Mister Quickie

That would be ideal but when I park I don't want ppl f'n with my exposed engine

Matt O.

Maybe he was talking about building a bi-plane?

Kurt R

There's nothing wrong with making a hood out of fabric. You just need to select the right fabric, like a fiberglass or carbon fiber sheet. Then you need something to stiffen it so it doesn't flap around. You could use, I don't know, maybe epoxy resin? I'm surprised nobody has thought of this before.

Oh, wait: http://www.gt-racing.com/944-924-hood-skin-part-270a/

Or if you want one that's a little stiffer - http://www.gt-racing.com/944-924-hood-part-270/

Mister Quickie

$400 and $580, those prices are more than I want to pay for a 944.

If flapping is a concern what if it was a bra that extended over the hood and cowl area?

odonnell

You still will have the air coming from below the car, it isn't going to work without a stupid amount of extra stuff like bracing. We don't see cars with soft fabric body panels for a reason.

Voith

You could make it out of jeans with a zipper for hot days ventilation.

Tiger03447

If you are serious about a cloth hood, use ceconite, or polyfiber aircraft cloth. It can be heat stretched with an iron to provide tautness. It should be sewn to the ribs after? heating. Then it should be doped
(butyrate) to provide waterproofness. Check out Aircraft Spruce.com or Wick's Aircraft supply.com. Both should have all the components you would need. Hope this helps some...Thin strips of spruce should be able to make bows for the box that would surround the hood opening, or you could use an X-brace from corner to corner to provide more rigidty..in any event, the fabric needs to be sewn to the wood to prevent flapping. Check out rib stitching on Google..Hope this helps some.

FRporscheman

THIS!

jhowell371

As a aircraft mechanic and pilot I would say this is a bad idea.

Mister Quickie

It's looking like the idea of trying to solve too many problems at once is what's making this a bad idea.

However, if we stick to a single scenario: drive without a hood, then have a waterproof cover to stretch over the open engine bay and cowl while parked.

The it's worth pursuing simply because the hood is too dam heavy and it can't fit inside the trunk...

951Dreams

As a side benefit, when it over heats and you blow a gasket or crack a head, you can use the hood as a sail!!!!!!!

"Come sail away... come sail away... come sail away with meeeeeee....."

Honestly, I'd pay to see this!!! I bet we could get 1 million Youtube hits!!!!

jhowell371

If it's just to cover the engine when not in use than a tonneau type cover and with snaps would do. Any upholstery shop should be able to whip one up out of convertible top material and supply you with the needed snaps. If it's meant for driving I stand by my "bad idea".

Voith

Windshield is heavy too. Much too heavy in fact. something like this is much lighter and helps the head from overheating while in element..

bonus12

lol, hilarious.

J1NX3D