US hood fit

[miatagr]

Decided to install the US hood and ran into a problem.  I raised the radiator as much as possible but the hood is still too low, It hits on the intake. I did a search for fit problems and best I could come up with is one person cut his under tray 3 inches to make it fit but he was clearing a turbo cooler. It looks like I would have to cut a foot or more to get clearance at the bottom of the radiator so the nose can come up. I got my body over a year ago and didn't get any hardware with it that I see on some other builds. I did buy the kit from VCP but they won't fit as long as it's too low in the front... Others must have run into this problem and maybe I'm just not finding the correct thread in my searches.....

Also, did anyone ever come up with a replacement fuel cell. Maybe the racers in England have a suggestion. 

Help is appreciated.... Thanks

[jon]

You need to trim few inches on the bottom of the nose.

See the guide here: exomotive.com/exocet/build-guide/bodywork/

For my US spec frame, it was about 3 inches to clear the radiator.

[gwnwar]

Jon.. if you would send miatagr a pic or two it is worth a thousand words..

[miatagr]

That's true Gwnwar. I had looked at the guide but saw the split hood and figured that it didn't apply to the US models. At least I now know that I can safely cut the hood because that is the way it is supposed to work. Can't understand why they would design a one piece that is so hard to get off and on. I would hope that they might redesign it and make it a two piece and give the option of nose wings that direct the air around the front tires for better aero. Still hoping for a fuel cell option and then maybe they could design a more aerodynamic fuel tank cover. In the best of all worlds, I would love a sports racer body..... Thanks for all you do Gwnwar.... You were tremendously helpful during my build. I'm having a ball with my dedicated autocross/track car and have let many friends drive it. Gene

[jwagner]

I wonder if the guys at Exomotive realize there is a market for updated/replacment bodywork. The fiberglass shows wear pretty quickly, and after only half a year of track and autocross abuse mine is starting to look well used. By the end of next year it will at least need paint, and that assumes nothing catastrophic happens. The front aero wings would be nice too.

[miatagr]

I'm not finding the guide very helpful. It shows a us hood that has been cut into two pieces and the mounting parts I received (found them). are too small for dzus (quarter turn) fasteners. I didn't get the upright parts that are supposed to hold the front of the nose but can make those. Real pictures , rather than CAD would help a bunch. It looks like from the picture, the two piece hood will need four fasteners in the front and probably more on the sides. What a nightmare to get everything lined up.

Any suggestions on a fuel cell?

[einy]

The US hood started out as a two piece affair, but was changed later to be a one piece unit.

For mine (picture post pending), I fastened it using a Quik-Latch Mini (the US made real deal, not Chinese manufactured copies) at the four corners of the top surface. I am not using any other mount. I cut out a section of the lower surface (the part that would otherwise go under the radiator) to allow for adequate clearance, with the bottom surface starting now in front of the radiator. On the bottom side surfaces of the front frame, I put rubber 'rub strips' to take up the room, preventing side to side movement.

For the Quik-Latch's ... order them directly from the factory, and ask nicely if they will substitute the otherwise optional extended length ball studs in place of the normal length ones. They did for me, for a very low upcharge vs. buying those separately as you would have to if you buy them from a retailer. Also, I put a length of Tygon tubing over each ball stud, just long enough to put a bit of upward pressure on the hood when it is secured at each corner. Idea is twofold. First, push up a bit on the hood to keep it from rattling on the Quik-Latch. Second, make the hood 'self eject' just a hair on each corner when I release the Quik-Latch to make it MUCH easier for one person to remove the hood without needing four arms.

Short editorial comment ... these cars are very well thought out, and manufactured. That said, there is no 'one way' to build them, and no definitive 'build it this way' book. Half the fun for me was inventing little solutions here and there as I went, and kicking around on this forum to pirate some creative ideas here and there from other builders. Look back in the history of posting from Greg in PA, and Steadfast as just two examples of a builders who came up with some really creative idea. And, invent a couple along the way yourself. I was pretty intimidated messing around with fiberglass as the start of this deal, but not so much anymore. Heck, you can always fix / patch it up if you really mess up, right ?!?! Have fun!

[gwnwar]

einy.. Good post covered a lot of points, easy read..

[boileralum]

A note about the quik latches - order the air cleaner model (QL-25-ACB for the black anodized), and they come w/ the longer studs already.

[buildercg]

I've been away from the car and this forum for a bit over a week and I'm late responding but having just recently fabricated a custom hinge you may want to take a look at my recent posts. I too had to trim 5-6" off the bottom of the hood to clear the my stock radiator but otherwise I have a very nice solution. I use a pair of lockable Aero catches to keep the hood in place, though installing these required me to weld a couple of pieces of steel in place.

As for a fuel cell, I'm currently looking into these. The cheap solutions (under $600) are plastic or metal only and do not have a rubberized bladder to prevent a spill. My main concern is safety on the road (mostly worried about rear end collision at any speed) so a rubber bladder is a necessity for me. I'm currently trying to get pricing from ATL and from FuelSafe for custom solution which will maximize safety and capacity. To date, neither company has been responsive to my inquiries. Both companies have retail products that will fit but I believe only the 8 gallon or smaller solutions will fit under the bodywork. I'm hoping for a 10-12 gallon custom solution.

[hockey930]

May 11, 2016 3:50:25 GMT boileralum said:

A note about the quik latches - order the air cleaner model (QL-25-ACB for the black anodized), and they come w/ the longer studs already.

I know it's been years but thanks for posting this info, I just used it to order a set.