Hood Dent - Totaled

[marcair]

Finally Happened, Pulled-up to the office to drop off a pal - took the afternoon off to play. Pick-em-up truck reverses over my hood. Damn.

Fortunately, only the hood is trashed. Headlight appears scratched.

Amazing, the front suspension collasped to accept the parasitic weight and after removed, it rebounded. Upon releasing the hood, no underlying damage reported. Still locks and releases. But, damn. Drove it home without issue and stowed in the cave.

Owens - Export is accessing a replacement hood and light assy from Japan.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/marcair/dent.jpg

[Mylee]

:awwww: That's a sh!t, especially as you've put so much into your car recently.

Hope you can get it back to it's stunning condition real soon

[TADO]

oh crap. im so sorry marcair - thats awful. :awwww:
it was looking stunning - hope you find a way to get it back to its previous condition soon.

[marcair]

Can anyone post info about the aftermarket hood with the recessed vent assy, on the middle center area, for exhaust air from the AC grill and radiator? I believe the spare tire and shelf must be removed to install this type hood.

[Mylee]

Have a look here,

http://www.backyard.co.jp/sub5.html

Hope this is what you meant

[marcair]

That's the one I had seen. Thanks. Now, have sent query for mo pics to allow for a qualified decision. Appearance. And if the spare tire (or tyre) needs removal. Also, if the new airflow bypasses the AC unit and radiator (appears to be directly above these units). This design may be for the track cars with enhanced cooling designs and the need of more down-force up front. Comments?

[TADO]

hey marcair
mr ookamihitsujibe (http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ookamihitsujibe/) (one of the regular blogging guys) has a backyard (or very similar) on his car - theres loads of pics on his blog. not sure about whether it intrudes on the spare wheel tho? im sure if you went through all his gallery there'd be a pic to answer your question somewhere! :)

on a side note, have you seen the frp bonnets from cozylights and rsmach? the rs mach one looks kinda similar, with vents further back and moulded arches, the cozylights is more like the standard one.

[TADO]

heres some more pics for you - umm.. that would be no spare wheel then! im guessing it probably work with the standard set up and the wheel in place tho?

[marcair]

Just received mail from Owens-Export stating a source (Japan) has accepted a request for quote for a hood (new) at $650. Assumed is that if they have accepted the request, the item is available. I authorized acquisition so the order will be placed next week. Will advise.

Pic is of the 8" subwoofer with the only 'bling bling' on the car.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/marcair/subwoofer.jpg

[marcair]

The new parts arrived to the exporter's location. Will ship in 2 weeks after closure of several auctions for items (spares) I'm bidding on to combine shipping costs.

[Mylee]

Hey Marcair,
Glad to see you're getting things sorted out. Your export company, do they ship worldwide, or is it just to the US? Any details for them please?

[marcair]

http://owens-export.com/

[TADO]

good to hear this is getting sorted marcair :D

[marcair]

New hood arrived at the paint shop. Overall time was extended 'cause waiting for alot of auction stuff (spares) was stuffed in the container to share shipping costs.

Look for future posting offering a bundle of new/used items for sale. Dash and center assy, OEM radio unit with dash speakers (have installed a 6" touch screen unit), etc.

[marcair]

Only 1 week elapsed from informing Owens Import of the need of a new hood and the arrival of same - at their location in Japan. However, to share shipping costs, I bought auction items- that took forever to arrive. Finally, Hood arrived, personally delivered (LA guy wanted fresh air) at body shop. Spray job, detailed-free.

Waiting for the hood, installed a touch screen tune-box (tunner, Ipod, Nav, Satellite, stuff).

For those Honda Beat purists, I offer the OEM radio, stering wheel, stuts, dash assy, dash speakers, mud flaps and some other stuff. As a package, pay shipping and a few bucks (Pull out those wothless US dollars that levels the table lamp), and it's yours.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/marcair/IMG_4320.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/marcair/1.jpg

[CharlieBrown]

PM Sent :)

[TADO]

glad to hear its all sorted marcair. sounds like a fantastic service from owens-export.
the head-unit looks amazing as well. very nicely done. is the surround a new one or did you adapt the existing one?

[marcair]

Bought and mod'd a spare housing from the Auction for $15. The clarity and sound level at hiway speeds is incredible.

[Mylee]

Looking very OEM, and that's good!
Did you decide against the Backyard Special Hood with the scope in the end?

[marcair]

Yes, opt for the OEM hood as opposed to the carbon fibre. Not 'cause of costs (both same), but considered repairability issues and a few unanswered issues. Skinny 13" or 14" tire/rim assys are not common here. Thus, if the spare must be removed, I may not be able to find a replacement if I have a failure on a drive up to the hills, the desert or to LA.

Recently, saw a Japan Beat with 15/16 rim tire set. Would love it so I could mount some sticky tires in lieu of the crappy typ economy 14" tall sidewall tires available here.

Gas here is $4US. Left brain sez "It's fun". Right brain sez "I save $50/week" not driving the Cadillac.

[marcair]

During the respray, plugged the Honda placard attach holes and added reference to the Design team, Pininfarina.

Note the attention to detail of the seamless bodykit-to-body joint line.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/marcair/Opendoorjoint.jpg
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb21/marcair/Pininfaria.jpg

[Mylee]

Looking good. I hope you used something very flexible to mould the kit to the body

[marcair]

Yes. Many cellephane wraped NEODYMIUM magnets are bonded with structural adhesive to the kit pieces, matching each body attach-point contour. The front and rear bumpers have mating magnets located on the farside. Each item is solid in place. To dislodge the items requires extreme collective effort. The foglights are installed with this same method - and they do not wiggle when driving.

The visable joint is a sealant material applied after the area is sprayed with mold release. This method and materials are common in the aircraft industry for attaching nonstructural fairings allowing non-altering of parent structure and non-damage item removal. I remove the items every now and then to check for paint fade. The pics were taken yesterday, after removal and instl of the items.

Check out http://www.rejex.com/rejex.html
It's great, applies like typ wax and really slick (I'm am not afilliated with the company or do I benefit from sales). Sure you can obtain locally in the UK.

For fun, need a new powerplant. What do ya think - http://www.ronpatrickstuff.com/

[Wh1teLeopard]

I think Mylee might have been thinking as I, about if it were involved in an accident... then there would be cracked lines all around the edges. I've seen it happen on many a car over here with smooted in bodywork.

[marcair]

Yes, the typical joint (kit-to-body) with adhesive or resin is stronger than the kit material and thus will transfer torsion loads into the kit causing cracking - the main negative for attachment methods that adhere the body pieces.

The attachment method I employed is completely different. The pieces are allowed to 'float' cause they are only attached with magnets. The visible joint seam is not an adhesive but a sealant-type material blocked with mold release applied to the body area. Still a few unknowns, How many magnets required to ensure security vs. too many preventing the kit to float. Next time I remove the pieces, I'll snap a few pics.