Home made R model apron ?

[Turdburgler]

Anyone made or have any pics of a steel R model style apron? Hopefully home made?

I comment in the past that I ran out of time to try and make one, but I just cat live with what a piece of crap this Branda piece is. So I started working on making one out of my original apron.

I guess what I am hoping to see is how it looks leaving the flat area from the plate at the bottom and squaring up the hole, or if I should bring that area to a point to match the bumpers profile and make the scoop area come to a point in the center.

[ynned]

Here's one kinda like you describe. I'm pretty sure this is a VMF'er, but I can't remember where I got the pic. Been using it for wallpaper for the last year or two.

[Turdburgler]

Excellent.

You can see that flat area I was refering to. My cut out area is bigger then that, and I decided to slot down the center of the flat area and bring it out to match the profile of the bumper. So it looks like it never had that plate area.

In the pic, he has racing stripes which cuts up that area some. Mine is going to be trimmed out in aluminum. Like the scoop is aluminum with a flange about a half to three quarter inch around it.

Kinda like what my friend did here on Hinzmans radial Mustang.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...redownload.jpg

[JonK]

Here's mine, a friend I met on VMF cut and welded it for me. I didn't get a pic of it mounted without the driving light fit test and the cars apart right now.









I just bought a cheap $35 repop panel, he cut out the license plate bracket with a wheel and used a thin cardboard type material to bend a template then cut some steel to match and welded it on. I did a poor job of bondoing the seams but it'll be done right by a bodyman before I get the car painted.
The lower section is flat so it points at the front frame rail, the frame rail sticks up ~2" above the end of the bottom pan so you see it. If I do it again I'll probably put a slight up slope to it so it lines up with the top of the frame lip to push air towards the trans cooler that will be mounted there.
Jon

[Turdburgler]

Nice!
So he cut out the whole flat area, then welded the shaped scoope behind the apron , and you filled the attachmet point?

I LOVE how you buried the lights inside the panel. Looks amazing!

I am going to the body shop now to see how it looks on the car. The hardest part was deciding how to cut the bottom line with no good perspective point to "see" how it will look.

[JonK]

Yes, he just cut the 'flat' area out and bent a piece of ~carboard but it wasn't corrugated it was more like the stuff that comes in T shirt packs but 3X as thick. He then took a piece of scrap metal ~18-22ga.? about as thick as the stock steel and just tack welded it on then added more welds until it was almost flush, didn't take much bondo to fill the seam. I'll probably be mounting the lights in the grill now as in the cutout they completely block my trans cooler, just an experiment.
Here's some more pics if they help:







I'm no good with fiberglass but the cheap repop was easy to line up and bolt, no real tweaking. If I do it again I'll use the thicker more $ Ford one.
Jon

[Turdburgler]

Just got back from the body shop and this was 1000% the right thing to do. Its so nice to have pieces just line up like they should. The fiberglass one bottomed out on the lower core support, and you had to pull in the sides ateast an inch to get it to butt up against the fenders.

[ynned]

Originally Posted by Turdburgler

...
and you had to pull in the sides ateast an inch to get it to butt up against the fenders.

Damn. Each side 1"? Looks like I won't be getting one of those.

[Turdburgler]

Originally Posted by ynned

Damn. Each side 1"? Looks like I won't be getting one of those.

Thats only the start of it. It needed the scoop trimmed to fit that well. Then there is the part I left out because I really dont know how to put it into words. The part that covers the lower core support does not fit over it. Picture putting a "V" over a square. How it would want to slip towards a corner with any pressure. So the apron wants to slip up or down depending on the pressure used to try to get the sides to hit the fenders.

On top of that, the sides that flange where they bolt to the fenders were just plain skimpy. I seriously doubted how long they could hold this shape with the tension used to bolt it up.

That make any sense at all?

[jimmie600]

I have been planning to do the same to mine once I get started on it. It looks as if those both may be cut a little narrower than the radiator. Its my intent to cut mine the width of the core, to get as much air as possible to the radiator. I have also been thinking about rounding the edges.

[ynned]

Originally Posted by Turdburgler

...
That make any sense at all?

Enough to reinforce the decision not to get one.

[Ponyman66]

Just as a small bit of trivia, the mod is based on a true item. It's not the "R"-model valance though. It was actually done on the steel valance for the '66 Trans Am coupes. There were very few body mods allowed in class rules. The use of the "R" -model valance was forbidden, hence the steel one being modified. Now if anyone gives you crap..hah! Throw it back at them!

[Turdburgler]

Originally Posted by jimmie600

I have been planning to do the same to mine once I get started on it. It looks as if those both may be cut a little narrower than the radiator. Its my intent to cut mine the width of the core, to get as much air as possible to the radiator. I have also been thinking about rounding the edges.

I cut mine at 18 inches. Same width that the glass one was since you and I are thinking alike.

I was going to post some pictures, but I didnt realize how few I took and just how bad they are.

I would say watch on rounding out the edges. Nothing more rounded then the rest of the lines on the front of the car.

[Red66GTCoupe]

Turd: Im surprised you had problems with the fit of the Branda apron. I have a Branda apron that required very little trimming. The only mod I needed was at the bottom of the headlight buckets. You sure your car/frame is straight? Just a thought.

[66Restomod]

The fiberglass apron I got from Mustang Plus fit perfect. Had to drill holes to mount it but that was not a big deal at all.
I would think the time involved to do a mod of your steel apron would be quite a lot.