I like the looks of the GT lids. My car is a baisc 70 with a 73 2.0L. As you can see from my signature I do AX my car so it does (gasp ) get driven in the rain from time to time.

So I think I will get one of PCA7GRR GT Lids this winter. My question is there anything that needs to be done to help protect the electrical componets in the engine bay? Is putting the rain tray back on a GT lid going to help at all. Should I not even worry about the water?

Cut the two bolt holes in your engine bay lid HINGES into slots. This way you can easily remove and swap out your two lids. You just loosen the two nuts, slide the hinges out and slip in the other one. It also makes it SO convenient when working on your car.

If you have to drive your car on nasty days, just use your old lid.

You can do a lot to weatherproof your wiring by going thru it using heatshrink, cloth tape, flexi-tubing, etc.

I purchased some rain bonnets for my carbs from one of our club vendors.

Indiana is pretty rainy. I think the rain tray is needed, esp if you have a conventional battery, as rainwater will become more acidic in the environment of batt acid vapors that are generated durin charging.

QUOTE (SGB @ Sep 29 2005, 08:55 AM)

Indiana is pretty rainy. I think the rain tray is needed, esp if you have a conventional battery, as rainwater will become more acidic in the environment of batt acid vapors that are generated durin charging.

Uhh Scott... I hate to tell you this, but the rain tray won't make a bit of difference as to the battery acid problem. The battery is under the RH short grill that attaches to the body. It never had a rain tray, and the rain falls straight on the battery. That causes a conventional battery to overfill and flush acid out on to the battery tray and down into the hell hole.


If you run carbs and have good water shields, you don't need the rain tray. If you run FI, you don't need the rain tray.


The sixes never came with a rain tray anyway.

QUOTE (ClayPerrine @ Sep 29 2005, 07:33 AM)

QUOTE (SGB @ Sep 29 2005, 08:55 AM) Indiana is pretty rainy.  I think the rain tray is needed, esp if you have a conventional battery, as rainwater will become more acidic in the environment of batt acid vapors that are generated durin charging. Uhh Scott... I hate to tell you this, but the rain tray won't make a bit of difference as to the battery acid problem. The battery is under the RH short grill that attaches to the body. It never had a rain tray, and the rain falls straight on the battery. That causes a conventional battery to overfill and flush acid out on to the battery tray and down into the hell hole. If you run carbs and have good water shields, you don't need the rain tray. If you run FI, you don't need the rain tray. The sixes never came with a rain tray anyway.

Isn't the real problem with the rain tray and battery, the drain hoses? They tend to crack, break, or be missing so the rain tray drains into the engine compartment towards the battery. So maybe no rain tray is better?

Nope. Take a look at the engine compartment. The little engine grill on the right side sits directly above the battery. Porsche tried to band-aid this with a battery cover, but that never lasted very long.

I personally have only seen a few of the hoses cracked. And the location of the funnel and hose on the right side are not really near the battery.

I guess I should have said my car is still FI and I have a optima battery so no leaking battery issues, I hope.

QUOTE (itsa914 @ Sep 29 2005, 09:43 AM)

I guess I should have said my car is still FI and I have a optima battery so no leaking battery issues, I hope.

Then make sure all your electrical connections are tight, and

(need driving smiley with cone flying over his head)

QUOTE (ClayPerrine @ Sep 29 2005, 07:40 AM)

Nope. Take a look at the engine compartment. The little engine grill on the right side sits directly above the battery. Porsche tried to band-aid this with a battery cover, but that never lasted very long. I personally have only seen a few of the hoses cracked. And the location of the funnel and hose on the right side are not really near the battery.

On the cars I've owned, the hoses are ok, but the mounting tab breaks and then the thing just dangles around in the engine compartment. I guess the tray would just drain down to the high part of the console or on the engine tin.

So, I see what you mean about the little grill.

QUOTE (itsa914 @ Sep 29 2005, 07:27 AM)

As you can see from my signature I do AX my car so it does (gasp ) get driven in the rain from time to time.

i drove me stock 1.8L for 2 years with a open GT lid. it rains a lot here during the winter time. never had a problem.
that said, i *did* prepare the car for the rain. got a new plastic cover for the relay board. covers for the battery terminals. all electrical connectors have a rubber boot on them.
you get the idea ...

now, with the carbs, i run rainshields over the air-filters. no problems either so far ...

it's just water!
Andy

QUOTE (ClayPerrine @ Sep 29 2005, 10:33 AM)

That causes a conventional battery to overfill and flush acid out on to the battery tray and down into the hell hole. The sixes never came with a rain tray anyway.

This is where we disagree. Rainwater on the battery may seep in (uh, somewhere.... vents maybe?) and cause overfilling, but unless you are in a deluge, the volume itself wouldn't cause overflow. My understanding was that a charging battery offgases acid vapor, which deposits on surfaces in the engine compartment- mostly around the battery, but not exclusively. Some rain will certainly get in the grill over the battery, but not as much as no tray at all. So the rain induced overfilling would just exacerbate the problem. Sorry, I can't help it, the techno stuff rumbles around in my head left over from too much school. Anyway, the real answer is "optima". With that nuance, my point is pretty much OBE.