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"Lexan" scoop?

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billd View Drop Down
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    Posted: Sep/11/2019 at 9:08pm
It's frustrating when people in a business of selling product don't know their own product, so I'll see if anyone here knows more than they do.
I have had the thought of putting a transparent or smoked/bronze scoop on my 73 for some time now. 
The recent disaster with the huge horizontal rain that filled the engine with water brought it up to the forefront again.

I KNOW "transparent" scoops exist. I see them in photos and I see a couple of people selling them. 
They are always advertised as "Lexan".
So I figured I'd go to a place that sells acrylics, plastics, polycarbonates and so on. 
I asked about material to make a scoop for my car - had the car there, too. 
How hot will it get?
I said I can't say for sure at the hood level, but the engine would be 180 and I suppose 200 at the hood wouldn't be out of the realm of possibilities. 
So the guy goes in and starts looking things up on the internet - yeah, he had to google how hot polycarbonates like Lexan can get! 
He said looks like one place says 140 degrees but I'm sure I've seen it listed as taking more than that.
He didn't know! And he sells the stuff. WOW. 
I said assuming it would handle it - how thick do you handle it? 
Well, they can get 3/8" thick but would have to order it and it would be a full sheet. 

WOW. Forget them! They have no idea.

Anyway, I decided to check on the web about just buying a scoop - all I find are "carb mounted". 
I want hood mounted so I can open and close the hood without taking off a carb-mounted scoop - and I want the scoop to cover the hole, not fit into the hole. 

I can't find anyone who sells hood mounted lexan scoops
So I thought I'd buy the material and do the DIY thing - but finding a source, finding out how much heat they can REALLY take, etc. - are these people using some special grade of polycarbonate/Lexan??
Is it possible to buy a thickness I could drill, tap, and screw the parts together? And screw it to the hood by screws coming in from below?
I want something open in the back so if I run into a popcorn storm like Iowa is famous for (a storm that pops up out of no-where, not really predicted, you are at a car show and on the way home - a big 5 minute storm hits) I can drive through it and not scoop water in. Also if the car sits out it would prevent what happened to me last month. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tyrodtom Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/11/2019 at 10:35pm
  I've seen 240-260 degrees for Lexan,  above that you can begin heat forming it.

Though you may not need to heat form it,  you can bend it cold in a break like metal.
I done a 90 degree bend cold,  and I had to go well past 90 degrees to end up with 90,  because it springs back partway.

It not very resistant to gas,  it stains easy, it scratches easily too.

No problems cutting or drilling it.
They may make a version more resitant to heat,  but I've never encountered it.
They do make a version with a treated surface more resistant to scratches.

Much easier to work with than Plexiglass.


Edited by tyrodtom - Sep/11/2019 at 10:38pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AMXFSTBK390 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 12:11am
I remember a similar conversation almost 2 yrs ago. Ferrari was using clear scoops on their late 50's GTOs. See pix. Also is a photo of a 55 Chev with a clear scoop. You seem to want a cowl induction type clear scoop which will help keep rain out. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 8:26am
Originally posted by AMXFSTBK390 AMXFSTBK390 wrote:

I remember a similar conversation almost 2 yrs ago. Ferrari was using clear scoops on their late 50's GTOs. See pix. Also is a photo of a 55 Chev with a clear scoop. You seem to want a cowl induction type clear scoop which will help keep rain out. 


Yeah, I knew about those from past conversations - but am looking for a source for a type that attaches to the hood or even info on someone who has used them - first-hand info, etc.

 All I can find is those that mount on the carburetor - and if Lexan isn't resistant to gas, which I agree - it's amazing that all I've found mount to the carb, where there's fuel fumes, spray, leakage and so on. You'd think they would want to mount up off the carburetor - but a lot of those sold out there are for hoodless cars, too. 

Not necessarily looking for something to shave tenths off time, or improve speed by 1 mph, more a utility use - protection without obscuring. 
And the only reason I want it rear-facing is so the car could make it home in a popcorn rain storm. Funny thing - one just happened here so if I was driving to a show, I'd be hosed. Nice, partly cloudy, suddenly a thunderstorm, and now - sun shining again an hour later.  

Guess everyone here is like me on this - yeah, they exist, no haven't seen any hood mount, no don't know of anyone personally using such a thing. 

But it sounds like it can handle the heat that would exist at the hood level so that helps. 

Guess like the folks at Regal Plastics, I'll have to rely on Google and see if I can find anyone who actually has a hood mounted Lexan scoop and what they'll withstand. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mopar_guy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 9:46am
My brother gets Lexan cutoffs dirt cheap so he used it to make a trans tunnel in his Cobra. He made a buck and heated it up to allow it to form over the buck to get the curved parts. It took him a few times but he got it. He used an old electric oven I keep around for powdercoating.

You might want to try a Polycarbonate instead of Lexan because it does scratch easy. Maybe something like this https://www.mcmaster.com/8574k132 but you would have to find out what temperature it gets soft at so you could form it over a buck of the shape you want it to be. When we made a buck for my air cleaner lid, I considered making it out of Polycarbonate. The buck we made was out of fine particle board. If you were to do this with a thin Polycarbonate, you might want to use MDF board.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SeanHatfield Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 9:54am
Bill, this might be a long shot, but it might be worth pursuing since this is a recent build done by a well known guy in the hot rod hobby (He works for Hot Rod Magazine.) Mike Finnegan built his Chevy gasser called "Blasphemi" and it has a colored lexan hood scoop. I have seen it in person at the Performance Racing Industries show in Indianapolis and it looks really nice. If I'm not mistaken, his hood scoop is attached to the hood, not the carb. It might be worth your time to see if you can contact him or someone from Hot Rod Magazine to see if you can find specs on attachment, materials, etc. and they may have what you are looking for. Mike also owns his own company called Finnegan Speed and Marine and they may have contact info for him on his website. Here is a picture for reference!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 11:35am
Originally posted by Mopar_guy Mopar_guy wrote:

My brother gets Lexan cutoffs dirt cheap so he used it to make a trans tunnel in his Cobra. He made a buck and heated it up to allow it to form over the buck to get the curved parts. It took him a few times but he got it. He used an old electric oven I keep around for powdercoating.

You might want to try a Polycarbonate instead of Lexan because it does scratch easy. Maybe something like this https://www.mcmaster.com/8574k132 but you would have to find out what temperature it gets soft at so you could form it over a buck of the shape you want it to be. When we made a buck for my air cleaner lid, I considered making it out of Polycarbonate. The buck we made was out of fine particle board. If you were to do this with a thin Polycarbonate, you might want to use MDF board.


Wellllllllll........... Lexan is a brand name - but still the other brands of the same stuff - ok, bottom line?
Lexan is a polycarbonate. When you say you want to buy a polycarbonate - they say - do you want Lexan or another type? 
A description from an online industrial supplier -
Lexan is a polycarbonate resin thermoplastic. In a nutshell, what that means is that it’s a solid substance that can deform in extreme heat (typically 147 degrees Celsius, or 297 degrees Fahrenheit) and whose molecules are comprised of repeating subunits. Lexan is but one of a family of thermoplastics whose main claim to fame is in its ability to undergo significant deformation without cracking of breaking. 

Here's what I found after checking here-  -

High level of impact resistance (250 times the impact resistance of glass)
Low rigidity and can be bought in flexible grades
Can handle temperatures up to 240 degrees Fahrenheit before deforming
Highly resistant to acids and other chemicals such as gasoline
Can be drilled without worry of cracking
Can be cold formed or bent without heating
Low level of flammability

Many say it's good for windshields and windows in industrial machines, even car windows.  (except it doesn't resist UV like glass, etc. and again, scratches more easily than glass)
But it does scratch easier than glass, and dents. 

The list says resistant to chemicals - such as gasoline - that's likely why it's being used as racing scoops mounted directly to carburetors - I wondered that. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 11:46am
Originally posted by SeanHatfield SeanHatfield wrote:

Bill, this might be a long shot, but it might be worth pursuing since this is a recent build done by a well known guy in the hot rod hobby (He works for Hot Rod Magazine.) Mike Finnegan built his Chevy gasser called "Blasphemi" and it has a colored lexan hood scoop. I have seen it in person at the Performance Racing Industries show in Indianapolis and it looks really nice. If I'm not mistaken, his hood scoop is attached to the hood, not the carb. It might be worth your time to see if you can contact him or someone from Hot Rod Magazine to see if you can find specs on attachment, materials, etc. and they may have what you are looking for. Mike also owns his own company called Finnegan Speed and Marine and they may have contact info for him on his website. Here is a picture for reference!


There ya go - good lead. Thanks. There's something to go by, someone who has done it and perhaps can advise on the materials and so on. I can sort of see how it's attached in that photo - and see how he's used pieces up in the top to attach to the sides and not relied in just drilling the edges of the sides - making it stronger and less prone to vibrations and such. 

I'll dig up his info and see what I find. Great lead, thanks. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote billd Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 12:15pm
Sean - found a FB page associated with Mike - sent a message. Will dig more........

Mopar_Guy - have my powder coating oven I can use to heat. I used to do plexiglas stuff in school, still have some of those projects. Also worked with it at a hardware store I worked at - but that's a different animal. Plexiglas can be sanded and polished up to a real shine and a transparent edge. Polycarbonates and Lexan can't - you can sand it with fine but it won't polish to a nice shine so keeping cut edges to a minimum is looks are important might be one thing. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AMXFSTBK390 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Sep/12/2019 at 1:13pm
There is a guy in Costa Mesa, Ca who owns a business that sells used Ferraris and replica 330 GTO 1957 Ferraris  that have clear scoops. Cell: 714-403-4078. Owner: Michael Sheehan. He may tell you the company making the replica 330 GTO Ferraris. He has two for sale now......looks like he has the wind shields made too. Also... trying to think outside the box. Maybe appropriating something for a different use like a hand held scoop? Shave the handle and turn upside down dimensions 9.25"x 5.75" x 14.5" not quite enough lgth for two 4 bbls. This polycarbonate scoop is advertised as being virtuall unbreakable and scratch resistant. That's the scoop for now. LOL 
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