[Nameless]

Ladies and Gentlemen step right up for a spoonful of AWESOME SAUCE! A couple of years ago I added an MRT Interceptor Hood Scoop to my 2005 Mustang GT. It is a fiberglass piece that is held down by 7 bolts and has a plastic piece in the opening to prevent debris from getting inside of it. The one thing I did not like about this scoop was that it was a purely cosmetic device and did nothing for performance. Well NOT ANYMORE!

Images of the normal hoodscoop




Step 1: Disconnect the wiper fluid nozzles before completely removing the hood.




Step 2: Place the hood on a secure work area. I used two sawhorses with a padded blanket to protect the finish on the hood. If you already have a hoodscoop installed, then this is the step where you will remove that as well. Notice on the underside that there is a square area right in the center? This is where the Shaker Hood normally goes, but that is the area that we will be cutting out.




Step 3: Place strips of the blue painter's tape over the approximate area that you will be cutting. Since we got the larger tape, we were afforded a little bit of leeway.




Step 4: Begin drilling holes on the underside of the hood inside of the area to be cut out. This will give you an idea of where you are cutting if you decide to cut from the top (which I now recommend over my method), but it will also give you relief points once you begin cutting.




Step 5: Begin making your cuts. I used a grinding wheel rather than a jigsaw because the jigsaw died, but this did the trick just fine. However, I would recommend cutting from the top because cutting from the bottom can cause the paint to raise and separate. Ask me how I know. I had a few burs but I quickly filed them down by hand.






Step 6: I know your first thought was, "Wow, this guy is going to get all kinds of rain and snow on his engine now!" Well luckily, I have a plan for that. We are going to create an overlay to seal it when we don't want the open air to hit the engine. I used a piece of paper to create the template by laying it over the opening and cutting the paper about 1 inch larger than the hole. The hood has about a 1 inch lip on the support layer that we will use to secure the cutout.

[Nameless]

Step 7: I used a 36"x36" piece of galvanized aluminum bought at Lowe's for $8.95. Once you have it trimmed down to size, you will need to put some painter's tape around the edges so that your pencil will actually make marks on the aluminum.

I do not have pictures of the step where we drilled the holes for the bolts, but you will see their placement in later steps. Once I drilled those holes, I used a mechanical pencil (for the longer lead) to make marks on the aluminum to drill perfectly aligned holes.




Step 8: I layed down a thin piece of weather stripping so that the cutout would create a seal. I will likely go back and replace that with a rubber gasket because I didn't like how the weather stripping looked and am worried that it could develop a leak over time.




Step 9: I used ten 10-24 screws and nuts to secure the cutout. I also used Neoprene backed washers for a better seal and to help prevent them from coming loose from vibration. Since we want to have the cutout sit flush against the hood for the best seal, we need to get these nuts out of the way. So we're going to put them between the support layer of the hood and the outer layer.

I know what you're thinking, "Why the hell does he need those nuts there anyway if he hasn't even put the cutout on yet?!" Well you'll see very soon, just trust me.




NOTICE: That gap is now exposed to the elements and rain could get between the layers and then seep to other areas of the hood and drip out so I would recommend an injectable silicone sealant between these two layers once you have your nuts and bolts in place and tightened.

Step 10: Take your cutout and place it over your bolts and press it all the way down. Remember how you were all concerned about how those nuts couldn't do much if they weren't over the cutout? Well this is the genius part. You take ten wingnuts and use them to secure the cutout to the hood! Using these wingnuts, you can simply remove them by hand when you get to the track, find yourself in the middle of a sunny day, etc. If it starts raining, no problem because it takes all of 2 minutes to reseal your hood when you're on the road. Those nuts between the layers keep your bolts attached to the hood so you don't have to search for them to reinstall or use a second tool on the head to keep it from spinning. Told you to trust me...




Step 11: Reinstall your now Functional Hood Scoop onto the hood (removing that useless piece of plastic that used to block air) and then reinstall the hood onto the car.





Step 12: Touch up all of the exposed bolts, cut edges of your hood, your aluminum cutout, and any other exposed metal to prevent it from rusting.

Step 13: Heap COPIOUS amounts of REPS on me!!!


Now the engine can get a little fresh air when I want to go play, but can be sealed off to protect it from the elements when mother nature does her thing. Total cost for this mod - $30ish (not counting buying the hood scoop) Total time spent - about 4-5 hours of lolly-gagging and grab-assing. I'm eager to hear any of your thoughts, concerns, questions, clarifications, high-fives, back-pats, hating, despising, or trolling…

[DiMora]

I think that is pretty freaking cool.

Reps.

Hmmmmmmmmmm

[DiMora]

How about some pics of the underside of the hood with and without the blocking plate (with hood on the car)...you know...like you might see at a car show.

[Fuzzy Dice]

Awesome dude, definatly reps. I really like the scoop, ive heard that some people have had problems with the front of the scoop not being flush with the hood, did you have that problem? If not, i like the scoop and would get it, not liking the plain hood. The idea of making it functional is sweet, hope it all works out for you man.

[05gt4u]

[santi_bh88]

and when the water comes in?

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by santi_bh88 and when the water comes in?

What water? It is sealed...I may have to do a little work to perfect the seal if there are any leaks (none found with garden hose test) but other than that it is just trial and error. In Step 8, I said that I plan to upgrade to a rubber gasket to prevent future leaks.

Originally Posted by DiMora How about some pics of the underside of the hood with and without the blocking plate (with hood on the car)...you know...like you might see at a car show.

I still need to do the painting on it but I'll grab a couple of pictures anyway. One of the pros for having that cutout would be that you can custom paint a couple of them and switch them out as you see fit. If you're in two different Mustang Clubs, paint one for each. I think I am going to do that exact thing. I want to paint them both gray, and then on one paint a black Mustang emblem and on the other, paint a Texas flag, but in black/gray tones...we'll see. Those are off the top of my head but as I am picturing them...sweetness...

Something like this.

[santi_bh88]

the rain.. when you wash the car.. i like the idea but those things are my problem

[Nameless]

Originally Posted by santi_bh88 the rain.. when you wash the car.. i like the idea but those things are my problem

Washed car=no leaks...Drove in rain=no leaks

Don't worry little buddy, even if a couple of drops did sneak past the seal and onto the engine, they aren't going to hurt anything. What do you think happens to the engine when you drive in the rain anyway? My guess, and this is pure conjecture and speculation, is that some of that water from the road splashes onto the engine and sizzles into a gaseous form. If a leak DOES occur, as stated twice already, then I'll roll with the punches and fix it.

[MOTORCITYBADBOY]

Maybe I'm not getting it. Cutting out a hole under your scoop- yeah it'll let some air in, but if it's not feeding directly into your CAI it's not doing much for you performance-wise.

[Mr.Stang08]

Well it's keeping your engine bay cool that's for sure. Especially if you have uncoated headers.

[king_Ahmet]

WHO GIVES A SHIT IF IT DON'T DO ANYTHING!!!! It's still BAD ASS!!! Reps dude... I will never have the balls to do something like that!!! Nameless, you always seem to be doing something Totally custom... Mad reps dude... Good job, and very smart... I don't care if it doesn't do anything performance wise, I like it. It "might" keep your engine 1 or 2 degrees cooler, but probably not, who cares...

Where did you get all the ideas from??? I've seen it done before, but, never seen it *DONE* piece by piece before...

[Jucostud]

Who cares if it does leak? My hoods open 24/7 and don't have any problems...

[orion445]

I always wondered about a functional hood scoop, Even if its not feeding air to a CAI I would think that a cooler engine bay would be better for your intake anyway. CAI"s are still in the engine bay and do the heat sheilds really deflect that much heat?

[NastyFX4]

I did this a while ago. I've been thinking about a way to seal the edges so nothing can get between the layers of the hood. However, I've been driving around through the rain, washed it plenty, and honestly not much water makes it through. But like Juco said, there are plenty of hoods on the market that do nothing to stop water from entering and there are no issues.

Originally Posted by MOTORCITYBADBOY Maybe I'm not getting it. Cutting out a hole under your scoop- yeah it'll let some air in, but if it's not feeding directly into your CAI it's not doing much for you performance-wise.

On a hot day you can watch the heat pour out of it. It's a little mod with a little improvement. There's no doubt in my mind that it helps some what.

[07hotwheel]

Awsome job, I have been planning on doing that since I bought my car. I like the idea of being able to seal it off for washing.

[Imran]

aren't termi hoods open?

[Ace417]

Originally Posted by Jakashh aren't termi hoods open?

No. you have to make them open with a little modification.

Looking good nameless

[military_stang]

I love this idea and i will be doing it myself, i would love to go Mach 1 shaker but they cost to much....