[Fot] Spitfire Spoiler

[Rocky Entriken]

I had a fiberglass spoiler on my Mk. 1 Spitfire once.

I lost count how many times I trashed it, repaired it, trashed it again. 
Every time I touched something with it -- including the ground when I nosed 
down from hard braking; also pylons autocrossing -- it broke. One day I 
brought it home from a race in four pieces. There had to be a better 
solution

I found this stuff called Kydex at a place called Fantastic Plastic in 
Kansas City. Really rugged stuff. Google it, you'll find someplace that 
sells it. www.kydex.com

It bends easily, but doesn't break. I cut a simple air dam, 9" x 66", with a 
hole in the middle for air passage to the oil cooler. Used tin snips to cut 
it (linoleum knife for the interior hole, cutting very patiently with 
repeated shallow cuts). I found a local machinist with a "shrinker/stretcher 
machine" (that's what it's called) who made me three brackets I pop-riveted 
to the front valence of the car. The brackets look like a light-gauge angle 
iron, curved to match the curve of the car. The air dam easily 
attaches/detaches with Dzus fasteners. I scrape the ground with it at speed 
in road races, no problem. I clobber pylons with it in autocrosses and they 
even get folded under the car, piece of cake. The Kydex holds up under all 
the abuse I give it. I even fabricated my front fender flares out of it.

I threw a piece in my freezer for six months. When I took it out it was 
still easily pliable. My kid went to a science workshop and was told to 
bring plastic for experiments, I gave him a piece of my Kydex, the people 
running the workshop literally could not destroy it.

See attached photo -- it won't go through to the list, Jim, but 
theoretically you oughta see it from the copy of this reply sent direct to 
you.

--Rocky Entriken

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jim Norlin" <norlinengineering at comcast.net>
To: "FOT" <fot at autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, January 27, 2014 12:27 AM
Subject: [Fot] Spitfire Spoiler


> Does anyone know a source for a fiberglass spoiler for an early Spitfire?

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