Shadowman's OEM/NASCAR Style Front Brake Ducts

[Shadowman]

Well; after many months of looking at gals in person as well as pictures of the present front brake air ducts systems as installed, chatting the gal’s owners, and also chatting with Rich aka The GT Guy this project commenced.

At this point I need to share that Rich aka The GT Guy was most magnanimous when it came to sharing what he had done on other gals and his feeling about them. We both agreed that one can create the means to get air flow to the front brakes however because of the intrusive nature as associated with many of the secondary systems located in the nose of these gal’s the process is tedious and to some degree difficult and then if you want to get air flow to the front brakes “and” appear as if OEM you have then stepped into another arena all together.

I made Rich aka The GT Guy aware that I was taking the later direction and in hopes of helping others at some point I would share the project.

Within this thread I will post some pictures and then the entire project as associated with two gals is presented on my website; presently the project named “Homeward Bound” is being slowly updated and “White Lightening” will follow soon.

Now let me be very clear with regards to the fact that this is not a Saturday afternoon project; in fact I would consider is scope and magnitude largely because of the manner in which the project is being completed.

Before the project commenced a clean sheet of paper was used to defined the project goal/directives

1. Air flow to the front brakes
2. An OEM style integration
3. The ability to close the ducting to the front brakes during the extreme cold and or adverse weather conditions such as rain.
4. OEM appearance once completed
5. Ease of future servicing
6. If possible Nascar style electric cooling fans for slow operating conditions for example after heated laps on a track the ability to maintain extreme cooling during the cool down and or yellow flag laps as well as in the pit cooling

The process of creating and integrating the system has been ongoing for the past couple months however because we have finally completed many of the mockup phases and have first run pieces being fabricated for these gal it is a great time share some of that which has been accomplished.

I am not going to describe each of the pictures however this I will share; the twisting and tweaking required to accomplish this task has been extreme and yet as I sit back and look at the gals I smile because thus far every directive as defined before the project commenced has been met and IMO the results are fricken awesome.

I hope that you enjoy and through the pictures get a feel for the thought process as the project unfolded.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[Shadowman]

As the project progressed

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[Shadowman]

And yet a few more

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[Empty Pockets]

:eek The first look at what's lying directly behind those stock "air ducts" would have stopped any ordinary person right there, Bill!!! :eek

If I were wearing a hat - IT WOULD BE OFF TO YOU RIGHT NOW!!!

 

[BlackICE]

EP you are up early in the morning. These ducts are really nice, but you would never need anything like that for driving to and from trailers! :biggrin

 

[tpraceman]

I got the shakes when I saw the first photos....like someone should call EMS then as the progressed I realized the Doctor was on the scene.

Always lurking in the shadows and comming up with really "cool" stuff:thumbsup

 

[sandman]

I have enjoyed watching this project evolve through my chats and visits with Shadowman over the last several months. The massaging that has gone into these pieces so that they “integrate as OEM” (Bill’s words) have been trying and time consuming but the results speak for themselves. There were short cuts presented along the way but none were taken, as that is not what Bill is about. In Bills world it’s always about as it would appear if the OEM had installed it in the first place. This is where I disagree with Bill. Everything he does is above and beyond what the OEM would have done! We are fortunate to have Bill and the patrons that support his madness!

 

[GTED]

Bill

Work of art, as usual!! Me like! When will it be ready for primetime?

Ed

 

[Triheart7]

Nice looking project. I assume that the fan will be able to be turned off or on, with an OEM looking switch, inside the Car?

 

[dbackg]

Madness. YES.

I would imagine there will have to be an on/off switch, especially if the duct will have the option to be closed and look factory.

Great job Bill.

 

[Shadowman]

Nice looking project. I assume that the fan will be able to be turned off or on, with an OEM looking switch, inside the Car?

Indeed the ability to control the fans will be located within the gal. Now as for the switch and the location; with regards to the two gals under the proverbial knife the switch will be located within Kip's very cool carbonn fiber/leather cubby.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[soroush]

very cool indeed!

 

[STORMCAT]

Nice Work Bill !! :thumbsup

 

[Shadowman]

Thank you for the wonderful comments

I was with the machinist this evening as the mockup pieces were evaluated for the last time as we will be creating the first run pieces this week.

The project had me at times walking away from it as I needed to clear my head and then with a fresh outlook determine that which could be accomplished within the existing design at the nose of these gals. For those that boldly walked this path before me they know only too well that to say that space is at a premium would an understatement; frankly there is none which made the path taken thus far of form following function easy to understand and yet I remained convinced and committed to the fact that we could accomplish both; OEM form and stellar function.

The results certainly subjectively speaking are spectacular and as others elect to undertake such a project I will gladly share my findings so as to insure that it is less of an adventure and more of an event for them.

Let me now reiterate; this IMO is a scope and magnitude undertaking and I dare say not for the meek of heart.

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[fjpikul]

Wow, that's really trick. Did you know Smokey Yunik? (not the same kind of eunuch like EmptyCat)

 

[Shadowman]

Wow, that's really trick. Did you know Smokey Yunik? (not the same kind of eunuch like EmptyCat)

Sadly no and yet I have great respect for that which he accomplished; here is a little about the man.

Takes care

Shadowman

Henry “Smokey” Yunick Bio

Smokey Yunick was first and foremost a racer. Many called him a mechanical genius and an inventor, unfettered by formal education. A few knew him as a World War II pilot. Those who met him knew that he was one of the most genuine, interesting characters they had ever met. Smokey Yunick was all of these things and much more. He packed more into 77 years than most people could in 200.

Henry “Smokey” Yunick grew up on a farm in Neshaminy, Pennsylvania and endured a not so pleasant family life. He had to drop out of high school in the tenth grade after his alcoholic father died of a heart attack. It was about this time that his mechanical creativity and lust for speed were just starting to appear. He built a tractor from spare car parts after a run in with the family’s work horse and soon after started racing motorcycles. From there, he joined the Army Air Corps and became a B-17 pilot, flying 50 missions over Europe before transferring to the Pacific theatre.

After the war and getting married for the first time, Smokey moved to Daytona Beach, a place that he had flown over during a training flight. He hated the cold and Florida seemed like the perfect place. Smokey opened his shop and named it Smokey’s Best Damn Garage in Town. His shop on Beach Street was a Daytona Beach landmark for over 50 years and is still a mecca for many racers and fans.

Before long, Smokey started looking for the adrenaline that was missing after the war and racing filled this void. He started off building Hudson Hornet engines for Herb Thomas and ended up as one of the most famous and influential crew chief/mechanics in NASCAR history. His cars won over 50 races and his list of 50 plus drivers reads like a who’s who of racer’s from the past 50 years. Smokey also got the bug to race in the Indianapolis 500 in the late 50’s and that obsession lasted 20 years, with a win as the chief mechanic in 1960.

Smokey never stopped tinkering and improving everything on which he worked. During 1960’s and 70’s, he was a consultant to Chevrolet, Pontiac and Ford, most times working directly for the presidents of those companies. Many of his innovations found their way into consumer cars as enhancements and power improvements.

Smokey quit racing all together in the mid-70’s and continued to work on inventing and energy conservation issues. It was during this time when he started to travel to Ecuador, working with oil companies to try and make the machinery.

 

[Shadowman]

UPDATE

Here are a few pictures of the relocation of the a/c pressure switch.

As can be seen in the earlier pictures, the OEM placement of the a/c pressure switch had it directly in the middle of the opening on the passenger side precluding any sort of air duct material from being installed.

Rich aka The GT Guy was kind enough to share a location that worked for them and then we did a similar tweak on the a/c lines as associated with the two gals presently having this custom front brake cooling duct conversion completed.

The first picture shows the a/c switch in the OEM location.

The second picture shows the a/c switch relocated and the a/c line now appearing as if never touched.

The third and final picture shows that we were able to open up the OEM wiring harness sheathing to garner the additional a/c pressure switch harness length needed; all that remains for this phase is for the exposed wires to be sheathed as if OEM.

More to come

Takes care

Shadowman

 

[soroush]

shadow can you get to the ac pressure switch with out taking the nose off the car? you know why I ask?:wink

 

[Mullet]

silly question....

are these ducts blocked off when they come from the factory?

 

[Shadowman]

shadow can you get to the ac pressure switch with out taking the nose off the car? you know why I ask?:wink

Yes you can access the switch and remove it as there is a Shrader valve under it that seals the system once removed however the relocating of it requires her nose to come off.

Takes care

Shadowman