Project: The Anal Probe

[Sven7]

LOL so many replies.

I will look closer at the wheel arches and see if I can redo them to reduce the frontal area.

There is tape over the rust holes now. Also, the hatch and passenger door are taped shut. The hood was.... but then I needed to turn on the headlight (the one that works)

That truck is pretty cool.

I don't have time for fiberglass. Maybe next year. If the car still runs by then...

[NeilBlanchard]

My Coroplast has lasted about 3 years so far. If I spend another $20 (on another sheet) that should get through the life of the car, more or less.

[Galane]

Aluminum tape, also called flue tape, sticks better than duct tape plus it's thinner so will disturb the airflow less. Might even be able to paint the aluminum tape if you prep it correctly.

Alternatively you can polish the aluminum tape to a high gloss for ersatz "chrome".

[Sven7]

Expensimative! That aluminum tape is like 30X more expensive than red duct tape as far as I can tell.

That will seriously eat into my camping and rally racing trip budgets.

[Galane]

Check eBay for aluminum tape. Lots of different widths and lengths and prices. There's some 4 inch wide, 40 feet long for $3.49 buy it now, $4.99 shipping.

[Sven7]

Well I got up this morning to realize my milk was bad so I had to go to the Tim Hortons in the first floor of the building for some breksmas. There I saw a former professor (who has worked on some popular sports car styling). We started talking and I mentioned the Probe. He made a funny face, surprised that it was mine, and said he thought it was some sort of Ford prototype! Haha what a compliment!

On a side note a Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf showed up in the parking garage today. The Leaf was charging from the wall outlet! It's amazing how much the headlights stick out from the body.

At about 370 miles on the tank. I have a feeling it's going to be low MPG.

I'll try to get a tuft test on the rear belly pan and see if the flow is attached.

[Galane]

I see Probes so rarely on the road now. Ford could re-pop those with a mild facelift and nobody would know it's a 23 year old car.

BTW, it's super easy to spot the 1988 Probe. It's the only year without the little indentations on the fronts of the door mirrors.

[Bow]

Sven,

very nice work.

About your headlights...

I have a '91 Nissan 240SX hatchback, which is very similiar to your Probe.

When I fist got it in '97, the headlights started acting up (sticking up, etc) and my wife scored me a set of recessed headlights from Japan.



I was looking on line for anything similiar for your Probe, but couldn't locate any, however, you may be able to get a set for the S13 model 240sx and alter them to fit your car, then make clear plexi/lexan covers for them:

HiFlex Type-245 Ram-Air Headlights Nissan 240SX 89-94 2/3-Door



or

89-94 Nissan 240sx Conversion Headlights Housing + Halo | eBay

[Galane]

Neat idea on the headlights. One thing to note is the Probe was built around the mechanical bits of the Mazda 626 but a bit lower in the body. That's why the two lumps in the hood, the front struts are the same as the 626 instead of using shorter ones for the Probe.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Sven7

We started talking and I mentioned the Probe. He made a funny face, surprised that it was mine, and said he thought it was some sort of Ford prototype! Haha what a compliment!

Was he laughing when you said it's returning 40mpg on average ?