Early style flat trays, Who needs them. If there's enough interest I'll do them.

Lets just say 10 units - I can't make them,
1,000 units, you'll buy them 10 at a time as they'll be so cheap.

Performance Products makes a cheap one. Would be worth it to make the late and the early model ones Pat needs one. We checked into making an aluminum tool to do it and it was expensive, and then the material that it has to be made in for use in an engine compartment. We figured that since they were already doing the part that it would be not right for us to make it without discussing it with them unless we made the early model part. Again it comes down to discouraging suppliers by dividing up a very small market.
We have relay board covers early and late being made this month by the way, as no one has made them yet.

Hey Mark -

I think that later style is sold by AA here & pic of same at pdf catalog pg 97:
http://www.autoatlanta.org/detail.lasso?pa...;serial_number=

What I never see is the older flat bottomed 70-73(.5 ?) style like this OE one on my early 73 (8/72 build date):

I'm sure there are plenty of folks who need them....However, I already have like 6 of them laying around.

Mines is like Tom T's tray, my right side is broken off where you screw it down to the grill though. I could use a couple of extra ones.

How about the little funnel topped tubes that catch the rain water from the tray and direct it out of the engine compartment? I could use two of those...

Thx
Tom

How about a variation on the design that you could use on the GT grills

I have some tubing that works and looks close to original.

EARLY version please.
The later ones do not fit on the deck lid.
I think there may actually be three types.

RIch

Those are available on eBay every week.
Pat

Rich,
Though I have never looked into it, you may just be correct/ I've heard this before.

I'm currently running a perfect 74 on my 72. No, it's not correct & I have 3 that are correct, but not usable. One is pretty good, but it still has a small crack in it.

If Mikey's (Mark's) are way too expensive, I'll settle. If realistic, I'm in!

Everything that I've gotten from Mikey, and I have no current use for any of it, is far superior to Factory!

I look forward to his offering & have checkbook in hand.
Pat

I'll second that Good Idea

I was looking at the tray as I know they tend to brake and if they could be made at $35 each I thought I could move enough to pay for the tooling and prodcution run.

I didn't want to throw the $35 number out there as there is some variation in pricing, but that was the target.

My prefliminary search had not yeilded any of these available. If I'm wrong and
these are readily available, then there's no need to do this.
I tried to find a performance products listing and didn't find it.

Let me know if there's a need for these. It is a significant undertaking, but if there's a need....

Also it was my understanding that the 6's didn't have the lid for ventelation, I realize the structure is diferent, but am I wrong on that?

Pat: Here is the best one I could find and the crack it has. Is yours worse?

Rich,

No! The three (actually four) that I have are way better than that! Fact is, they still have minor cracks at a mounting point. Maybe good for some, but not for me.
Pat

Mark,
First, the sixes didn't have a tray - none! Open to the weather!

Now, I'm a little confused at which tray you're trying to reprodice? Is is the early tray, or second gen?

If it's the early gen, I'm in & can send you a pretty nice template. Clarify please.
Pat

I'm in for one,

Hey Pat, is that bow on the forward edge of mine the normal shape when mounted, or is it warped & in need of being replaced?

If I were to get one Mark, I'd need this smooth bottom early style - not the late one you first posted with the stabilizing grooves/insets.

I would think that the early style would be easier to tool & form as well.

Price sounds okay +/- if it's correct & fits & material is proper for the high temp engine bay & sun/enviro stresses.

I would purchase an early version. My car is a 72

I've been talking to a few guys on this and it apears the consensus is early. The later apears to be on the market and readily available. As I understand it's a pain to put the new tray into the old cars as the mounting is very diferent.

So, how many people need the early one?

I probably would Mark.

Early one for me...probably two for both early cars.

I noticed (cause I have a few parts cars) that there are three versions of the cover.
The early is clear, then I have two later versions.
I could not find a decent way to mount the later, non cracked ones on the early deck lid...but I did not spend hours on it...just had to find the right cover.

Rich

Please enlighten me on this.
Are you saying that the early rain trays are better than the latter ones?
That is to say that I should put a 70 model tray in my 73 or 74 914.
You have me confused on this one.

The earlys, at least the ones I've seen are mounted completely diferently. That's why you would have a problem mounting a late model one onto an early lid. Which is kind of what I think would drive the need for these. I have not seen a clear one, my thought was to use the black just like the OEM.

The flat bottomed black one like earlier in the thread should cover most of the early production. I am curious if the clear is the same patern?

I have a 12/72 build date on my 2.0. It currently has the late model tray. I assume I need the early on it? The late tray mounts fine on the engine lid. Will it accomodate an early style tray? Also has the rubber stopper on it. If it's the right one for the car, put me down for one Mark.

I personaly have not done the back date on the pan. It's my understandingthe the early deck lids had a tab systen to hold the earlys in place. I's possible that yours has a late lid, or has been retrofitted to accomidate the late style tray. Unless it's consorse, or it bothers you, you could just leave it the way it is, and replace with a new tray when you need one.

And a thin one for sixes with "GT" grills???

Having a lid for a GT cover I think would be a good product. I have nothing covering my 2.5 /6 and while its great to look at....

Tod - IIRC they might have changed trays sometime in 73 MY. Mine is an 8/72 build date (8/31/72) with an original early tray FYI.

Maybe Bowlsby or Davep etc. would know exactly when?

Mine is do for replacing, just want to get the correct one on it. Maybe Pat will sell me his 74 tray once Mark makes these new ones. Tom, Mark said there is a mounting bracket for it. Would you mind posting some shots so I can see the difference between the 2 engine lids. Thanks.

I'll try to do that this weekend, as I don't have anything else that shows the front L&R struts/brackets well.

Here are a couple that show the rear side's attachment:

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BTW - there is a strut/bracket just to the right & forward of the corner of the tray, in the right lower corner of the bottom pic above, but I don't have a good pic of it. It holds that front edge of the tray a few inches below the engine deck lid/grill underside.

Hey Mark - we're talking about "MR. tod914" - Pat Garvey's heir apparent to CW of 914s! ... he wants it absolutely correct & shiny new looking I'm sure!

How about clear ones?

Hey Mark, as the top 2 pics show above - the old trays would warp from the engine bay heat, then there were 2 waterfalls L & R onto the firewall whenre you got rust problems - especially with the heat/sound pads holding the moisture against the firewall & engine shelf for long periods.

So I'm definitely in for a new & improved repro early style tray!

I'd suggest that - when you get around to making these early repro trays - that you both use a thicker & more heat stable & crack resistant plastic sheet, as well as beefing up the critical areas with double thickness, SS inserts (painted black to hide then if not covered in the tray plastic), as well as a couple of long thick strips along the bottom near the forward edge & up along the forward lip where the warping shows.

I think the latter is why the late trays went with the long formed grooves to stabilize them from warping, as a cheaper alternative to thickening & reinforcing the flat version.

Here are some more pix of my warped early tray with attachment struts FYI -

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Here are some more pix of my warped early tray attachment points & struts FYI -

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Here are some more overall view pix of my warped early tray attachment points FYI -

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Note that the 3 forward mounting struts/straps are black painted metal & riveted or press connector of some sort to the pan.

Mark - send me an email with your preferred email addy, if you need any other pix of it to make one up.

These pix show the result of the warped rain tray allowing water to pour onto firewall/pad & festering against the firewall/engine shelf to rust through

Passenger/Right side firewall/shelf -

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Driver/Left side firewall/shelf -

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Yet another potential rust area to check on 914s!!!!