DonT

Jerry, That's a real beauty. Put me on the S4 order list. TIA...

Jim M.

Jerry, Once again your work is amazing!

Jerry Feather

I forgot to tell those who were interested and helpful about how to get these formed covers off of the forms after they had cooled a bit, about how much trouble we had. Actually it was not too bad. In fact the first couple of pulls we did, which were not quite hot enough and which therefore did not form quite as closely, went pretty well. One of the forms just fell out of the formed plastic and the other one came out with a little pulling. However, when we got the temerature up to where the plastic is forming closely in all the nooks and cranies we had to do quite a bit of wrestling and even blow some air in between to get the forms out.

What the Plastic guy suggested is that I trim the verticle face of one side of each form to a slight angle, about 3 to 5 degrees, and then to round the corners of the forms slightly. That seems to be where we were getting to "lock" of the plastic on the forms. Too, upon looking at the formed plastic I can see a place where I actually have a negative angle formed into one area that is making an outright lock for the plastic, Fortunately it is small and is in an area that will be trimmed off completely so changing it to any other shape is not going to change the final product. I am going to do that work on the forms later today so I can take the forms back to the Plastic shop for final forming.

I asked the plastic guy about his supply of material and he didn't really answer me very directly. I think that means he has material in stock. I hope so.

As you can see in the pictures above we did the trial run with only two forms. You will recall that I actually made five of them expecting that we would be pulling four at a time. However, the plastic guy thinks the return on trying to do four at a time is not favorable because the time saved is going to be used up in the difficulty in removing the forms and the risk of loss from tearing up the plastic getting it off will offset the savings. What that says is that the cost will be a little higher doing them two at a time. I think that is going to effect the final price by about $10.

Jerry Feather

WICruiser

My '85 is missing the cover all together and I would be very interested in one of these when they become available. I will also need the seal bead.

I don't know if the original '85 cover was full width or not. There are 2 clips under the rear edge about 12 inches or so in from either side.

Thanks for the effort to create a better alternative that the original.

Jerry Feather

Roger, I think that your car would have had what I believe is the second version of the plastic cowl cover devised by the factory. It has two little raised flat areas in the back corners, but the one on the driver's side is only about an inch and a quarter square while the one on the other side is about three time or more longer than that. However on the driver's side for some reason what would be a symetrical finish to the end is cropped off which is why the litte raised flat area is so small.

What I hope for your version of the 928 is that you will be able to utilize the full length version of my cover that does not have a provision for the intensive washer bottle opening. As to the clips in the back, it is very helpful now for me to know what the 85 cars have there. For my covers, two clips or maybe even one in the center might be very adequate. What I have done with the back of my cover design is to re-engineer it so that it will function better in terms of water drainage, and I have beefed it up, not only with heavier material, but with formed indents or channels that will stiffen it. Therefore, if you have only two clips to hold the back up the stiffness of the back ledge will hold the rest of it up, I think.

How would you like to be one of my "test pilots" for the washerless version of this cover for the 85 MY? I now have only a few of the prototypes formed that are sort of "seconds" that I would not be able to sell, but which are still servicable that I will send you one of for trial fitting. Are you interested?

I wont be able to send you the cowl seal yet because I don't have the material yet, and I don't have the Shell Stickers yet from the sign company making them for me because they don't have the special material for that yet. You will be able to buy that or those from me later when I announce their availability in a new thread about all of this.

PM me your mailing address if you are interested. In return I hope you will post some report about your success or lack of it in the new thread when it is up and going.

Jerry Feather

garylewa

Hello Jerry,
When these are available I would like to be on the "to purchase" list for both the cowel and vertical bead seal. i have and '83 US model in case you need the info. The pod cover patterns you sent me worked well too; mine is completed!
Thanks, Gary

Jerry Feather

Thanks, Gary, for your interest and for the report on the Pod Cover. Congratulations.

On the Cowl Cover, I would like to know if you have any clips to hold the back of the cover up against the metal cowl piece. Do you still have any kind of cowl cover? Do you have a Shell sticker on your cover or on your air intake box? If so what version of the Shell sticker do you have. Can you describe it for me?

Jerry Feather

garylewa

I will take a picture or (pictures) for you as soon as we return from dinner this evening. I still have my full cowel cover albeit piecemealed together and I have a Shell sticker also. Pics soon.

garylewa

Here is the sticker on the air box, it is 4-7/8" X 2-1/8"

garylewa

No clips up against the metal cowel; it mounts by fitting up & under the metal cowel (first pic from outside the engine bay, drivers side) then it clamps down on the main engine rail with the vertical bead seal (2nd. pic shows the left side; 3rd. pic the right side; I have a break in the plastic in the far upper right, hence my daliance into finding a new cowel cover.....)
Metal Cowel view from outside drivers side:

dcrasta

You are very talented and have some amazing fabrication skills. Please add me to the list. ALthough I have a 90% cover I would buy one of these just because they look stronger and because of the effort you must have made to produce them!
Cheers!

Jerry Feather

Thanks, d. I have been fabricating things since I was very young and it has taken a long time for me to develop the level of perfectionism (if that is a word) that I aspire to and still try to achieve. I was inspired by my maternal grandfather to fabricate things because he was pretty good at it himself. Professionally he was first just a farmer, but than became a millwright.

He made a little hand saw for me when I was about 5 I think, out of a scrap saw we found in our backyard. I watched him make the little one and several other key hole saws out of the bigger one, and was amazed at how things could be made with some effort and a few tools. I still have the little saw.

In fact here is a picture of it on top of the two cowl cover forms that I just brought back from the plastic shop to make some minor corrections, or add some additioinal perfection.

The plastic guy actually doesn't have the material on hand after all, but apparently after I was there the other day he must have ordered it because he said today it will be here in the next few days. That gives me time to fix these forms and get them back to him.

I hope the material for the stickers gets here soon; and I will be ordering the cowl trim/seal material later today, I think. That should have this project coming together maybe even by the end of next week.

Jerry Feather

Thanks Gary for taking the time to take and send the pictures. However, when you say that the cowl cover fits up and under the metal cowl strip that does not say what is holding the cover up against the metal cowl piece.

Here are some pictures of the setting that is found on an 87 or 88 S4 in the subject area. The first picture shows the three clips that are welded to the under side of the car body just below the windshield. The second two pictures show a couple of the clips up closer. Then the last picture shows how these clips are essentially out of sight from view when the metal cowl cover is in place. The driver's side clip is bent down farther than it should be, you will notice, in the third picture. That is the only reason you can see it in the fourth picture.

That is why the guy who works on you car will pull the plastic cowl cover out from its clips that he cannot see and then when he is finished and puts the cowl cover back he just pushes the rear edge under the metal cowl strip and assumes that it just hangs there or that it is held up perhaps by reverse gravity.

It may very well be that the only way to know for sure if there are some or no clips is either to take the metal cowl strip off or just take the plastic cover out and feel under ther with you hand.

garylewa

Ohhhh, those tabs (I call them tabs; my apoligies) I have on my metal cowel also. I was thinking you were asking about some type of metal "c" shaped clip or something. I have three; just like your top picture shows.

Jerry Feather

"Tab: 1. A small flat "loop or strap fastened to something"

"Clip: --n. any of various devises that clip, fasten, hold, etc"

No apology necessary. Looks like TABS is the better word. Now I guess I need to start over with my request.

I still need to know how many, if any, TABS there are to hold the back of the Cowl Cover up in the rear in the cars that came with only the partial (2/3) cowl cover. So far I think those cars include 78 to 82 at least. 85 has the 90 percent cover, but I am not sure about 83 and 84.

Also, I haven't looked in the WSM about this, but now I think that the proper way to reinstall the cowl cover likely is to remove the narrow metal cowl strip just beneath the windshield so that the access to the TABS is better and one can be sure that they are all engaged, then put the metal strip back on. Otherwise it is very difficult to tell if the TABS are engaged, or, as I pointed out above, that they are even there to be engaged.

Jerry Feather