Under engine shield - common?

[man of kent]

This is off my 1994 Diamond 24v. The front is to the left and its viewed from the underside. Is this common to all the engine derivatives? Dont think any of my carltons has ever had an undershield. My infill panel is missing and I'm not surprised. They are held on with 5 turn screws possibly in plastic? Perhaps they pop out on the motorways? Its usually said they are left off in garages or by owners. Does the infill tuck into the 2 protrusions on the front? Perhaps this stops the front from dropping down at speed. Would bend the infill though.

Going to make up an ally panel to fill the gap. You can see some captive screws I have added for a more secure method of holding the infill.

[Winky]

This is off my 1994 Diamond 24v. The front is to the left and its viewed from the underside. Is this common to all the engine derivatives? Dont think any of my carltons has ever had an undershield.

Believe it is/was only the S6s that had them fitted.

My infill panel is missing and I'm not surprised. They are held on with 5 turn screws possibly in plastic? Perhaps they pop out on the motorways? Its usually said they are left off in garages or by owners. Does the infill tuck into the 2 protrusions on the front? Perhaps this stops the front from dropping down at speed. Would bend the infill though.

Going to make up an ally panel to fill the gap. You can see some captive screws I have added for a more secure method of holding the infill.

Pretty much standard for the insert to be missing. As you rightly say, it slots in the front edge & 5 half turn metal studs hold it in. It is shaped so the ‘fingers’ curl up to slot in & the rest matches the contours of the undertray itself. If the studs are not fully turned you end up with what you have, a hole, otherwise they’re perfectly secure.

[carlton_mad]

i have some material in my possession that will do this job very nicely it is a plastic sheet clad on both sides with ally its about 5mm thick and is easily cut to size/shape

[man of kent]

i have some material in my possession that will do this job very nicely it is a plastic sheet clad on both sides with ally its about 5mm thick and is easily cut to size/shape

Thanks Chris. Just bought some thin ally plate.

[carlton_mad]

tbh i think that will resonate a bit too much but wait and see!!

its hereif you need it (i have plenty)

[man of kent]

Its 1.2mm checker plate in ally. Have also put some sponge pads between. Nearly finished. Was thinking of a sponge pad inside the whole surface but of course it will soak up any oil that drips and water.

I'll let you know.  Photo to follow of plate. Engine compartment should stay a bit cleaner with it in.

No luck so far finding a 24v hood sound insulator. Murph said he may have a 2.0L. Put it aside for me if its good. Clips are available but not a new insulator.

[carlton_mad]

where you got the notion that there is a difference ill never know buy i have looked at both and cannot see anything i reckon someone was pulling your leg!!

[man of kent]

Having not had one on previous cars I was 'asking' if they were different as at the time I thought I might be able to get the infill panel & didn't want the wrong one. Might have had something different.

You getting confused with me asking about the differences between the hood insulations?

Photo of ally 'new' infill panel to follow.

[man of kent]

Here's the infill panel in thickish ally. Now to see if i get any noise or buzz. Gives a bit of protection to the underside and might keep the engine bay clean. There are some foam pads under the front end to stop rattles. I haven't slipped it under the 2 'fingers' shown on the previous pic of the frame as it distorts the frame. I think the infill panel must have had some sort of slot to engage on the fingers? I feel more confident that it will stay on than turn screws in rusty clips. Copper slip on the screws to make sure they come off.

Its interesting that the frame has a foam pad on the inside to stop noise, so you may be right Chris and it is noisy. Time will tell. The 24v engine is quiet. To stop noise on the ally panel I would need some closed cell foam to stop water soaking in.

[chrismec]

That looks the dogs Kieth

[Land-Barge]

Very nice Keith, mustve been some sort of option that very few people chose, i see plenty of modern cars with the undertrays hanging off off so im not suprised your cover is missing. 

I worked at a Fraud dealers a few years ago, had to remove the undertrays to get access for servicing etc, most of them were chucked in the skip as they always had damage.

[man of kent]

I think the frame and infill must have been standard and Chris says they are common but as you have to take the infill off to get to the sump plug, its a nuisance so I suspect they were left off or more likely the screws were not engaged properly and they flew off. The frame also needs to come off to get to the steering pump & belts and lots of other gubbins etc and there are at least 8 nuts to come off. Another reason to leave it off.

Undertrays add quite a lot to the aerodynamics and bring the CD factor down quite a lot with improved mpg. Air getting under the engine and worse thru' a missing infill adds a lot of drag. When you have a speedlip in front with no infill you get a low pressure area behind which sucks up all the muck. The speedlip only improves the aerodynamics and mpg at very high speeds in the region of 80-100 mph and more dependent upon other design factors.

I should get at least 0.01mpg better now! Less the loss due to the weight. Actually it should make the mpg better.

[kevinfourlegs]

All my Volvos had the under tray fitted. They were still available from GSF a few years back. I know because I bought one, as the one in mine was damaged.

They do stop a lot of road grime entering the engine bay, on Volvos they did.

Were the lesser Carltons fitted with them, or was it just the posh ones?

[melinx]

Never been one on My 2.6 Diplomat from when I bought it 6 years ago and I've never found that road dirt gets onto the sump or into the engine bay; both are pretty clean 

It almost certainly improves the CD but will also reduce the oil cooling from the airflow around the sump but that should be no problem if the car has an oil cooler.

[carlton_mad]

only works properly at over 80mph

[kevinfourlegs]

Not that we would be driving at over 80 mph, unless we were on a private road 

[man of kent]

No noise from the ally infill panel I made up. Its a long way from the passenger compartment for the noise to travel. Its also quite thick. If it was thin sheet I think you are right Chris and it would resonate. The bend in it also stffens it up. Being checker plate also helps.

[kevinfourlegs]

There you go, start manufacturing them, Keith. A nice little sideline.

[greasehog]

That looks pretty damn good!!

[Murph]

So... hypothetically, if you were to make them to sell on, how much would one of these cost?

I have been offered an undertray minus the hatch you see...

[carlton_mad]

i have two trays and two hatches!

[kevinfourlegs]

Show off

[man of kent]

To make just the hatch (infill) it would cost £20 for the aluminium cut roughly to shape and a minimum 2 hours of labour IF the undertray is undamaged & can take the bolts I have used - nut and bolt thru the existing plastic tray holes and then further nuts & washers putting the hatch on. If the captive nuts are ok a bit less but you need the push & turn screws as well. My captive nuts were very rusty.

You are taking getting on for £50 which I'm not sure is economic. You then have the issue of transporting costs. You only have to live 30 miles away and to deliver and collect you are talking nearly 4 gallons of petrol.

If the tray (frame) were missing and needed to be made then the costs would go up extremely high because its a complex shape. It could be folded from a cut shape and rivetted where necessary in ally.

[nightmare]

i have two trays and two hatches!

I don't suppose you want to sell a tray and hatch?


Keith (nightmare)

[carlton_mad]

ok say £1000,000 plus postage!!

lol