ok, the aftermarket cowl hood, been bugging me for a long time. but had to live with it since it allowed me to cover the whole engine. without cutting my hood like most j swap civic. Even though i modified it to make it look OEM. but still irks me.
So Ive decided to go to the local junk yard, and measure other Acura/Honda V6 motors with lower intake manifolds. I came across 2000 Acura Tl base model engine. good giveaway was how flat/lower in height it looks. so i bought it for $80 with the plastic cover.
After researching the difference in J32a1, and J32a2 manifolds, and reading what other people experiences were no difference. Minus the extra hood clearance for stock hood.
So a bonus for meeh!!! Anyway i then cleaned up the used 2000 Acura Tl intake manifold. Then painted it "did not get to take pictures of it while doing it."
But installed it after it was dry. Heres my engine before and after
Before "look hell bulky"
After "looks sleeker and clean."
here a picture of the clearance of both intake manifolds for reference if anyone wanting to do the same. with their civic j swap.
Then called up my buddy who was taking care of my orginal hood for a year now lol. still had carbon fiber vinyl on it. Drove to his house with no hood. hehe looks cool! also installed my new headlights i done, i retrofitted E46 BMW HID projectors.
I then retrieved my old hood, and measure the area under the hood support/skeleton that need to be cut. after trimming and more trimming.
fit perfectly with the my old stock hood. sadly, my stock hood weighs less then my fiber glass one i had before lol.
got it home and took more pictures.
i
Since i dont really want to spend more money on fake carbon fiver "Vinyl". I decided i want to tackle my first attempt at Carbon fiber Skinning.
I bought some Epoxy resin, carbon fiber fabric 3K 2X2 twill weave, and other essential stuff.
i got the hood prepped for the procedure. removed all the carbon fiber vinyl. Then sanded it down.
then gave it a good soapy water wash and a wipe down. letting it dry for 2 hours, i the applied Black epoxy base coat to the hood.
After letting the base come come to atack, i layed down the Carbon fiber fabric gently and with care. Then added the first coat of epoxy resin clear.
it was dark and let it dry for 10 hours.
I woke up in the morning then sanded it down, make sure it was level. i added more epoxy clear coats 3 layers. Approximately 3-4 hours tack time between coats.
heres the final coat pictures.
this is how it sit at the moment. waiting for the 48 hour full cure time.
then back to sanding it smooth and cut and buff it finish.