[DeTomaso] Driving in the rain

[Stephen]

Kelly and I had a chance to give 5332 her first drive
out-of-site-of-Portland last Wednesday - we drove up to Tacoma to meet with
the folks in the PNW group!  Watched the weather and were pleased to see
that the forecast showed less than 20% chance of rain - so off we went.  And
drove in rain for roughly half of the 150 mile drive.

Good news is she drove great, including in the rain.  And the wiper blades
that came on the car worked, after figuring out that they needed to flex a
bit.

I was a bit surprised to see water accumulating on the window in front/above
the engine, and was curious if the water was coming up from below or in
through the "window" opening above the motor?  For reference, I have the
side windows for the motor compartment in place and I have repositioned the
splash shields in front of the rear wheels and replaced rubbers so they
sealed to the inside of the fenders.

I also noted a bit of grime accumulation on top of the trans axle, and could
see water marks on the outer side of the rocker covers, as if the water
level sort of floated about half way up the covers.  Which suggests to me
that a lot of the water was coming up from below.  

I can recall seeing pictures of cars at speed with bits of yarn showing
air-flow direction - could any of you send me the link to these pictures?
And, of course, could you folks give me your collective wisdom on air-flow
direction for the "window" above the engine?

OK - now for the more intersting question.  Has anyone ever installed any
form of a partial window in the hole above the engine?  Or a simple piece of
glass or plexi to fill the hole?  I am thinking plexiglass contoured such
that it fits into a rubber gasket around the opening but is belled out at
the lower edge to allow air flow and perhaps keep rain from falling on the
back of the engine?  This would have the added benefit of perhaps making it
a bit harder for someone to reach in and remove things from the top of the
engine (dog-bone air cleaner for instance) or the caps on the coolant tanks.
Given that plexiglass is not all that hard to contour this would seem like a
possible improvement as long as it did not overly restrict airflow around
the engine.  Making the assumption that airflow around the engine is a good
thing.

Comments?  And heck, if you think this is the dumbest e-mail you have ever
seen - hey, just delete it!  Won't hurt my feelings.

Stephen Nelson