Get With the 'Flo - Custom Glass Truck Parts

BEFORE

In the custom scene, there's one thing that most people strive for: the ability to stand out at a show. That uniqueness is without a doubt worth its weight in trophies and recognition. While front-end conversions and taillight swaps may take care of the exterior and fiberglass may take care of the interior of your truck, the options for engine dress-up have been relatively limited -- that is, until now.

Optiflo Inc. is introducing an idea that may single-handedly revolutionize the way engine compartments will look at future shows. The concept is to remove the plain, boring rubber hoses from your engine and replace them with glass extensions that not only conform to the original hoses, but will also allow never-before-seen visual elements -- such as radiator fluid flowing in and out of the block and through heater hoses, or vacuum wisps moving over the block -- to be visible.

AFTER

There are some immediate concerns that come to mind at the mention of sticking any type of glass under the hood on a turbulent, hot engine. First and foremost, what is going to keep it from shattering? According to Todd Townsend, creator of Optiflo Inc., the glass tubes the company uses have a wall thickness as large as 4 millimeters and are made of the same material as Pyrex ovenware. To prove to us how strong the glass is, he put it head to head against a 2x4-inch wood plank, the shop wall, and a metal filing cabinet -- all of which lost to the glass. He even placed the tube on the ground and stood on it to show off its structural rigidity.

The second question we had was how it would handle the heat from the fluid within the radiator and heater hoses as well as the overall temperature from within the engine compartment. Todd explained that the glass is heated to extreme temperatures during the manipulation stage and is then set into a kiln for about an hour to cool off at more than 1,000 degrees. Considering that the temperature of your engine would only sit around the 210-degree mark on a hot day, heat is not an issue.

Follow along as we remove the intake, vacuum hoses, radiator hoses, and heater hoses on our '93 Toyota, and then let the crew at Optiflo work its magic. Since the glass can be manipulated into any form and decorated with any design, the possibilities for this application are endless.

01. To test the structural integrity of the glass, we had one of the guys stand on a section of tubing. The tubing is extremely tough.	02. A length of tubing is selected that will be used for the air intake.	03. Once the hose clamps are removed from either end, the old intake can be removed.
04. Inside the shop, Damien adds some color to the intake using colored-glass rod. As the glass is turning, the rod is melted, transferring the color.	05. After the design is set, the glass must be smoothed again to retain its structural integrity.	06. The end of the intake is heated and then bent to conform to the necessary shape.