See Thru Deck Lid? (Page 1/3)
American Exotic FEB 03, 06:07 PM
Hi, does anyone have any direction on installing a see thru deck lid to expose the motor. I've always loved the Ferrari look and it saves me from opening the deck lid during car shows. My motor is always nice and shiny so why not keep it so the world can see. Seems to be time consuming but not too difficult. I'd like to see if anyone has any experience on this from the first cut to installing the Lexan , and if you had any issues after the install. Please let me know and if anyone has pics , add them if possisible. Most likely going to try this before car show season arrives. Thanks
Gall757 FEB 03, 07:40 PM
Do a search for Skitime.

A History of Skitime's Car

[This message has been edited by Gall757 (edited 02-03-2018).]

Harold James Kie FEB 04, 12:38 AM
I did a Lexan "window" over the engine on my 86 GT and it was not difficult. Like most others I followed the shape of the bracing on the underside of the deck lid. I drilled a few small holes from the underside just to get a reference of the shape and location. I then made a template that was smaller than the opening by about .125 all the way around and taped it to the top side and used it as a guide to saw out the center. After it was open I used files/sanders and appropriate tools and finished it off to hide the rough edges. The tape prevented any scratches on the painted surface from the saw. Once the opening was finished I used it to make the outline on the Lexan. Lexan scratches easily so leave the protective sheet on it until it is done. To secure it I made six small angle brackets out of a piece of 1/2 inch aluminum angle. I drilled/tapped the top hole and drilled a clearance hole on the side that would make contact with the deck lid. I cut each one at about .250 wide and then used small sheet metel screws to fasten each one to the deck lid making sure that they were placed at the correct depth so the Lexan would be flush when it was installed. The sheet of clear Lexan was placed in position and the threaded holes were transferred and drilled with the proper size for clearance and then they were countersunk so the heads would be flush. I used 10-32 with allen heads. The down side is that the Lexan will become cloudy over time and it can scratch and look terrible. I did mine about 10 years ago and it still looks OK but the newness is gone. Lexan is not cheap and I would not have done it except that I found some scrap pieces that I got for free.
American Exotic FEB 04, 11:16 AM
That sounds very similar to what I plan on doing. Do you have any pics underneath the decklid. I love how everything sounds to be counter sunk but would like a visual. I guess just to compare spacing of screws and how it looks when I do decide to raise the deck lid. Thanks for your help and sounds like you did a great job, especially if it still looks good 10 years later. Thanks
rogergarrison FEB 07, 04:43 PM
I think Skitime did his hood window with glass. I didnt know how lexan would take the heat

Since the rear window has a weird airflow from over the roof, Id think a ton of fumes would be sucked into an open back window. Most vehicles like vans with opening back windows have stickers on the back telling you NOT to drive with those windows open on the highway due to carbon monoxide fumes. There is one on the rear of my Caravan. On town surface roads its prob not a problem because of lower speed. I know some pickup have opening windows and dont know about them...different airflow maybe. I do know trash in a pickup bed just rolls around and around in the airstream in the bed.

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 02-07-2018).]

theogre FEB 08, 11:22 AM
Four main issues w/ "Engine under glass:"
Glass/plastic expand/shrinks at different rates for heat cycling and any hard joint may fail or plastic may warp over time. Is why Windshield etc have flexible "glue"/tape joints. Color for body may change thermal issues too because dark colors absorbs more heat from Sun. Engine bay can reach 200°F+ easy in slow traffic or at idle. (Car moving >10mph then vents etc moves a lot of air and cools down.)
Many plastics can go "yellow" so Make sure UV stable helps.
Many Engine parts are Not UV stable and can have problems. Example: Many have Black EVAP cans faded to white w/ older style vents. Most wiring and connectors can turn colors etc too. Rubble/Plastic Hoses and lines don't like UV either. Heat and Ozone can kill them over times but add UV can make even new parts to go very brittle and soon.
You likely remove 84-87 screen on bottom of lid... That is a Ground Shield is to reduce RFI from the engine than causes problems for ECM, Radios and more. (88 I'm told have ground in the panel.) Radios can include any Cell and BT devices means can have problems getting/making calls w/ engine running.

Depending where you drive/park... have engine under glass can be a theft/vandal problems.

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

mrfiero FEB 08, 07:28 PM

quote
Originally posted by rogergarrison:

I think Skitime did his hood window with glass.




Yes....it is tempered glass. I am looking into re-working it in the near future. I'm not a fan of the install and hope to clean it up a bit (make it more of a flush fit, if possible).
JohnWPB FEB 08, 09:27 PM

quote
Originally posted by theogre:

Car moving >10mph then vents etc moves a lot of air and cools down



This is not necessarily always true. When the engine is first started in an air conditioned garage, it takes time for the engine bay temperatures to gradually increase its thermal content. Driving out into the Phoenix summer heat for instance, can in fact heat the temperature up more quickly when you exit the garage. Thus not cooling down, but in fact heating up more rapidly. Also, if you are driving at 10 MPH going with a 10 MPH wind, in essence, there is no airflow in the engine compartment or the vents, other than possible wake turbulence caused by imperfect aerodynamic stability as the vehicle slips through the air stream.
Now, a car moving at greater than 40 MPH will induce a drag coefficient that far surpasses one that travels at 10 MPH. In fact it moves 4 times the CFPM of air! This will in effect decrease the radiant amount of heat build up that occurs with a gasoline combustion engine that is in an enclosed engine bay. (Only if it is running however).

There are cases that an elevated temperature can and will occur when a vehicle, especially one that is a darker color, is parked in direct sunlight. This allows the UV radiation that has traveled 93 million miles from our sun, (which is at the center most point of our galaxy). The amount of UV radiation is fortunately reduced significantly by the ozone layer in out upper most atmosphere. (One of the main reasons we use R-12 refrigerant now)

[This message has been edited by JohnWPB (edited 02-08-2018).]

rogergarrison FEB 09, 10:49 AM
Not to nitpick (but others do me) but I think you meant solar system, not galaxy. Our solar system is way off in one of the arms of our Milky Way galaxy. Also our sun is not in the center of the system since none of the planets are in concentric orbits. All the planets however do revolve around our sun which is just 'sort of' in the center. Just sayin...

" the orbits of the planets in our solar system are elliptical, not circular (or epicyclic), as had previously been believed, and that the Sun is not located at the center of the orbits, but rather at one focus."


http://nineplanets.org/overview.html

http://earthsky.org/space/d...the-milky-way-galaxy

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 02-09-2018).]

American Exotic FEB 14, 11:09 PM
If anyone has any pics of the underside of the see through deck lid, much appreciated. Curious to know if I have more than just one option on mounting/ bracketing it in place. Thanks for the input so far everybody.