polecat702

I'm not doing this to make money.

Greg Brown was kind enough to loan me a set to use as a pattern. His original set will be returned to him.

Because there has been such a great response to this thread, I went ahead and made a set of stamping dies for both ducts. Y'all wouldn't believe how much time is invested in the tooling for this project. The initial run will be for 100 sets.

The ducts are an exact reproduction of the originals, and will fit without having to screw around trying to make them fit.

I'm in the process of making a decision weather to produce them out of aluminum, or continue with galvanized sheet steel. My main concern is the price of the material. I don't want these things to be ridiculously expensive! If I can't make these things where everyone can afford a set, if they want them, then I won't do it.

Also the original belly pan was some sort of plastic material. The replacement is aluminum. If I reproduce the ducts with sheet steel, then electrolysis could be a problem, and it's another consideration. Maybe, a bead of RTV, or a paper gasket might be in order.

Another thing and this is a very real concern. Roger and Greg have expressed an interest in distributing these pieces. I'm not going to offer them at a cheaper price than they would. That's not going to happen!!

I'll be able to give them an honest price next week as far as what it'll take for me to cover my material costs. If they agree, then I'll go ahead and produce these ducts.

I like my 928, but I've met the finest people because of this car. This is my small way of giving some thing back for all the help I've received over the years.

Thanks
joe

PS If this project works out, I'll be more than happy to make up some other parts if we need them.

GregBBRD

They direct cooling air to the motor mounts. I believe that if you are running a lower tray, without them, your "mount life" will be greatly shortened.

I've never been a "Ford" or "Volvo" motor mount kind of guy....primarily because I don't have an Ford or Volvo engines in any of my 928s. I therefore always use stock mounts. They suspend the engine at the correct height and are engineered to absorb the harmonics of the 928 engines. I've not ever had any problem with the life span of the stock mounts. (I still have cars coming into my shop with the original motor mounts.)

There's been stories (on Rennlist even) about how terrible the stock mounts are and that they don't last very long. It is my belief that cars without the cooling ducts are the ones that are "hard" on the stock mounts and this is the problem.

Fogey1

These are the best pix i found in a brief search. From Ed Hughes:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ml#post3704997

My understanding is that the bellypans are for S4 and later. Has anybody ever retrofitted one to an earlier car? Was it worth it?

Then I clicked again and came up with these pix from Rob Edwards.

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ml#post8584714

Gotta love this list and
site:rennlist.com inurl:928 belly pan ducts

Randy V

Ah, got it - thanks, GB.

Snowglobe

Have you considered making these a different way - instead of 3d printing in plastic or milling from metal, have you heard of injection molded bulk metallic glass? If you supply your 3d model to liquidmetal.com, I believe they can give you a quote.

polecat702

I've read about this technology, but honestly don't know that much about it. It is very expensive. Of course the more parts ya make the cheaper it becomes. I'm prolly only going to make a couple of hundred sets, tops.

The tooling to reproduce the ducts are finished. I'm working out the best price, and material option for durability. I wasn't trying to reinvent the wheel, just reproduce an item that's needed at a reasonable cost that everyone can afford. Price is a big concern, There are plastic parts on these cars that cost way to much, and they get brittle with age, and break.

I figured with my 3D printer I could reproduce some items for myself, cheaper than trying to source used parts, or overpriced OEM. Only a little time on my part, and trial and error will tell me if I'm going in the wrong direction.

If I had only wanted to make a set of these ducts for myself, Rob Edwards posted pictures, and measurements in another thread last year. I would have made a set for myself and been done with it.

Alan

There are some pics in this thread of what the stock vents look like attached to the 928 International aluminum front pan. The holes drilled in the pan are perfectly located for pop riveting these in - fit of the duct is just perfect.

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...eferrerid=6055

Alan

the flyin' scotsman

your one good man Joe........I hoist a beer to you my friend.

deutschmick

Late to the party, Joe.

Put me down for 1 set.

Thanks for all your effort on this project.

BC

Its clear this is a real thing, and very needed for cooling that area. The E55 I have now has almost the exact same idea, but the duct shape is obviously different. It seems to direct air to around the same place. Different manufacturer, very different car design, same idea.

polecat702

BC,

You're getting a special offer. If you order a set of ducts, your special price will include a years subscription to Rennlist, added on. 22,000 posts and you won't buy a subscription? WTF, it's less than 20 bucks.

BC

...

BC

Step down for a sec - I'll assume you never noticed me around before even though I've been a member and paid my dues for 14 years. IB has been fvcking around with memberships and member labels since they took control around 2007 or so.

And you do of course know that John doesn't run this place anymore, correct? The dues members pay simply are connected to what forums you do or do not see, and it simply is an extra little fee that very few IB forums charge, but since RL had it, they kept it. Where does the money go? I have no clue, but it's sure as **** not to make this site have less ads.

RFJ

Can someone tell me if these will fit on an 85 euro and an 86? I know the 85 has a short front piece but that is all. thank you

soontobered84

They will not fit 85 or 86.