Hi all, i'm a very recent owner of an '88 gt, purchased from my brother. The car is in need of some care and a little bit of fixing up. It has had an engine swap and other components replaced from a previous owner so now I'm stuck with making one things right on the car, hoping you all could help a newbie to fieros out. I'm mainly a Jeep guy and know my way around the toolbox.
My first question is about the deck lid louver drain pans. I live in the wet climate that is Oregon and the owner prior to my brother removed these. My problem lies with having a cold air intake cone filter out it in the open. Now I will probably get a filter cover anyway, but I'm wondering if I should also locate new louver drain pans or build something in its place. Just looking for thoughts and ideas on this, I definitely don't want to be sucking up water when cruisin.
The drip pans on the vent louvers are actually riveted on. They come as one. You would have to go to the junk yard or other places to find a replacement... A lot of us in not so rainy climate cut them off to allow more heat to escape out of the engine compartment.
If it is possible, reroute the "cold air intake cone" outside the engine compartment into the wheel well area (drivers side).. This will be more of a true cold air plus the cone is protected from the rain.
Thanks for the reply. The CAI is already near the wheel well however in Oregon it would mean complete engine failure depending on the day and amount of rain on the road, basically like sucking water from a bucket... Any ideas on where I could get a set of pans/trays? Or am I just better off fabbing some up.
Thanks for the reply. The CAI is already near the wheel well however in Oregon it would mean complete engine failure depending on the day and amount of rain on the road, basically like sucking water from a bucket... Any ideas on where I could get a set of pans/trays? Or am I just better off fabbing some up.
You can't buy the screens separate so you will have to make your own but just FYI, the factory screens were thin louvers so water would simple drip onto your air filter anyway even if you have the proper screen. You can trace and cut a solid piece of sheet metal and then rivet it back on but it may increase your engine temp slightly. This is what they looked like:
Any ideas on where I could get a set of pans/trays? Or am I just better off fabbing some up.
There were never any "pans/trays" to begin with, so your only choice is to make something.
It's probably even wetter here than where you are, and yeah, I've often thought that some type of deflector below the vents would be a good idea to help keep water off the battery, etc.
The cold air system really isn't cold air if the filter is any place inside the engine bay. You might possibly relocate it back toward the trunk area by rotating your piping or fabricating something.
Many have placed their filter inside the rear quarter as in unboundmo's illustration, and have done it without problems, even when driving in heavy rain. Other than the stock intake grill area and the very bottom of the quarter, that area is sealed up and doesn't allow much air to flow in, as long as you keep the fender liner in place. It does make it more difficult to service your air filter and might even make it need servicing more often due to find dust particulate being brought into that area. Then consider that the small plastic nuts that the fender liner screws go into are old and brittle and will soon go south on you.
If you have the cone filter directly under the vent, and you want some way to cover it, then perhaps the easiest thing might be to find an intake box for an Integra Type R. The ITR used a cone filter inside a plastic enclosure, with a 3" intake tube to the throttle body. You can then use some additional pipe or flexible intake tube to route the intake port on the bottom of that box, through the fender well to the stock intake vent in the panel (unless your car has after market quarter panels). You might even still have the air/water separator box inside the fender well, so you could just route to that. That should keep your filter dry, and let you use a cone filter.
There are plenty of after market CAI boxes like this for various vehicles too, if you want to look at other options besides the ITR box. The Type R box can be expensive when people are selling them, so might be cheaper to buy a new after market Volant or similar box for a different vehicle. You just need to make the intake to the box is on the bottom, and the box can be mounted so the filter side can be routed as straight as possible to the throttle body.
Ya there wasnt any drain pan system stock. It would probably block the air flow if there was. I would go back to the stock air filter box in your situation.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 03-20-2015).]
Welcome to the forum, Low Roll. You are going to enjoy this car ... they are a lot of fun to drive, especially cornering, but don't expect too much in the acceleration department. A couple of pointers: when you want to buy parts you can see if what you need is available in The Mall and if not you can make a 'Want to Buy' post. Many aftermarket parts are available through vendors here (e.g. Fiero Store, Rodney Dickman, etc.) The forum has a nice Search feature so you can look for answers to many technical questions.
My PO installed a cone filter right under the vent. The vent didn't even have a screen. I found a screen from my other Fiero and put that on. That helps with the sound and the rain a little. Mostly though, when you're moving air is going out from the vents, so rain is not going in much if at all. I haven't noticed the filter being wet or any difference in how it drives in the rain. It is loud, but all in all you can probably live with this situation even in rainy Oregon. My GT with the cone filter is much more energetic than the SE with the stock air can.
I put an empty rice bag over the battery to keep water from running in the battery vent holes, diluting the acid, and spilling sulfuric acid on the metal underneath. Saves batteries and trays. The bag stays in place indefinitely.
Mounting the filter in the fender looks like a neat idea. Maybe you could fashion a "door" in the liner for easier access.
Thank you all for the replies. I will try some of the suggestions y'all mentioned, and take a look at the setup a little closer. I've got other issues with the car right now (like getting it to pass DEQ) but this was one of the problems I thought might be an issue. I'll probably fan up something to semi protect it.
Like I sad before I'm a lifted jeep/truck guy and this is a first low and quick car for me... With that being said, I love how I can let the rear loose in third gear in a straight line. Friends who have already given me hell for buying the car have conceded to it being fun.
