JPS COUPE - EXPANDING FOAM MASS / UNDERCOATING

A photo would help to understand what you're dealing with, but JPS is noted for doing some pretty funky stuff in some of the builds....

There is supposed to be a small rubber boot between the rear of the pan and front of the transaxle nosecone and that boot sometimes lets stray air enter the central tunnel.  Some folks have used a bit of expanding foam or silicone caulk around there to seal up the boot, but not a lot is needed (usually) if the boot is seated properly.  

Show us a photo!  Maybe the stuff can be left intact, just trimmed to look nice (not too many people are going to be peeking up in there).  Expanding foam is notoriously sticky when applied, so removing all of it might be difficult.

I think he is referring to the arch above the tunnel that always has a substantial gap . I push a piece of clear hose tightly over the nozzle of the expansion foam I direct into that area. JPS may have probably  let the can go to the point it went everywhere.

More than likely done by the previous owner. JPS would never purposely fill in a large gap.

Thanks Guys,

I will post a pic this evening. Any ideas on the Undercoating. covering the fiberglass texture?

Brian

Terry Nuckels posted:

More than likely done by the previous owner. JPS would never purposely fill in a large gap.

Too much work. I squeezed 2 tubes of black silicone caulk in my JPS back in '03.

Ok, here goes. One pic from each side. As you can see, the foam extends all the way out to the heat tubes and beyond on the passenger side ( Upper right corner on 2nd pic). Normal?

Brian

I do this on my builds but don't leave a globbed mess like that, use a loose hack saw blade and trim the excess foam away,  then spray the foam with a black chip guard ( no undercoating) to give it a more finished look.

Thanks for taking a look Allen. 

Brian

What happened to pride of one's craftsmanship?

Bill Prout posted:

What happened to pride of one's craftsmanship?

One needs to possess craftsmanship in the first place.  @Bill Prout

So if a little expanding foam is good back there......

A whole lot should be even gooder, right?

Alan's trimming suggestion, a hacksaw blade w/o the handle, just the blade, works great and even better than a utility knife.  Plus it lets you get way up in there to trim it nicely.

I wonder if that stuff sealed up all of the leaks?  

If after the hacksaw blade trimming you need to smooth it out a little more- try some coarse (60 grit?) sandpaper.

Maybe I’ll do a Mt. Rushmore type tribute carving ... Nahh!!!

Brian

And then spray the result with undercoating to seal it vs water.  Hack saw blade is the proper tool, works great. Can put a little or a lot of tape around one end for a handle.

As to what JPS may or may not do on any given car is utter and useless speculation.  I have trimmed a lot of globby foam here and there on mine.  And added some of my own on my JPS where some should have been, but wasn't.

That stuff also cuts easy with a normal serrated bread knife. Just remember to bring it back in the kitchen afterwards and clean it before your wife needs it to cut the focaccia. (Don't be like Ed).

My use of kitchen utensils has been totally cut-off...Although she does keep her coffee grinder on my workbench. Life isn’t fair.

Dollar General sells cheap steak-knives for about $1 ea. I carry one in my tool-bag.

I actually have a serrated, electric carving knife in the shop to use on foam seat cushions, but it works super on styrofoam and expandable aerosol foam (once cured). I see them at yard sales all the time for under $5 bucks and they’re handy as heck. 

That way, I don’t get yelled at for using the “good kitchen knife” in the shop (anymore).