Shadowman Suggests That You .......


Aug 25, 2006
4,436
Please visit the sticky at the top of this section referred to as "The OEM Clamshell Sage"; specifically page 7.

Thanks to all the hard work that Petunia, KDO GT, the machinist that they have been working with, and the support of DBK "TRUE" OEM style CNC machined billet aluminum vents are now available.

Since these are being machined out of a pieces of billet aluminum there will be no warping issues in the future and then add to this the method and hardware used to secure them to the gals is wonderful and also an improvement over the OEM design.

I have chatted with Petunia throughout this project and not only are the vents available but also at an extremely aggressive price however there is a catch; the catch is timing as there is an element of urgency associated with this offering.

The machinist has agreed to leave the fixtures in place on his machines until the beginning of the week so as to allow all the opportunity to participate in this offering however once the fixtures are taken down the process required to create another batch of these will also have the burden aka additional cost associated with the machine/fixture set up fee.

I made mention earlier that I liked the unique styled clamshell vents that Petunia offered a few weeks ago however I also shared with him that they were not my personal style whereas these are my “Cup-o-Joe” as they will appear as if OEM.

These clamshell vents can be left in a machined finish however I suspect that the ability to keep them looking crisp and clean will be difficult because of the cutting tool marks as such I would recommend clear anodizing if a natural appearance is desired, they could be polished, or they can be painted as were the OEM vents or even power coated if a more durable finish is desired because today the colored dust available for powder coating is phenomenal.

Regardless of your finished flavor the pieces IMO are very worth your consideration and as with many things in life timing is often times a key component of the consideration process which in this case could not be truer.

Takes care

Shadowman
 
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jaxgt

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jul 12, 2006
2,812
Thanks for the suggestion. I just ordered a set. Your post's timing was perfect, as I discovered my gal has 1 cracked vent and 1 warped one. I have a new pair coming from Ford, however will squirrel these away until such time.
 

Mark06GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Already ordered mine. They look great.

I was thinking of having them coated white to match my stripes. Any suggestions on how to get the best finish and color match?
 

RADGT

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Aug 31, 2006
858
Connecticut
Are these the vents DBK was working on?

Stu
 

dbk

Admin
Staff member
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Jul 30, 2005
15,247
Metro Detroit
Stu, after seeing these, I decided to not go forward with the other sets. The reality is that with billet oe style vents available for $100 more, being able to be produced on demand, it didn't really make sense to lay out the $30k in tooling necessary for a cast part.
 

pe2unia

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Most owners don't even realize it but the vents studs are breaking from the heat, warping, as well as the nuts are falling off. Here are pictures of a vent that had 2500 miles on her with two nuts missing and once we took it apart noticed the studs cracked along with the vents starting to warp.

DSC01953.jpg

DSC01954.jpg

DSC01955.jpg
 

Gulf GT

GT Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Feb 9, 2006
1,539
California
I think Shadowman and DBK are correct. This is an excellent opportunity to make certain that warped clamshell vents will never be a problem for any of us in the future. Mine are not warped, but I consider "squirreling" a set away now is a smart bit of "insurance". A big thank you to Pe2unia for securing such a fantastic opportunity for all of us. My order has been placed and paid for.
 

GFORCE

GT Owner
Jan 14, 2006
375
They look great!

I put them on my blk no stripe car,wow they draw you in then bam! the whipple looks better.Then with the yellow car with blk stripes same thing!
With the 22s+20s in chrome on both, man major Bling.
 

pe2unia

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
I think Shadowman and DBK are correct. This is an excellent opportunity to make certain that warped clamshell vents will never be a problem for any of us in the future. Mine are not warped, but I consider "squirreling" a set away now is a smart bit of "insurance". A big thank you to Pe2unia for securing such a fantastic opportunity for all of us. My order has been placed and paid for.

You are correct Gulf and the price is unbelievable for this type of quality vent. :banana After this run the price will be no where near this number.:ack
 

pe2unia

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
I put them on my blk no stripe car,wow they draw you in then bam! the whipple looks better.Then with the yellow car with blk stripes same thing!
With the 22s+20s in chrome on both, man major Bling.

Gforce you will need to post up some pictures:thumbsup
 

soroush

Ford Gt Owner
Mark II Lifetime
Aug 8, 2007
5,256
Gforce you will need to post up some pictures:thumbsup

+1
 
Aug 25, 2006
4,436
Thank you all for the great comments and support of this project.

Takes care

Shadowman
 

ChipBeck

GT Owner
Staff member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 13, 2006
5,783
Scottsdale, Arizona
The Shadow knows.

......or even power coated if a more durable finish is desired because today the colored dust available for powder coating is phenomenal.

Shadowman

Bill,

I think powder coating these pieces is the way to go. You are the High Dalai Lama as regards specialty work like this. Would it be possible for the membership to hire you to get this done? White and black would cover a large percentage of us who want to get these vents powder coated. It would certainly be easier to powder coat 20 sets of these black at one time than to have 20 owners searching in our local markets for someone to do this. Perhaps we could have Pe2unia ship you a large quantity of these vents that have been paid for by members and we could then pay you to have them powder coated? Price is not an issue here for those of us who do not know where in our local area we could get this done. Your thoughts on this? Thank you.

Chip
 

jaxgt

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jul 12, 2006
2,812
Nice suggestion Chip, as I have no idea where locally to get my set powder coated black. I'd be up for shipping mine to a central place
 
Aug 25, 2006
4,436
Bill,

I think powder coating these pieces is the way to go. You are the High Dalai Lama as regards specialty work like this. Would it be possible for the membership to hire you to get this done? White and black would cover a large percentage of us who want to get these vents powder coated. It would certainly be easier to powder coat 20 sets of these black at one time than to have 20 owners searching in our local markets for someone to do this. Perhaps we could have Pe2unia ship you a large quantity of these vents that have been paid for by members and we could then pay you to have them powder coated? Price is not an issue here for those of us who do not know where in our local area we could get this done. Your thoughts on this? Thank you.

Chip

Thank you Chip for the wonderful commennts and support

With regards to powder coating; yes I have much of it completed through my facility and would be glad to do so. I would need a sample of the vent as painted OEM and then I would have my powder coated get Tiger or ? to create the powder in the applicable color. Now BlackIce made a comment last night to which I do not have the answer; the blue striped gals as they have a pearl or flake in the paint maybe more difficult but then I am only speculating on this because as share; the colored dust for powder coating today is vast with special colors being mixed all the time.

Regardless I remain as always; very willing to assist.

Takes care

Shadowman
 

jaxgt

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jul 12, 2006
2,812
I would certainly be game for having my vents shipped directly to Shadowman's facility to be powdercoated black, for my black no striper.
 

ChipBeck

GT Owner
Staff member
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Feb 13, 2006
5,783
Scottsdale, Arizona
Worth the powder to....

With regards to powder coating; yes I have much of it completed through my facility and would be glad to do so. Regardless I remain as always; very willing to assist.
Shadowman

Bill,

That is outstanding! If you don't mind I am going to start a new thread to get an idea of how many members are interested. I think white and black will be easy to match. Those with other colors are probably hosed! :biggrin

Again, thanks for your help with this.

Chip
 

pe2unia

GT
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Update!!!!!!!!

A small group of vents went out today and the machinist is working around the clock to fulfill all the orders with hopes of being close to completion by Monday baring no unexpected problems(keeping my fingers crossed). I will be back in town on Saturday to pick up what he has complete to box up and send out on Monday.

For those who want them shipped to Shadowman please PM me with your real name as well as the color of your vents so that I can match up your order.