ACS T3 Hood Port Installation DIY

[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.

[ACS Composite]

10 d. Clamping the outer port panels to the hood.
Using Welding clamps or similar clamp the outer perimeter of the hood port to the hood, make sure to protect any painted surfaces and apply pressure were needed. Clamp tension should only be enough to hold the port in place and not distort the hood panel.


10 Cont. Adhesive application, Outer panels
f. There are two separate adhesive applicators, you will need to install the outer panel, let cure for 8 hours and then continue for the inner panel install.
g. Once both outer port panels are clamped carefully turn over the hood to expose the inner mating surface.
h. A bead of adhesive of approximately 1/4'' in diameter is
i. applied on the intersecting surface of the port and aluminum surface. This adhesive is creating a mushrooms effect bridging both the port and inner aluminum surface.
j. You can skip applying adhesive on the clamp area, you will reapply adhesive in these areas once the rest of the adhesive is fully cured, clamps removed and working on the inner panel installation.
Let cure for a minimum of 8 hours, cure times are relative to surface temperature and relative humidity of your workshop. Adhesive should be hard once cured.


11. Adhesive application, Session 2, Inner panels
a. Once the outer panel adhesive is cured you may turn the hood over and clean all surfaces to be covered with the inner panel. Surface should be prepped and de-waxed with rubbing alcohol to remove any wax on the painted surfaces.
b. Apply the missing adhesive from step 12, were the clamps were holding the outer panel.
Apply a 1/8'' diameter bead of adhesive as defined in the a. images to the inside of the inner panel and on the high spots of the inner structure of the hood.
b. Be careful not to block the slots in the front of the inner panel.
c. Install the inner panel and apply pressure.
d. Use clamps to ensure minimum stack height. While using clamps always be careful to protect painted surfaces.
e. You may now fill any gaps on the outer perimeter of the opening to ensure the inner and outer panels are mating.
Let adhesive cure for a minimum of 4 hours.





12. Grill Installation
a. To install the grills you will need to slide the tabs in the slots located in the front of the inner panel.
b. Adjustment may be required, install the two M6 bolts in the threaded insert to position the grill such as it is centered within the opening. You may need to turn the hood over to verify if the framing is consistent with the opening.






c. Once satisfied with the fit tighten the M6 bolts.
d. Using a 1/8''drill bit carefully drill the inner panel through the matching holes in the grill insert. BE CAREFUL NOT to drill trough the outer panel. Maximum Depth is 1/2''.
e. Install 2 pop rivets.
f. Complete same procedure for other side.


13. Hood Port Deflector Installation
a. Hood port deflectors are removable and held in place by two M6 fasteners. Deflectors are highly recommended as they are designed to deflect the water and direct it towards the radiator support away from critical engine components.
b. If no deflectors are used M6 bolts should be reinstalled to hold the grill securely in place.
c. Trial fit the deflector. Deflector is installed by sliding the front two tabs in the slots located in the front edge of the inner port panel. You may need to slightly sand the tabs. Secure with the M6 Bolts.
Re-install the hood strut ball stud removed in step 1.



14. Hood Liner Trim
a. A driver's and Passenger side template are provided.
b. You can use a white marker to scribe the edge of the trimming edge of the hood liner, use a utility knife to trim the hood liner. A constant trim force yields better results. It may be wise to practice in the area to be removed.
c. Re-install the hood liner using the original pushpins and slide the tabs under the inner hood port panel.



15. Hood Installation
a. With the help of an assistant reinstall the hood on the vehicle. Make sure to properly adjust the hood, your bump stops will also need to be lowered by approximately 1/8''.
b. Make sure the 13 mm nuts are properly torqued and windshield washer hose is reconnected.
c. Reconnect the hood gas strut.

[camaro2lt]

ports look great joe cant wait to get mine in june i hope!

[TRC-SS]

Nice.... But steps 11-13 are missing

[ACS Composite]

Corrected... thank you

Originally Posted by TRC-SS

Nice.... But steps 11-13 are missing

[The Stig]

[infernostripes!]

any pictures of what this would look like on a hood with a solid stripe in the middle?

[ACS Composite]

I don't have any on file, if you wish I can probably Photoshop one for you. Customers will be getting the kits in the coming days, so within the coming weeks we'll see different iterations :-)

Originally Posted by infernostripes!

any pictures of what this would look like on a hood with a solid stripe in the middle?

[TRC-SS]

Hey one question...installation is tomorrow night, i dont know if im missing something or just not getting it.

Is part of step 10 not listed...im just not seeing how the top port is secured to the hood.

step 11 indicates "a. Once the outer panel adhesive is cured you may turn the hood over and clean all surfaces to be covered with the inner panel."

All i see in step 10 is defining the edges with masking tape....then goes to step 11

Thanks Tim

[vroomapunk]

Looks great!

[LADYBMBLEBEE]

What are the measurements of the outer part of hood ports? I have T3 vinyl stripes and was wondering if these ports would match in width of the stripes.

[vrunner]

Originally Posted by LADYBMBLEBEE

What are the measurements of the outer part of hood ports? I have T3 vinyl stripes and was wondering if these ports would match in width of the stripes.

x2

[ACS Composite]

Originally Posted by vrunner

x2

Here you go, (Dims are in mm) I haven't had a TF3 in the shop to compare, but let me know what is your width.

Worse case we can make some adjustments in our flange to match your stripes. It would need to be a special order. PM me if you're interested.

[ACS Composite]

Added a few more notes to the original post. You should be following the isntructions in the kit, the ones in this thread were posted as a guideline, you will find more details in the kit.

If you have any questions email us directly at info@acscomposite.com, you can also email me you number and I'll talk you though it.

Originally Posted by TRC-SS

Hey one question...installation is tomorrow night, i dont know if im missing something or just not getting it.

Is part of step 10 not listed...im just not seeing how the top port is secured to the hood.

step 11 indicates "a. Once the outer panel adhesive is cured you may turn the hood over and clean all surfaces to be covered with the inner panel."

All i see in step 10 is defining the edges with masking tape....then goes to step 11

Thanks Tim