non existant, so you win some, you lose some.

[maxGD059]

Several options really depending on how quick you want the job done.

1) Don't cut the complete hole out & then there will be just a little bit of gel coat to put on the raw glassfibre edge. (quickest)

2) Completely cut out the scoop but this leaves the double skin of the bonnet exposed & a lot more fiddly filling & gel coating to do (longest)

3) Completely cut out the scoop, roughly fill the double skin gap, then hide with a grill (best compromise)

Don't underestimate the amount of time & patience to do 2) or 3) though!

[craigh]

I opted for no 3,it was easier for me as my car is black so some black silicone sealer took care of the gap,and a stainless grill added
having to prep the body yourself is what kit car building is all about

[maxGD059]

I agree -I opted for 3) aswell after realising I had no patience for 2) !

[Stu Kaynes]

Although I have now been driving the GD for 18months I still havnt finished the scoop, two questions.
First, what do you use to rejoin the outer and inner skins as they tend to spring apart and second where can I get the scoop grill and how does it fit.
Thanks
Stu Kaynes

[craigh]

the scoop grill is something you have to make yourself,normally with some stainless mesh cut to shape using a cardboard template of the scoop shape,you can fix it at each edge with a nut and bolt,I left around 1 inch of fibreglass at each side of the scoop to drill through for fixing

[Glyn_Turner]

I took option 2, which takes a lot of time but I feel it was worth it. I am leaving the car in gelcoat for at least a couple of years, as the finish is almost as good as paint.

When opening the hole right out be very careful when filing the last bit close to the skin, as it is easy to slip and damage the gel, use masking tape to give some protection. The final hole will be bigger than expected especially in the corners, try to file the bottom of the aperture at an angle with the rear edge lower than the front edge. Bond the inner and outer skins using matting and gel coat, then build up the join with layers of gel coat until proud of the final level. Do not be tempted to start filing or sanding until you are sure you have an excess of gel. Then sand back and polish with wet and dry, and farecla. It probably took me about 5 hours over a two week period.

If you use normal body filler to fill the join, it will almost certainly crack over time. If anyone wants more detail pm me.

Glyn

[oglyoodoo]

I'm pleased that someone else has asked about this.

I opened out the scoop on mine about 18 months ago, thinking it would be an easy job. I have been looking at the gaping hole every time I go into the garage ever since and wondering what the hell to do about it.

I had already decided that somehow the inner and outer skins needed to be bonded and have already bought some Resin and matting to do the job. The worry I have is that you only have a small gap to poke matting and resin in to try and bond both skins and if it does subsequently come apart there isn't a cat in hells chance of sorting it apart from cutting some big holes in the inner skin to poke more matting in!!

I looked at the scoops on all the GDs at the open day and this task has obviously given quite a few people a hard time.

Maybe it needs some reasonable sized holes to be cut in the inner skin from the outset to make sure the two skins can be bonded more effectively with no risk of them coming apart.

I think I'll just continue to look at it and hope the scoop fairy sorts it out.....