Not a rant, but a "discovery":coolman: and a little advice for my fellow SVTP'ers!
I bought my Cobra and it already had FPW hood vents in it (they rock) and they look awesome. They work ridiculously well at extracting heat and they look/fit great. Many people worry about rain or water getting in the hood and i can tell you after 14xxx miles in FL rain and sun, the rain is no worry.
Now the sun...well, that is another story. I DD my Cobra, so it sits in a sunny parking lot 10 hours a day, but she gets all the right treatment. Washes, waxes, leather conditioner, etc. Engine gets cleaned monthly, too, so I always am up on what looks good and what looks sketchy under the hood.
Well - on my way to VMP on Tuesday to get tuned, make it 5 miles from the house and white steam comes pouring out the right vent! I pop it out of gear and the steam turns to a pissing stream of antifreeze out of the vent right onto the hood. I pop the hood and it is just squirting out of the intercooler reservior. It finally stops, so I turn the car around and head home. I call Justin (good man) and take care of letting him know I'll be delayed. Then I get I get on the phone with the local stealerships to see if they have one in stock (yeah...right). No luck...and they all want $250 (except Tousley - ~$170, but even they would have to get from a distributor).
Next up, the aftermarket - Lethal - they are S. FL - I am N. FL...I need to catch a break...and you know Lethal will deliver and they do. Overnighted a Canton (would have liked one of their oversized ones, but for double the cost of the Canton...and I am already trying to pay for a pulley and tune right now:beer
, it wasn't happening.
And since I try to keep my underhood looing sharp, but not shiny, out came the red "anodizing" paint. Made it look better than the raw aluminum, got it installed, and checked everything out (IC pump pumping, no leakes, topped off the res). Looking at the busted IC res, it reminds me of when my kids leave their plastic toys outsied too long...all oxidized and brittle. So I go backout to the garage and sure as sh!t, the IC res is right in the line of light thru the hood vent, but only the upper left corner...the same corner that is brittle and oxidized on my plastic IC res.:loser:
Sooo....way long story short, if you DD your cars with open hood vents, keep an eye on your IC res and when it starts to look like mine, get an aluminum one, else you get stranded like me:rockon:.
Props to VMP, Lethal, Tousley (for answering the phone and an ungodly CDT time), and FedEx - for when it absolutely, positively HAS to be there overnight:-D.
IC res
New IC res thru hood
Gratuitous motor shot:rockon:
I bought my Cobra and it already had FPW hood vents in it (they rock) and they look awesome. They work ridiculously well at extracting heat and they look/fit great. Many people worry about rain or water getting in the hood and i can tell you after 14xxx miles in FL rain and sun, the rain is no worry.
Now the sun...well, that is another story. I DD my Cobra, so it sits in a sunny parking lot 10 hours a day, but she gets all the right treatment. Washes, waxes, leather conditioner, etc. Engine gets cleaned monthly, too, so I always am up on what looks good and what looks sketchy under the hood.
Well - on my way to VMP on Tuesday to get tuned, make it 5 miles from the house and white steam comes pouring out the right vent! I pop it out of gear and the steam turns to a pissing stream of antifreeze out of the vent right onto the hood. I pop the hood and it is just squirting out of the intercooler reservior. It finally stops, so I turn the car around and head home. I call Justin (good man) and take care of letting him know I'll be delayed. Then I get I get on the phone with the local stealerships to see if they have one in stock (yeah...right). No luck...and they all want $250 (except Tousley - ~$170, but even they would have to get from a distributor).
Next up, the aftermarket - Lethal - they are S. FL - I am N. FL...I need to catch a break...and you know Lethal will deliver and they do. Overnighted a Canton (would have liked one of their oversized ones, but for double the cost of the Canton...and I am already trying to pay for a pulley and tune right now:beer
, it wasn't happening.And since I try to keep my underhood looing sharp, but not shiny, out came the red "anodizing" paint. Made it look better than the raw aluminum, got it installed, and checked everything out (IC pump pumping, no leakes, topped off the res). Looking at the busted IC res, it reminds me of when my kids leave their plastic toys outsied too long...all oxidized and brittle. So I go backout to the garage and sure as sh!t, the IC res is right in the line of light thru the hood vent, but only the upper left corner...the same corner that is brittle and oxidized on my plastic IC res.:loser:
Sooo....way long story short, if you DD your cars with open hood vents, keep an eye on your IC res and when it starts to look like mine, get an aluminum one, else you get stranded like me:rockon:.
Props to VMP, Lethal, Tousley (for answering the phone and an ungodly CDT time), and FedEx - for when it absolutely, positively HAS to be there overnight:-D.
IC res
New IC res thru hood
Gratuitous motor shot:rockon:
