[ACS Composite]

We'd like to thank the forum for the enthusiasm and feedback you have offered ACS during the development of the T3 Hood ports. These are a perfect example of how a community can drive new products. Your feedback and guidelines are the reason products like this come to life. Thank you for support.

Many of you will be getting your T3 Hood port installation kit in the coming days, so I figured a thread for the installs should be in order.

Feel free to comment and document your installation experience. Below you will find some of our notes. And also a summary of what you can expect out of the box, the tools you may need to gather, and of course what to expect from a perfect weekend project. Feel free to ask questions, I am sure there will be others with the same.

Personally I find this installation even easier than our T3 Bumper ports.




So when you open the box you will be getting;
1. 1 - T3 Hood Port Outer, Driver’s Side
2. 1 - T3 Hood Port Outer, Passenger’s Side
3.1 - T3 Hood Inner Panel, Driver’s Side
4.1 - T3 Hood Inner Panel, Passenger’s Side
5. 1 - T3 Hood Port Deflector, Driver’s Side
6. 1 - T3 Hood Port Deflector, Passenger’s Side
7. 1- Black Octagonal Mesh Grill Insert, Driver’s Side
8. 1- Black Octagonal Mesh Grill Insert, Passenger’s Side
9. 2 - Template Outer Panel
10. 1 - Template Hood Liner, Driver’s Side
11. 1 - Template Hood Liner, Passenger’s Side
12. 4 - M6 Sem Bolt
13. 4 - 1/8’’ Rivet
14. 1 - Adhesive Cartridge with 2 static mixers
15. Instructions (16 page booklet)





The tools you will need are;
1.Masking Tape
2.Push Pin Removal Fork
3.1/8’’ Drill Bit
4.¼’’ Drill Bit
5.1’’ Hole Saw
6.Drill Motor
7.Saw with Metal Blade, Metal Cutter, or Dremel like cutting tool with metal cutting bit
8.Standard “silicone” dispensing caulking gun
9.Welding Style Vise Grips and small clamps
10.Small Flat Head Screw Driver
11.Utility Knife
12.Rivet Gun
13.Metal file and sandpaper
14.Ruler or measuring tape
15.Eye Protection and working gloves
16.Black and White Marker
17.13 mm Deep Socket Kit
18.8 mm socket screw driver

And now for the installation
1.Hood Removal
a.Open hood and disconnect the windshield washer nozzle hose located near the driver’s side hinge. Crimp the connector to release the union.


b.Remove the hood strut from the hood using a small flat head screw driver to pry the C spring.
With the help of an assistant loosen the 4 – 13 mm nuts in the hinge base and remove the hood.

2. It is best to work on a large workbench or a set of padded workshop horse. Make sure to protect all metal surfaces to prevent damaging the hood’s paint. Workbench should be supporting the weight of the hood and its curvature.

3.Hood Liner Removal
a.Using a pushpin removal tool remove the 8 pushpins holding the hood liner. Set hood liner aside.
Using a 13 mm deep socket tool remove the gas strut ball stud and save to reinstall at a later step.


4. Surface Preparation
Using masking tape cover the area to be worked on; front sections of the hood.



5. Outer Panel Template
a. Set the Outer Panel template, using the outer edge and cowl line as a reference.
b. Using a black marker scribe the line.

6. Using a utility knife cut through the masking tape to scribe the hood; this line can be used as a guide and to reduce paint chipping during cutting process.

7. Cutting the Outer Panel
a. Using a hole sae drill bit drill 4 holes in each inside corner of the scribe lines.
b. Using a metal cutting tool proceed to cut along the scribed line. Carefully trim the hood. Verify not to overheat the hood, heat may cause distortion in the aluminum panel. It is recommended to trim 5-6 inches and verify its temperature. If panel is hot, let it cool down or work on the other side.
c. Proceed to the other side of the hood.
d. Depending on the tool used you may be cutting only the outer surface.
e. Remove masking tape from the outer surface and file the edge.
Tip: Once you have reached halfway through cutting the section you may insert an item like a roll of masking tape between the cut section and the hood to prevent any vibrations and risk of damaging the painted surfaces, seam sealer is holding the outer panel to the structure. Due to the port flange design, you do have a 1/8'' tolerance in trimming.



8. Inner hood reinforcement trim
a. Between the inner and outer panel of the front edge there is a horizontal flange that will need to be removed in order to have access to the “inside” surface of the outer painted panel.
Flange is highlighted in a white; boxed in the image on the right.


b. While trimming this section, be very careful not to trim into the outer panel.
Mirror the operation to the other side.




9. Trial fitting the panels. At this point you should be able to easily rest the inner panel on the hood. If there is any interference you will need to re-trim the inner hood skin. Clean all surface.

10. Outer Port Installation
a. Hood port can now be trial fitted from the outer side of the hood.
b. Make sure the hood port is resting well in the openings.
c. Using masking tape define the 3 edges of the port. Your measurements should be taken from the inside edge of the port to the outer perimeter of the hood.