Opinions Wanted...Hood handle / Porsche Scripts

Ok guys, now I know you all feel a little uncomfortable about giving out your opinions, but I really want them.

Some of you have checked out my obese-fendered Speedster that I just finished. I have some style questions....

1. What do you think about a hood handle on my car? Would it look out of place or would it dress up the front? If it would improve the look which style handle would be best? Best source?

2. I don't really care for gold plated scripts. Are there "Speedster" scripts out there in chrome? I was thinking of using the chrome "PORSCHE" script for a 911 I saw in Tweaks that is made up of individual letters for the rear, what do you think?

Don't hold back, feel free to express yourselves,

Jerome

BTW: Bill, I checked out the pics you posted. Lookin' good, the center console turned out nice.
(Message Edited 8/2/2003 10:52:43 AM)

J-man,

Since you asked for our two cents... for whatever its worth I don't think the hood handle adds anything to your car. Go for a sano look all the way. You might want to consider adding racing hood pins with clips (sorry, don't know what they are called). Saw a red Karmann Ghia 356 clone in Vw Trends with the chrome pins & clips in the four corners of the front trunk & to my eye it was a racey treatment. How about Carrera louvers in your engine lid? BTW Great job.

As far a chrome Speedster badges, you could always get the gold ones plated or go cheap and paint with silver, chrome paint. I brought my Speedster down to my barber shop yesterday for my trim and eyebrow clipping and the barber, who is motorcycle mama that also has a 70's Vette looked the JPS over real good and her only word of advice was that I needed a gold license plate frame for the back plate, (no front plate). I don't know, have to think about that one for a while!

Bruce

Jerome thanx for the complement. I mulled over the same thing especially
on the front. I drooled over this car on ebay with only a badge on the front and nerf bars. I sort of patterned mine after it , feeling less is cleaner.At this point, I dropped the hood handle idea on a flared version.
BD





(Message Edited 8/2/2003 4:19:28 PM)

Jerome, do I detect Toyota Previa mini van hub caps on that car of yours?
Wow.
LilTub
Mike Siddons

I have a stocker look, so my opinion.... is just that, an opinion. On your car, I'd skip the hood handle and scripts, except dash. I like the idea of 911 script Porsche letters on the back.

Jim

Hub caps? Huh? I don't think the Previa comes with 17" wheels :)
They are TSW alum. alloys.

Jerome

Bill,

Where did you get the hood emblem? I like the look.

Tweaks and others have hood emblems, gaskets and clips for a 911, around $30-$40

Jerome

Tweaks? Why not call John Steele @ JPS. He stocks OEM Porsche scripts and his prices are better than Tweaks by a wide margin. Plus he is one of us.

Well, since you asked - I think a front decklid handle is good because it breaks up the large expanse between the headlights by adding a fore-and-aft linear component. Everything else (windshield, bumper) accents the width, and a handle modulates the overwhelming "fatty" look.

Bruce: I got the 911 hood crest and gasket from PAP German auto parts.
BD

So what your saying George is that the handle is slimming. Kinda like if that fat chick you wouldn't date wore stripes? :)

On a serious note, the part about breaking up the space between between the lights was exactly what I was thinking. Although I really like the fat-ride look. I just wish I had one to "tape" to the hood to see if I liked it or not.

Jerome

Make one out of cardboard, spray paint it silver, tape it to the deck lid, and walk back 30 feet or so and look at it.

So did you add a front hood handle, and if so, can I see a picture? I am planning to add one to my cmc flared.

Thomas:

Here is what a flair looks like with the handle.

Andres D.

Added a handle to my widebody as well, but I to am running bumpers. I think it looks well with a bumper but out of place on one without.
Here is a pic of mine with the handle without the bumper.

I agree with Ben. Here's mine --

Now, the REALLY ugly thing is that front license plate...

Handles on wide loads are like thongs on fat chicks . . . oh sure, they help define the area, but do you really WANT to ?

I like the hood handle without the bumpers and with the headlight grilles. I used to like it all stock but I took off the bumpers to wet sand and polish underneath them, but then I liked the shaved look. I then stripped off the side mouldings and baby moons. "Outlaw" I guess you guys call it.

Hood handle horror story: At my son's soccer practice, an SUV sportin' "Soccer mom" backed over into/onto my hood handle so bad that it ripped the attaching bolts out and dragged it over the hood 2 inches, then took off, leaving the whole mess sitting on the ground. A classic car owner saw it happen and followed her home and called the Sherrif. Her husband was pissed. He ponied up $832.00 for the repairs. I think without the handle the hood would have just flexed a little and not sustained any damage.

You could always uncrew the mount studs for the handle and stick it on with 2-sided foam tape to "live with it" for a while without leaving any drill holes.

BTW Jerome -- very sweet car!

I went with a 901 hood crest to complete the Outlaw look. The 911 hood badge might work, but I got this one for a deal and really like the way it sits. I didn't have to bend it up at all. I'll put the rubber on it when I'm done with the paint job.
I never, ever liked the way the hood handle looked on my car once I took the bumpers off. It was out of place somehow.
I love your ride! I've always liked the way the widebodies look with the wheels you've got, and that's a fantastic shade of blue.

Regarding placement, what is the dimension up from the trunk seam? Or does it matter much?

Ben, I like that bumperless outlaw look on the left. Very cool.

My emblems, both in the hood handle and now without it, are both centered vertically on the headlight bulbs.

Ya Cory, that Badge does look sweet now that I see it.

Adrian: An outlaw would take that front plate off and put it in your trunk with a rusty bracket attached so you can explain to the officer that it just fell off, but you were fortunately able to save it from oncoming traffic at no small amount of risk to your personal safety, and that you are just on your way to the hardware store to buy replacement bolts. It might work.

Ha! Thomas, I've been meaning to take the plate off but have been hesitating because for whatever reason, I'm ALWAYS getting pulled over for no front plate - even in my POS Honda commuter car...

As I suspect that the duct tape will eventually give way, I shall sooner or later have to drill a few holes into that hood. Yikes.

Thomas, I suggest a good night's sleep, a hearty breakfast and a cup of decaf before you uncork the DeWalt. Maybe a trip to the local drug store for some whatever they give people with heart murmurs and a pile of sandbags to rest your forearms on while you're making practice holes in cardboard.
Then, and only then, randomly choose your target location by wearing a blindfold and trying the maneuver out on someone else's car. If you like the resulting holes in your neighbor's SUV ... Go nuts!

Seriously, I've got my fingers crossed for you. As TC says, Luck.

Practicing on my neighbor's SUV was a brilliant tip. While it cost me an extra $180.00 in extension chords, the practice was invaluable. I never knew those larger bit sizes would walk around on you so much.

Gotta go get a tire patch kit before he comes out to get the Sunday paper.

Thomas,

That hood handle REALLY does looks sweet on your car! It's a superb accent too, and mimic of. the front nerf bars. I wouldn't have suspected that I'd like that addition to a wide fender body, but with your wonderful paint color and the few chromed pieces up front, it's just perfect ! ! !

Go for it ! ! !

And, of course . . .

Luck.

Can't make up my mind which duct tape to use, the blue or the silver.

As Cory suggested I put my blindfold on and drilled holes into my hood. I didn't realize that my hood is double walled and thus 2 of the threaded rods aren't long enough to get a nut on them. Looks like I will have to cut open the inside wall to get at the mounting bolts.
Anybody else have this problem?

If I die soon and one of you ends up with my car, don't pull too hard on that handle.

Tom,
That's exactly how mine is setup too. You need to use a socket wrench extension to reach the screw inside.

Run a small drill bit ( same size as the threaded rod) down through the inner panel, then locate a 1/4" drive deep socket that is the one for the nut you are going to secure the hood handle with. From the inner panel upwards, drill a hole one size over the width of the socket just into the inner panel (Not the outer hood section)
Roll up a pc of masking tape and fill most of the socket leaving just enough room for the nut to rest onto adding a drop of loc-tite or silicone to the nut threads,with a short extenstion, thread it onto the handle threaded rod.

Darned fine job, Thomas. Looks fantastic!

Alan: are you a surgeon or a rocket scientist in real life? Anyway, thanks, I shall try that.

Adrian: was your bottom bolt also too short(hood too thick)? I ground down the hood around the new hole to allow room for the nut. Is this just a CMC thing?

Does CMC stand for Customize My Car?

I have done a good number of Speedsters as a hobby, I am happy to share what I have learned with others.

Thonas, my fix was to make the inner skin holes large enough for the socket to fit through. I left the outer skin alone except for the actual threaded shaft diameter, and then used the OEM rubbers to keep water out.
I took the handle to the hardware store, got some threaded shaft cut to an inch and a half long and got two nuts, a flat washer and a lock-washer for each shaft.
I threaded the shafts into the handle, inserted the handle into the hood with the shafts protruding just past the plane of the inside skin and set the first nuts on all three shafts inside the outer skin with the deep socket the holes were cut for.
Then I used the second set of nuts to lock the first ones - using Loc-Tite as Alan (who probably DOES do surgery on rockets) suggested - as keepers for the first nuts so they wouldn't back off. Then I used a pneumatic disc grinder (whizzer) to cut the shafts at the inside plane of the hood.
Ultimately, I just ditched the whole works. Now I've got the 901 hood crest, which works better for my scheme. That handle was on pretty well, though.