Fabbing up my own hood scoop

[Mutineer]

OK so I started fabbing up the scoop and it turns out that the front top of the old stock fenders, if cut right, make a perfect 1 foot wide hoodscoop.

With a good amount of cutting, fabbing and body work, This is going to work out perfect!

The hood will be trimmed up to lighten it, and fabbed up for a 4 pin hold-down configuration.

1 foot wide, 16 inches long and functional when completed, probably by the end of this weekend.

This ought to tide me over till I can afford another fiberglass one

Ill keep posting as I go, should be sweet!

 

[everythintech]

sweet man, i plan on doing this, but with a cobra hood, just waiting for the dough to buy it. cant wait to see it done!

 

[gluvsave35]

looks sick cant wait to see it done!!!

 

[Mutineer]

Here's how far I got today:

Ive got to do some extensive metal working, as my "desktop" Mig welder isnt made for body welding, the heat wont go down far enough, its just a high/low switch....

All good though, Ill grind it out and spot weld the crappy spots

Looks REALLY good so far though, I got the rear rounded perfetct and the top looks good too...needs alittle TLC, then some body filler after I spot weld it onto the hood.

Gonna be AWESOME!!!

 

[expo5.0]

you should steal my functional intake idea-

 

[rookieshooter]

Looks good. Are you going to skim over it with some bondo type stuff?

 

[Mutineer]

ROOKIE: Yeah, once I fix the bad weld spots, I will bondo the top of it and paint it, I dont think it will ever look perfect, but I dont claim to be a master body technician.

EXPO5.0: I like that intake but I am going to incorporate a snorkel system into this one, so I cant really rig up a Shaker...I still havent really figured out how to do it yet.

Really all I want it to do is pull cold air in to help cool the engine, along with the vents that should work nicely. I wont cry if I cant make it atually hook up to the intake.

 

[Mutineer]

Here's a mockup of the hood scoop:

 

[moose1]

Dude that dodge is f'n huge............more pics

 

[Mutineer]

Look here:


JOHNNY RAM 4X4

This is my site, there are pics and videos of both trucks here.

 

[Turdle]

Tell her to get off the phone and start grinding

 

[moose1]

Thats so awsome man.....cant wait to see it done. What size tires are you going to run when its all ready?

 

[Mutineer]

JT:

lol

Moose:

I was going to run 52" Michelin X, but I think I will go with a 15 inch wheel and 44's. With the ratio those rocwells have it ought to kick azz in the bogs.

JR has kindof took a back seat to the Merc, as the Merc can serve as a backup vehicle and JR will never see another legal street ride...

Like I said, March '07 I should have the money to pick up the tires and wheels, then its ON! Johnny Ram 4X4 will be in business.

Right now I just want to get done with the hood on the Merc.

 

[Turdle]

just a fyi thingy

I don't know what went wrong with my hood scoop, but it needs redone.
There will always need to be a bit of bondo used to smoooth, but mine cracked. Make sure to have a continuos bead down the length of the scoop. I think thats where my welder, who shall remain nameless, failed.
How about you come over here and weld mine on? I'll cook up some Ribeyes
Tbones, heck whats your price man!!!

 

[Mutineer]

JT:

I wish I could, that would be cool, and I could really go for a ribeye about now...

My Welder is a POS, too, but I mean the Machine. Its a Lincoln desktop mig welder that has a setting for low1, low2, high1 and high2. It does VERY well with thicker guage steel, but body work is hard cuz It wont go cold enough to weld the thin guage, just keeps burning through no matter what I do. I had to grind and re-weld the top of that scoop about 4 times to get it right, and it will still take a good bit of Bondo to cover it up, you can only grind it soooo thin....I had to keep re-doing it cuz I was afraid it would crack or tear under stress. I finally got a good bead down the hood, after shaping the end cap and welding it on, I had gotten the hang of it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I would not put a WHOLE lot of stock in it till it is tested at 70 MPH and doesnt fly to pieces...lol

I think I got it pretty good though. (I hope)

 

[expo5.0]

i weld a ton of sheet metal (see my truck) and the trick is in the timing. You got to get where your just tacking, waiting hte exact right amount of time, then tacking again. If you do it just right it looks almost identical to a bead- and definitely penetrates without burning through. for me on 20 gauge or so it is about a 1 second hit followed by a 2 second pause (just enough for the red to start to fade out, but not completely) etc. etc.

also, obviously don't lay a "bead of tacks" like that for more than 5 or 6 tacks in a row because you'll heat the area too much. do 5 or 6 tachs (1/2"), then move 10" away or let it cool.

-drew

 

[Mutineer]

Thanks EXPO5.0...

I came to this conclusion the other day while welding the scoop together, but I was impatient and got frustrated with it...lol

I had gotten to the point where I could get about 4 tacks and then it would burn through...and then I just went from there like you said, every 3 tacks let it cool, its long and drawn out but it works.

I used this on my Dodge too, and for some reason it worked alot easier on it, different grade metal I guess ???

This helps alot, I am by no means a body expert, but consider myself a fairly good fabricator, with room for improvement here and there.

THANKS AGAIN!!!!

 

[expo5.0]

yeah, different vehicles are totally different.

nothing like doing body work on american cars/trucks pre 1980 or so (you CAN just lay a bead on those, lol)

that dodge is sick- this is the closest thing i've worked on/lifted and it's not even close

 

[Mutineer]

That Ford is SWEET! Nicely done.

I'd hate to be in it when those (?)15's(?) are cranked!

 

[expo5.0]

give it about 2 more months- we are doing a LOT of speakers in there and a lot more fiberglass stuff.

thanks

-drew