Also i beleive the fierowarehouse scoops are solid...which would be easier to work with. Also lexan isn't that bad to work with. just try and get some cheap scraps etc and experiment with bending it. Could probably use a pipe as a mold. I'd love to help you but i'm building a tank car...well..the prototype and then its into assembly...still have to get my fiero's headlights to go up and down...have to install 2 12'' comp subs...two 4x10 in the dash...two 6'' speakers in the door sills ( maybe ) and 4x6s in the sails...or maybe i can squeeze the 6''s in there...well...diff topic...anyway...oh and i have to restore my 79 trans am....and find a job to save money for college / engine swap...-thinks about making a begging website-

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quote Originally posted by Hockaday: Also i beleive the fierowarehouse scoops are solid...which would be easier to work with. Also lexan isn't that bad to work with. just try and get some cheap scraps etc and experiment with bending it. Could probably use a pipe as a mold. I'd love to help you but i'm building a tank car...well..the prototype and then its into assembly...still have to get my fiero's headlights to go up and down...have to install 2 12'' comp subs...two 4x10 in the dash...two 6'' speakers in the door sills ( maybe ) and 4x6s in the sails...or maybe i can squeeze the 6''s in there...well...diff topic...anyway...oh and i have to restore my 79 trans am....and find a job to save money for college / engine swap...-thinks about making a begging website-

The Fierowarhouse scoop is NOT solid. That's the one I'm using for my Indy.

quote Originally posted by SuperchargedV6: I have spoken with John Callies who was involved with the making of this scoop. He clearly stated there was no such thing as a airplane wing lens. GM developed it and John sent it out for the lights to be installled from scratch in the wing somehow as the flashers on the Fiero were to low. A good writer made this up years ago and stated "like the design of a 747" and it has snow balled ever since. Rick B

I have to ask..Does anyone on this thread read what was posted here by others that know the true about this topic? Some writer 25+ years ago writes that the Lens "looks like one from a 747" how still today everyone thinks it is. Save your time looking for one off a plane because it never came from one. You need to make your own if you want a scoop like the Indy had.

The one thing that has not been mentioned is that the physical dimensions of the original scoops are different than the scoops available from DGP, later IRM, now Fiero Warehouse. The original Indy Pace Car scoops were developed by Pontiac Engineering to serve as an aerodynamically functional piece and have a smaller inlet, smaller riser body and are longer in overall length. The currently available scoops are adapted from the scoop that DGP made for the race cars. The real pace car scoops hinge on the roof, were as the later incorporate the hinge in to the decklid mounting bracket and open in the opposite direction. The real pace car scoops are hand molded out of a fast setting composite material that is refered to as the automotive equivalent of plaster of Paris. They are very brittle and near four times the weight of the later fiberglass scoops. In my opinion, the later scoops look to big on the back of the stock Indy Fiero. The original scoops follow the lines of the car better.

The original Pace Car scoops were functional. After wind tunnel testing, it was determined that the scoop needed to be tuned so that a high pressure area developed over the top of the valve cover, but did not interfere with the updraft effect created by the floor pan of the car. This high pressure area pushed the hot air to the sides where it was extracted out of the engine vents. The three pace cars had prototype versions of the engine vents that came out on the 85 GT's. The high pressure area also created cool air for the open air cleaner to pick up.

This picture shows the tuned air supply hole that runs down the front edge of the scoop seperate from the section that holds the strobes. The picture also shows how crudely the original scoops are hand made and the density of the material used.



After several years of searching, both Ron T and myself have found that the original strobe components are obsolete and were made from rare earth high strength unobtainium. I have been lucky enough to find one of the original power supplies and a set of the correct tail light and park light strobe bulbs for spares. The park and tail lights used stock 1157 type sockets for the strobes and utilized the stock Fiero lense housings. The original pace cars had the Federal Signal J22 power supply for the three strobes in the scoop, a J20 power supply for the tail lights and a J20 power supply for the front park lights. The correct flash pattern is as follows: Alternating double flash for the front park lights, Alternating single flash for the tail lights, and random flash for the scoop. Be prepared to have extra lenses on hand. The strobes create a lot of heat and will warp the plastic in time. All of the lenses on my PPG car are melted in areas where the strobe bulbs are located. The scoop lense, I had to take off and reform with a heat gun to make it fit to the scoop properly. The warping actually cracked the lense around two of the mounting screw holes.

The Model J22 Power Supply:


The Model J20 Power Supply:


Correct strobe bulbs for the tail lights and park lights with 1157 style bases:


The strobe bulbs in the scoop were the type that are push in into the reflectors similiar to a rubber grommet. If you guys are looking to replicate the real pace cars, keep in mind that the front turn signals were deleted and replaced with the strobes. The tail light inner lenses are custom made so that there are amber lenses where the clear back up light lenses were utilizing the stock back up light socket for the strobes.

The whole 747 wing tip light myth was nothing more than an over descriptive journalist fabricating a more interesting article for the readers. While interviewing John Schinella from Pontiac Design Studios, he told me that the scoop lights were merely inspired by aircraft wing tip lights of no specific type or brand. Federal signal had no influence in the design of the scoop strobes. They were just the chosen strobe sytem component supplier. Federal Signal had the contract with IMS to supply lighting from the parking lot lights, to the track warning lights, emergency equipment strobe lights, pace car strobe lights, and the public address intercom system and speakers.