Jack Olsen, where can I get this?

[pbs911]

The screen that covers the headlight opening as seen below. I cut out a portion of the headlight bucket in my SC w/ Carrera oil cooler and noticed a vast difference in oil temp running last weekend in 100 degree heat. I would just like the screen to prevent debrie from flying in at the track.

[widebody911]

Go to your FLHS and ask for some hardware cloth; if they don't know what that is, ask for coarse wire screen.

[Jack Olsen]

Funny that you should ask. I just got back from the hardware store, where I got another role of the stuff, to keep birds from bathing in a fountain that my dogs drink out of.

It's not wire, though. It's "Poly Hardware Cloth," and one roll will give you enough to cover the holes on your cars even if you decide to field a team at Le Mans every year for the rest of your life -- four a total cost of about eight bucks. (Of course, I lost the old roll, so I'm in for another eight large.)

The advantage to the poly is that it's plastic, so it won't cut you, and it will flex freely, and not bend, and chip black (if it chips at all), since it's black all the way through. You can cut it with scissors, too.

I used 3M weatherseal adhesive to affix it, and haven't had any problems.

You can get an extra headlight ring off of ebay, rattle-can it to the approximate color, and have a good duct always ready to go on track days.

Two things: try to get a grid with at least quarter-inch spaces, for unimpeded airflow, and consider covering up the hole you cut in the back of the headlight bucket when you have a regular headlight in place. Water in the wheelwells could conceivably splash on your wiring harness for the headlight and cause premature corrosion or a short.

[Lane]

Jack, do you have any pics of how much you cut out of the headlight bucket? I,m wondering if this will help with the cooling on my '79 930?
Lane

[david c.]

Jack,

How can your dogs drink out of the fountain if the screen is on it?

David

[Jack Olsen]

The hole in the back of the headlight bucket is maybe 2 inches tall by three inches wide. I have a piece of aluminum that fits into it to fill it when it's not being used.

I also have cut-outs down where fog lights would normally be, and ABS ducting to keep incoming air moving through the coolers. But the headlight scoops are good for a significant heat reduction on hot days. During the Open Track Challenge, I saw a consistent difference of 15-20 degrees between running with or without the headlights on the same track on the same day.

(Oh, and regarding the fountain. There are two 'pools' on it, one flowing down into the other. The birds like to sit on the top one, and leave their waste in the lower one. Putting a screen up top keeps the part my dogs consider so refreshing a lot cleaner.)