[mtnghost]

First, nice work. As I mentioned in your Side fender vents "I very much appreciated the thought, the planning and the effort that went into this modification". But I have to say I wouldn't do this to my car. And as I said in that thread, it's your car so what makes you happy.
Second, you mentioned this was done to draw off hot air from the engine bay. Were you having an overheating issue? Was there a specific reason for this mod? I am asking this because most engines have a specific heat range they operate best within. I have no idea, don't know what that temp range might be for the 1.4L Turbo in the 124 Spider but I have to presume the engineers that designed both our car and the engine within kew what that heat range is and decided at some point the situation lent itself to proficient overall operation of the package. I think this can best be shown and attested to by the number of owners/forum members who have not had, not posted about overheating problems/issues. So my thought is, unless you were having specific overheating issues then why? Why does this heat need to vented off? It would seem that if you're pulling heat off/away from the engine through these newly installed vents then the system, by managing the engine coolant thermostat, is only going to compensate and work to maintain the desired/designed operating heat range.

There have been numerous issues posted here that were caused by heat. EC, and others have created graphs showing how heat effects your power, and have even sold products to alleviate some of the side effects. To think this car was created with the thought process of perfection is far fetched. Maybe if it was a Ferrari, but let’s be honest this vehicle was made up of a “extra” parts bin and if it fit it shipped mentality. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love this car as a whole. But I in no way think it is fundamentally perfect.

 

[mtnghost]

Not very happy with what is out there in View attachment 96856 View attachment 96857 View attachment 96858 View attachment 96859 View attachment 96860 View attachment 96861 View attachment 96862 View attachment 96863
after market hood vents for our 124's so I decided to make my own using the "LOST FOAM" method of aluminum casting.

You sir are a master craftsman and I applaud your creativity! If only you worked for a Japanese car company, we would have reliable AND beautiful also functional cars.

 

[mtnghost]

Nordamericano, One thing that was my main concern is not with the engine, engine temps are fine and like you mention the engineers did a fine job in providing a liquid cooling system which maintains normal internal engine operating temperatures by the use of the thermostat water pump and radiator. My concern is the radiant heat generated by the turbo in the engine bay I see many of us using thermo blankets around the turbo, Why? if the engineers did a fine job why are we using them? I guess that is one way to contain the heat however I prefer to get it out of the confines of the engine bay and maybe extend the life of engine components and attachments.

Turbo blankets also have the added benefit of taking that energy in heat and utilizing it to create more pressure. Heat is usually seen as a negative by product, but in essence it is just energy and it can be directed in a positive way. Your idea as I have already praised is great, but I still recommend a turbo blanket for the reasons stated above.

 

[mtnghost]

Wow and we wonder why no one does anything with these cars! Whenever I don’t have anything positive to say, I try my best to ignore the post and move on. I feel you all should do the same.

 

[mtnghost]

Nordamericano...I found that picture of the prototype 124 Abarth with the huge side fender vents...go figure.
View attachment 96957

Wow, I quite like this look better than what was released. The front looks more purposeful and matches the body lines better. The vents are actually inter grated nicely as well.

 

[mtnghost]

It's important to understand this is not a Fiat or Abarth prototype. It's an Italian car magazine's artistic concept. In the article they also discuss what the possible engine choices were.

Would you mind adding the link to this? I would love to see what they came up with, also more photos would be awesome! Want to see what they did with the back!