[Fot] Spitfire Spoiler

[Rocky Entriken]

Perhaps I should add, for a couple who've asked, the scoop to the oil cooler 
(under the rad) also acts as a front-center brace for the air dam. The dam 
is not attached to the scoop, it just leans against the scoop at speed.

Making it removable was so I could access the tie-downs on the car when 
towing.

--Rocky

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rocky Entriken" <rocky at spitfire4.com>
To: "Jim Norlin" <norlinengineering at comcast.net>; "FOT" <fot at autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2014 12:59 AM
Subject: Re: [Fot] Spitfire Spoiler


>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?
>
> [demime 1.01d removed an attachment of type image/jpeg which had a name of 
> Runoffs Card.jpg]