Appearance & Detailing Interior & Exterior Appearance Modifications

Aluminum air lid?

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Old May 14, 2012 | 06:38 PM
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Default Aluminum air lid?

Has anybody made or tried to make an aluminum air lid? Just got access to a tug welder so I've been thinking. If you have tried and it didn't work, why? What could be potential issues with it?
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Old May 14, 2012 | 06:41 PM
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Im sure the heatsoak police will be on this shortly
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Old May 14, 2012 | 07:03 PM
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Plastic pulls air better than metal. If you really need a show-car lid. Get the mti one. Its clear and see through. Then stick a K&N air filter in it for that extra umph of sexy.
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Old May 14, 2012 | 10:44 PM
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Originally Posted by versz
Plastic pulls air better than metal. If you really need a show-car lid. Get the mti one. Its clear and see through. Then stick a K&N air filter in it for that extra umph of sexy.
i'm with this.
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Old May 14, 2012 | 10:54 PM
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They sell them on eBay, but I'm sure that since you won't have plastic sucking in the air anymore you'll lose a good 15 hp from the swap
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Old May 15, 2012 | 11:33 AM
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I made one, took some time but it turned out sweet.....and ....never had heat soak problems.

Made a paper template:


the wife cut the alum out on a band saw:


started to tack it together:


welded together and ready for polish:
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Old May 15, 2012 | 11:40 AM
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The lid was pain in the but, too many parts and a little blacksmithing:


I also made some other parts :


After polish:




Made some pulleys too:


Other parts after polish:
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Old May 15, 2012 | 12:14 PM
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Old Blue- How do you know there are no heatsoak issues? Did you dyno it back to back with a traditional plastic setup and lid? Did you hot lap them on the dyno and at the track with both setups to get real results?

Just asking because with a small amount of common sense in play, if your using metal to route your air into the motor, under the hood with the motor, it would seem the metal would get hotter then plastic and stay that way longer. I understand that cold air coming in would help keep the induction cooler, however on a hot day, I dont believe there would be enough good cold air to keep the metal from getting warmer than plastic.

However in the winter, a metal setup like that might be the ****!!
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Old May 15, 2012 | 01:00 PM
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any pics installed on the car?
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Old May 15, 2012 | 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by LE35thSS
i'm with this.
Originally Posted by versz
Plastic pulls air better than metal. If you really need a show-car lid. Get the mti one. Its clear and see through. Then stick a K&N air filter in it for that extra umph of sexy.
x3, that's the setup I am currently running
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Old May 16, 2012 | 11:18 AM
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Originally Posted by LE35thSS
any pics installed on the car?
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Old May 16, 2012 | 12:51 PM
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There's a company that sells stainless steel lids on ebay, just so you know.

IMO its going to depend on what the cars used for. Is it a daily driver? a weekend cruiser? a show car? track only? If its a show car/weekend cruiser then it shouldnt be a problem if theres heatsoak or any hp loss (i know i wouldnt care). Now if its a daily/weekend show car then i might consider swapping in the lid for shows and swap it back out for regular driving. I wouldnt use it at all for a track car.
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Old May 16, 2012 | 12:54 PM
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Originally Posted by versz
Plastic pulls air better than metal. If you really need a show-car lid. Get the mti one. Its clear and see through. Then stick a K&N air filter in it for that extra umph of sexy.
Ive ran the MTI Clear lid twice with a K&N filter & regular paper filter and both times, the lids have gone to ****. The top/middle portion of the lid sunk in, the 2nd lid wasnt built as good as the 1st lid i had either. If the plans to use it for show, then i would swap the lid in for the show and swap it back out after so you dont mess it up. Im in texas though, maybe the constant heat we have was a factor along with the car being a daily driver. Just my experience with the lid but it does look nice under the hood, just not as nice as old blue's setup.
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Old May 16, 2012 | 05:10 PM
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that looks really good, better than i expected tbh.
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Old May 16, 2012 | 05:57 PM
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What is the point of all this work? lol. Why not just get a plastic chrome lid, or paint all the **** chrome ffs. Seems like so much work for something that could be accomplished within 20minutes of using paint?
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Old May 16, 2012 | 06:10 PM
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Originally Posted by fccs
What is the point of all this work? lol. Why not just get a plastic chrome lid, or paint all the **** chrome ffs. Seems like so much work for something that could be accomplished within 20minutes of using paint?
Why change your oil if it's going to get dirty again?

It's called doing something different. It is nice every couple of months when someone tries something new. I remember that project from awhile ago.
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Old May 18, 2012 | 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by smg267
Why change your oil if it's going to get dirty again?

It's called doing something different. It is nice every couple of months when someone tries something new. I remember that project from awhile ago.
amen. most people have forgotten what car customization should be about
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Old May 18, 2012 | 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by spikester7878
amen. most people have forgotten what car customization should be about
It's also taking pride in what you can do yourself. We made all the custom parts and everything that holds the rearend in place. I laid on my back for hours to paint the under side of the car....why ...just taking the time to be proud of what I'm able to do myself.

Thanks Bill
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Old May 18, 2012 | 01:05 PM
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Old Blue, that's some great work you did there. True craftsmanship.
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Old May 18, 2012 | 11:15 PM
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Originally Posted by fccs
What is the point of all this work? lol. Why not just get a plastic chrome lid, or paint all the **** chrome ffs. Seems like so much work for something that could be accomplished within 20minutes of using paint?
to show that you can build art and not just be one of those guys who only knows how to order parts with a credit card and then has to ask everyone how to put it on because they have no knowledge. Seems like my generation doesn't like to work or build ****, only buy stuff. Just want everything now, now, now. I see this with most people I bring in for work with me on my accounts.

come on, plastic chrome lid, paint it chrome? would look like ***.

Old Blue, looks absoloutely amazing
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