Upgrading My Roadster 100 Air Intake.

Upgrading My Roadster 100 Air Intake

Way back in 2018 I asked owners to check how their Air Intake Pipe was attached to the body of their car.

Most Roadsters left the factory with the pipe end left hanging over the Front Tie Bar with nothing across the end of the pipe.

A Typical Finish.

During the survey I came across this photo which inspired me to consider a similar finish to our own car.

The Air Intake Pipe has a shaped nacelle with a mesh insert to keep out large objects.

The other end of the Air Intake Tube joins onto what is the opening of the Air Filter Box.

The Splits in the rubber  were put in by the factory to help slide the pipe over its nozzle end.

The Air Intake makes a Z turn under the Bonnet Hinge before it enters the Filter Box.

The Air Filter Box used on all of the Roadster 100's

For some months I have been making occasional  searches of the internet trying to find a source of a similar Nacelle unit.

As is said, particularly where Google is concerned, If you don't ask the right question you are unlikely to get the answer you are looking for. 

Member Gerald Ladkin, while showing his own new Air Intake Set Up, informed me that a company called 'Revotec' sold such items.

https://www.revotec.com/acatalog/Flexible-Ducting-and-Accessories.html

Then I came across a Facebook topic by 'Merlin Motorsport' and while studying their on line pages, there was the actual Nacelle & Gauze that I was seeking, along with suitably large Stainless Steel Jubilee Clips.

https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk/s/cooling/air-ducting/air-intake-ducts/aluminium-air-intake-ducts

 Merlin, it turns out are suppliers of Revotec products.

I immediately placed my order for:

 1 x Aluminium Air Inlet Polished to fit 102mm Hose.

1 x Aluminium Gauze to suit Air Inlets 102mm Silver

2 x Stainless Steel Hose Clips 100-120mm.

My Nacelle, Gauze and Hose Clip.

Showing the recess on to which the wired rubber hose fits

Before fitting, the Gauze has to be 'Glued' into the Air Intake, up against the step created by the recess.

I did this by mixing up a small spread of 'Araldite' adhesive into which I rolled the edge of the gauze.

Once the Gauze was set into the intake I added a little more Araldite around the edge using a wooden cocktail stick.

Any excess Araldite left on the sides may be carefully cleaned using a cloth soaked in Methylated Spirit.

The Gauze in place with the Araldite set overnight.

The next action was to reduce the length of the Wired Rubber Hose. 

This was done using a Stanley Knife and Wire Cutters to snip the wire core.

I had removed the Upper Hose Clip with the intention of removing the tube to the bench but found that adhesive had been used preventing removal without damage.

I was quite surprised at what I found when I extracted the open end of the pipe.

Somewhere along the line, maybe when the car was stripped following my Damaged Sump, or when the Radiator was replaced, a mechanic has added this very open mesh using Cable Ties and the squashed the tube oval to jam it into the gap above the top Tie Bar. 

The upper part of the hose has no wire so I counted 4 rings and chose to make the cut at that point. 

I then trimmed the rough edge.

This length was chosen so that the Polished Intake would sit in the open area without fouling either any Engine Parts or the Bonnet and the Hose would be short enough to prevent any significant bounce.

I had also refitted the upper Hose Clip but this time I used it to cover over those unsightly slits in the rubber edge.

You may have noticed these small blocks. 

Early on in the life of our car I noticed that the Air Filter Box would bounce and was removing paint from beneath the Bonnet Hinge edges.

Being a hoarder I kept these very dense Neoprene Blocks extracted from the ends of some Curtain Pole Boxes.

To create the cushion I cut them to size and joined and attached them with strips of Double Sided Adhesive Tape.

The Intake was attached after applying a film of 3 in 1 oil to the fixing edge to ease entry into the tube.

In my case I had ordered two Hose Clips which turned out to be narrow so I used both side by side. 

I may well try and source a wide band to match the opposite end.

The View from the Intake Opening. 

Still not as Pretty as the Red Car but better than that old tube.

Following my last service & MOT I noticed a significant improvement in 'Pull' from the new clean Air Filter Core which apparently had not been changed for a couple of years.

I am not expecting any performance improvement from this kit. Just a tidier engine bay.

Frank.