Hey Guys,
My turkey day break is coming up in two weeks and I want to do two things for my car since I will get to be with her for a few days. First thing's first, I'm going to install my euro-gauges. I figure that will take me a few hours. For the rest of the time, I would like to make a hood scoop for my headlight so in the summer i can modify my intake with a cone filter. I was gonna buy the mariah one, but it's like $150, which in my oppinion is rediculous for just essentially buying a hole in a piece of metal. So, I'm going to make one.

I was wondering who here has made one (lots of 2nd gen guys seem to have done this) , and what materials you used. I'm trying to find a used headlight cover (if anybody has one they want to sell cheap/donate i'd very much appreciate it as I can't afford to screw up on the ONE that i have) and I will probably use fiberglass to make an indent and hole similar to the mariah one, maybe a bit more simple.

anywho, post pix and ideas, thanks!

 

1st Gen Made by Mariah Motorsports, metal and fiberglass

 

jose your car is so beautiful, its even more beautiful in real life, i drool every time i see it

 

gawd I want that front bumper....

Dan

 

Breath taking, would you produce and sell those?

 

you want a vented head light lid, just like in the picture ??? or do you want to choose the style of vent yourself ???? either way $ 40.00 dollors, shipped !!!

i use a stock metal light lid, cut and fibre glass ..

drivers side or passanger side ?? i would say passanger side.

 

Well,

I don't have the money as of right now, I get paid Monday for work and so I should be able to buy it then. Do you match OEM colors?

Passenger Side if the CAI can go into the fender well and I'll make a small little custom ram air straight into the lip when the lights are down, but how would I conquer the rain?

Thanks,
Eric M. Pelezo

 

rain is no problem, won't hurt a thing. no way can i match the colours of any paint.
time, faded, you know it can't happen, so i don't try. mariah can't match the colour either, require a core light lid and charge 4x as much

i produce and sell the vented headlight lids

 

yo man, I'm not sure if you are willing to, but could you do a write-up of specifically how you produce the vented headlight lids (or maybe just a PM to me with a bit more specifics )? It isn't that I don't trust the quality of yours, I just have done a lot of custom things for my car, and I want to be able to add to the list of things I've made. I haven't done a lot of fiberglassing or exterior modification type stuff, but am very interested in it.

not trying to jip you out of a little profit (hell, i sell novelty toilet paper for a buck or two on e-bay) but I really am looking for a fun project. Thanks!

 

speaking of matching colors on headlight vent lids, i still haven't put on the one i bought from you mark. i havent the time, money or energy. it will look nice when its put on...

 

not to jack the thread but jose could you post a pic of the rear of your car with the whaletail? i really want to see a quality pic of the mariah one....if thats what you have.


also kiker... this is from the second gen forum but i think the process might be the same...https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/how-make-your-own-fresh-air-headlight-cover-302574/

 

well the size of the opening isn't going to do much , as far as air flow goes but the shape of the vent is cool for a 2ed gen IMO. your going to need another headlight lid
in case the first one gets screwed up, visit a junkyard and pickup another one there cheap around $ 8.00 dollors . doesn't matter what colour either. a dremmel tool and the cut-off wheels that go with it. fibreglass resin/hardener (wal-mart) and fibreglass cloth (wal-mart) and some throw-away brushes, sandpaper. the vent that looks like a 'V' are called a NACA duct but other shapes can be made. looking at the lid from the top or outside use a sharpie pen. vents consist of 3 lines. opening, and 2 taper lines.
the opening runs across the lid from right to left and the taper lines run from the back to the front. about 2 inches from the back of the lid draw a line 4 inches long and in the center. the opening... now decide the style vent desired and draw the 2 taper lines, should be about 4 inches also. 3 lines drawn on the lid. use the dremmel with a cut-off wheel and cut the opening line first (right to left) then cut each taper line (back to front) 3 cuts and thats it. now push in on the metal left and you can start to see the vent take shape. all you have to do is fibreglass the sides (taper lines) the opening should be no more the 1 inch. with the dremmel and cut-off wheel
flip over the lid and along the taper lines grind off the paint down to bare metal on both lines, on both sides that gives the resin something to hold on to. cut a couple of pieces of the fibreglass cloth to fit the taper lines and use some clothes pins to hold the cloth to the lid. this is all taking place on the back side of the light lid. mix up some resin and brush on the resin just along where the fibreglass cloth is. both sides. and make sure enough resin is brushed along the bare metal also and allow to dry or set. then after that apply another coat of resin over the first coat and let dry or set. really the only side to sand is the top or the outside but remove the excess resin from the underneath if theres alot of it. where ever there is resin on the top, sand it smooth then sand the whole top side of the lid smooth.
when the entire top side of the lid is bare metal and smooth your done and spray some primer over both sides of the lid. matching colours depends on you if you have or know the colour paint. then paint the lid, install it on the car and thats it.
btw. the 4 screws that hold the lights lids on the car can sometimes be a mother ucker to get loose. 2ed generation rx7's don't have alot of room for a large opening vented light lid. i've made many, many vented headlight lids. and sell them for $ 40.00 dollors shipped within north america with no core headlight lid required. there just not finished, paint wise... there 'ya go. questions, ask me.

 

post pics mark. also, are these vents functional and would actually 'vent' cold air into the intake? say the SE for example.

 

hey mark, great post, thanks a lot.

There aren't any 1st gens in any junkyards around here, one person is going to check for me at his local yard, if any of you other guys either have an extra off a parts car or know of one that you could get real easy at a junkyard, i'd appreciate it!

thanks guys, great forum!

 

yeah man. for 12a or 13b. you would just have to cut an opening in the stock -SE air box . i have a hard time posting pictures but the NACA looks just like the picture above. i have the mode four like jose's car(above) but my vent looks different, it's more of an 'air grab' then NACA. but it looks cool and functions. my 1st gen was at sevenstock7 i was parked next to web whatever his name is who won the 1st gen class. check the pictures from SS7, i'm the only mariah car, silver.

 

Here is two:

 

hey jose

whats with the red tape under your tires ?

 

Well, here's a picture that I've posted here before about the SE CAI/RAM induction that I built into my Mariah-built headlight lid. It does work very well, and is a straight shot from the NACA duct onto the top of the air filter - you can see filter through the duct if you look into the front.



This is a homemade design using the stock rubber air ducting to the plastic tube that Mazda put along the front of the A/C condenser on the SE's. This is a very simple mod, and requires only a bit of cutting on the rainwater dam metal, and cutting of the rubber dam itself that is right behind the headlight lid. Once in place, it's definitely sucking cool air from outside the engine bay.

When it rains, I normally drive with my headlights up anyway, and this effectively blocks off any rainwater being forced onto the top of the air filter element. When up, the air is still drawn through the plastic ducting, but it in static air behind the headlight lid (when underway), and is still getting cold air, just not ram air. It's not developing any additional power that I can tell, but it is functional, and it was a fun project. HTH,

 

That was from the barricade that was built by the hotel to keep our cars separate from the rest. That picture was taken during Apple Blossom Festival Wanatchee WA, at the hotel... We have our yearly rotor rally during that time....

 

this is the one I am building for the 2nd gen.... I'll do a 1st soon...Not done yet buy you get the idea

 

The headlight scoops look great, I may need one to get cooler air into my turbo.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member.../698542_27.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member.../698542_26.jpg

Planning to make one soon.

 

HOLY GAWD.

That's all, I can't think of anything else to describe those two pics... lol

Dan