Blooze Own: An F355 Six Speed N* Build Thread (Page 116/126) Bloozberry DEC 05, 11:57 AM quote Originally posted by Will: I predict you'll be disappointed in the performance of these units. The only way 1850 CFM could pass through the frame with the motor pulling 8.5 amps is if they were mounted in the path of a tornado. I know you're probably right, but it's an inexpensive experiment even if it fails to deliver. Luckily where I live (no traffic and cooler temps) I almost never see the rad fan coming on in any of my cars. Hopefully the Northstar will be similar. Sage DEC 06, 01:24 PM quote Originally posted by Bloozberry: Thanks Sage for making me a chuckle! You're welcome.....I'll be here all week . Looks like the new "slant" on the rad's is going to work out great. Looking forward to seeing your solution to altering the trailing edge of the bottom of the large door post pillars, and the duct work from the door scoops. Any tentative plans for the B pillars between the top of the rear fenders and the underside of the roof yet? Glad you are in the final stages of the mend of your hand. Ever read Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein? "waiting is."...but it doesn't have to be "idle" waiting, which you have proved by doing what you could when you could. Stick with the therapy/exercises, even after it starts to feel healed. Thanks for posting your progress/plans, it really does serve to help those of us that sometimes feel as though we are stumbling around in the dark. At least when it comes to territory "new" to us. HAGO! 85-308 DEC 09, 09:33 PM I've just recently become aware of this thread - my loss - and am working thru it carefully. WOW. A detailed examination of every element you touch. I couldn't be more impressed with your thoroughness! I'm currently on pg 13 where you post dwgs of the 88 rear cradle and that is a godsend for me; I can build what I need from that. If you can, when you have a moment could you send any other cradle dwgs to me? I'll PM my email. Thank you in advance! I'm working on a 308 that I want to widen - to provide more room for the suspension - and I already have a complete 88 front end sitting just outside; so a rear cradle and aftermarket wider suspension pieces are too easy to add on! So thanks again for taking the time to do that. It is so refreshing and inspiring to see work like this: patient, detailed and correct. There have been few who have the capability to do this; it is an elite group. Kudos to you and I look forward to reading the rest of the thread and catching up. I'm currently reading suspension design books and by pg 13 I can see that you are really doing your homework! I have yet to layout my design but again it is so great to see this carefully thought out and not just 'made to fit' as (unfortunately) too many are. I'll be reading with great interest to see what you ended up with in your design. Thanks so much for the time it takes to document and share information. It's a technical course in itself. GP Bloozberry DEC 10, 09:42 PM Thanks again for your encouraging words Sage... it really is a morale booster knowing someone is reading this stuff. As for your question here: quote Originally posted by Sage: Any tentative plans for the B pillars between the top of the rear fenders and the underside of the roof yet? I haven't done any design work to speak of, though I do have the MR2 rear glass and one F355 quarter window (if anyone knows where there's a LH quarter glass for under $350, let me know). I've mocked them up a couple times to get the 'ol brainstorming engine fired up, and have gotten the best ideas from studying real F355's. I look under Google Images for rebuilds, or parting outs, or schematics and usually come up with some good photos showing how the underlying metalwork is formed on the Ferrari. quote Originally posted by 85-308: ...when you have a moment could you send any other cradle dwgs to me? First of all, thanks GP for all your kind words. Tomorrow afternoon I'll send you the higher resolution stock cradle drawings via the email you provided. Your biggest hurdle may be finding '88 rear knuckles if you don't have them already. quote Originally posted by 85-308: ...I'll be reading with great interest to see what you ended up with in your design. It was a marathon of sorts to reach my final design, with more than one curveball thrown in for good measure, but I'm happy I saw it through. You certainly can take an easier path than I did since there are lots of happy people with lowered and widened suspensions that simply cut springs and use adapters. I was motivated to take a more sophisticated route because of impending changes to my province's legislation regarding altering a vehicle's suspension height. Since I'm on here, I may as well provide a little update on my progress. The UPS guy showed up this morning with an early Xmas present... my two radiator fans: They coincidentally have the same number of curved blades as the real F355, in case anyone cares. They came with a "mounting" package, although I'm not a big fan (pun intended) of mounting the fan to the radiator using zip-ties through the fins. Here's a shot of the two fans side by each: The fans fit the Honda Civic radiators perfectly although they weren't specifically intended for them. I also connected both fans up to a 12V battery to make sure they worked and to see what sort of flow they generated through the radiators. It wasn't a very scientific test, although I did a back-to-back comparison and the Fiero fan was noticeably stronger. Hopefully the mere fact that there are two of the new fans will compensate somewhat for their lesser performance. I've also been playing around adjusting the templates to close off the wheel well on the driver's side. That's sucked up way more time than I care to admit trying to get everything aligned and to fit just right, while keeping the clearances to things like the tires, the inboard shocks, and the trailing links (all things that move) in check. I finally have my wheel tub and inner engine bay templates mostly sorted out. The outer edge of the wheel tub was left wide to be certain I'll have enough material to reach the inside of the fiberglass fender lip when I reinstall the rear quarters. They'll be trimmed back at that time. Those two templates had to be sorted out, and I had to receive the fans before I could start finalizing the radiator and fan location. There seems to be a comfortable amount of room to design a mounting system and forward ductwork. I like it when a plan comes together! 85-308 DEC 10, 10:03 PM Just to lean a little bit on what I do for a living.... you'll be shrouding the rads; ie sealing the perimeters really well; and ensuring there is no easy airflow 'bypass' around them of course. I am sure you will, just putting it in print. The rad caps can be almost inaccessible later I guess as long as you have another that is more accessible somewhere... which I'm sure you have thought of as well (keeping your background in mind). Makes the fans most effective that way! Bloozberry DEC 10, 10:20 PM quote Originally posted by 85-308: .... you'll be shrouding the rads; ie sealing the perimeters really well; and ensuring there is no easy airflow 'bypass' around them of course. Definitely! I'm planning a sealed box that combines the inlet air from the door and rocker scoops and leads it to a sealed surface at the front side of each radiator. quote Originally posted by 85-308: The rad caps can be almost inaccessible later I guess as long as you have another that is more accessible somewhere... True, but I'll make an access door in my prototype panel that currently seals off the engine bay (the white cardboard panel). 85-308 DEC 10, 10:35 PM You could make these two rad caps 20 or 22 psi then run your 'system' pressure cap (and bleed tube) off the 'engine' side rad cap - wherever you put it; at 15 psi or whatever you select. That 'might' (?) help reduce the need to get at these; or to suspect failure - at least before the lower pressure one.... Just a hare-brained thought. 85-308 DEC 11, 04:01 PM I didn't see what you were planning on using for the wheel well louvre; if doing that at all? I have found a couple of items if you still plan on it; LMK; I can post or PM. You weren't going to use Ferrari louvres.... were you? There goes the budget! Bloozberry DEC 11, 10:23 PM quote Originally posted by 85-308: You could make these two rad caps 20 or 22 psi then run your 'system' pressure cap (and bleed tube) off the 'engine' side rad cap at 15 psi... Just a hare-brained thought. That's what I plan to do, so it's not a hair (hare?) brained idea to me. I'll still need an access panel to disconnect the upper hose and the upper rad mounts in case I have to replace a radiator at some point in the future. quote Originally posted by 85-308: I didn't see what you were planning on using for the wheel well louvre; I have found a couple of items if you still plan on it. At the moment I plan to make the wheel well liners either out of sheet aluminum or steel, and stamp the louvers into the sheet metal with a die and press. I have seen other car makes with similar vents in plastic liners (Mercedes SL55 comes to mind, but there are other, more affordable cars too). The trouble with ABS plastic is that it's molded to fit a specific model and likely won't work well with my car. I suppose I could always chop out the louvered portion and graft it into my sheet metal, but that might not be the best solution aesthetically. I'd like to know what you've found... you can post your ideas here if you'd like... it gets the brain thinking outside the box. 85-308 DEC 11, 10:38 PM Vented wheel well liners: A quick search gave me this; it is plastic of some sort as an intercooler outlet into the wheel well for a Jetta or similar: http://www.ecstuning.com/ES251342/ Price looks like about $35 to $40; also wondering how big you intend to make it; the stock rear deck vents from a fiero GT are lightweight and directionally louvred... might save you stamping out the actual vents... Just notch the edges to follow the curve you want? But they might be too wide.