I'll be bonding one myself soon... It has taken what? 30 years, for some of the Grabber spoilers to show wear cracks lol.
The spoilers bolt on. It's the bonding that causes trouble. The fiber and metal react differently to tempature changes and vibration. The constant tug of war between the two materials is what causes the bonding to crack up, and can sometimes take the fiber with it. Do what you need to do, but bolt on is going to last much longer.
i think youll be fine with a bolt on glass scoop. thats what all the old fords had originally anyway, but i agree, dont try to bondo in the gap and make it look like one piece. espically on a hot hood
alright. it all sounds good. Now lets say my scoop doesnt fit with my hood, where their are gaps between my hood and the scoop when its bolted on. what do i do with those gaps?
Yes, I understand and know this. I was referring to the cracking and holes the Grabber (some) spoilers get. I have seen alot of them that people try to sell, I have one also. The bonding cracking I experienced with one I done like 24 years ago. I really thought it looked good and it stayed in primer for awhile, never had the chance to paint it cause it flew off. I touched it up a couple of times in the first year but then it looked like the cracking stoped. I'm certain it would have again tho...there has to be better materials today also, i'm still trying soon. Don't use that scoop...? If you can get the bolts out, try fitting it before doing any kind of drilling.
Here are some Steel Cowl Style Scoops http://www.steelhoodscoops.com/ http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=GMK-SCOOP03&N=700+115&autoview=sku
I had help when I put my scoop on, but we sealed it all around with what looked like a gray caulk. It was made for automotive body and was made to be flexible as well as paintable. I wish I knew a name... A body guy might be able to chime in. Razorsharp is a body man. Anyway, the scoop fit very well, but we ran this stuff all around the base with a slight radius. Then we taped off the scoop around the outside of the caulk, and painted it all semi-gloss black. The scoop was prepped and painted already. We just put the one last coat to blend the caulk into the install. Stuff never cracked, cracked the paint, or fell out/off. Wish I knew a brand name...
really. wow. ok its all starting to make a little sense now. The guy thats painting my car said the best i can do is just bolt it on and put some kind of glue or whatever around the edge where im going to bolt it. i still dont know if i should do it though. I really really dont want a cracked hood scoop. And if it cracks is their any way to repair the crack?
i have a fiberfglass hood scoop on my 73 comet i would not change it for steel how are you going to mount a steel one you will have to use fiberglass or bondo to finish it and that is where you will get cracks harry
The steel ones get welded on. Btw, your thoughts are much easier to understand in paragraphs, as opposed to one sentence a paragraph long. Just a thought. It's like posting in ALL CAPS... Hard on the eyes!
If your interested in selling your old scoop I would be interested in buying it. If interested plz e-mail me @ sdp0101@yahoo.com.
WOW....your making this more complicated than it has to be. Fiberglass hoods scoops generally don't crack unless they are bolted down to tight or you slam the hood alot.As for a steel ford style hood scoop, I don't think there is such a thing. I would just bolt it on without any glue or sealer.Put a small gasket such as 2 sided tape or thin rubber between the scoop and hood and it will absorb some of the bumping.
One other hint, paint both seperate and use nice hardware. Then there is no mess with the gasket/contact area. Will look profesional.
