Fabrication Question on hood louvers.
 

Alright, since I have access to the college metal shop and I am in the class this semester I was thinking about welding up some louvers on my hood. I just eyeballed the hood to get an idea and on the factory hood it has two spots along the outer edge that look like a good length and width to cut and weld in some louvers.

I was wondering if there was anyone who has already done this, because I would like to see how it turned out or if I should even bother with it.

I was also thinking of maybe fabricating a cold air intake to attach to the air filter and some other little goodies.

Just curious if anyone's already done it to see how it looks or if you guys have advice.

I am, going to try and get some pictures and diagrams later this week.

Have you ever noticed rows of louvers cut in the hood/cowl of some semi-trucks? Those are done with some sort of tool, not sure what it is. You might look into that. Welding on the hood will warp it, badly. If anything, make the louvers, then glass them in.

They just use a punch. You have to take the bracing off the hood and bring everything down to bare metal. Also, be ready for alot of filing and sanding when you are done punching out the louvers.

If you mean the cowls that sit up near the windshield, on most trucks those are actually the air intake, my Freightliner uses the cowl induction setup. Volvo's have them on the side of the hood, and some classic style trucks have the big breathers hanging off the side. The hoods are one piece fibreglass, as anything else would be too heavy to even open, and have the intake ducting attached to them.

if you do weld on you hood take your time. do a half in weld at the most then let it cool down. hood are a bitch to cut and weld on and not mess them up. me and my buddy moded the hood for our race car thank good we had two.

I plan to cut out the Holes with a plasma cutter and go slow, last thing I want is to warp that fucker. I am also thinking of using our MIG machines, they have a more forcused point of heat, hopefully the warpage will not be that bad.

Here's the basic look and idea I am talking about:

Those are the areas I had in mind, because they are located and shaped nicely enough, just cut them out and fabricate some slats.
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/e...7/DSC00361.jpg
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/e...7/DSC00362.jpg
I was also thinking of making a cold air intake that goes to said louvers, think it works?

Looks like a good enough spot to me, then again I have no fab skills.

Is the cold air box you make going to be completely sealed?

I thought about it, I am not quite sure... I was thinking maybe just making a duct to the louvers and make it detachable at the airbox end. I mean it already has a filter so I really don't have to do much, except maybe wrap it in some heat resistant material.

I've been thinking about doing the same thing. Putting louvers in your hood will help in 3 ways.

1) It will help extract air from the engine compartment, making it cooler
2) It will move more air through the radiator, keeping the engine cooler
2) It will reduce lift on the front of the car at high speed

I was mostly thinking about the middle of the hood, but your location works better with the hood inner reinforcement.

If you separate the hood outer and inner and have the louvers punched in, it's fairly inexpensive, and there's probably a hotrod shop in your area that will do it quickly. They will want it taken down to bare metal so they can be sure there's no bondo.

If you add louver panels, there are a few companies that make them in plastic.

Lastly, if you weld them in, I think it'll be tough to keep from warping the metal. The stuff used in our FBs doesn't like heat. I tried to lead a few parking light openings on a test fender and ended up with a twisted mess. Definitely use the TIG, make short runs, and alternate locations.

BTW -- the area under the louver will be a low pressure zone, which will serve to suck air out of your engine. You want a cold air intake that is in a high pressure zone. Route a hose from your air cleaner to the side of your radiator shroud.

Vented Hood Pics
 

Here are a couple of vented hood pics. I like the NSX one best.

I was afraid of that, I didn't want to have to route the cold air intake deeper down by my bumper. But you're right about the hodd; that its going to be a low pressure zone, so I should start finding a place down there and just do it.

I was thinking of just adding onto the support frame of the hood where I cut my hole. So basicly I make a hole and then lightly weld, (Probably weld small peices of the corners and mid section in) a fabricated and recessed louver set up, kind of like the NSX pic you have.

That should do the trick... I am going to test it out tomorrow in the shop, maybe make a few samples of the assemble I am talking about.

By the way, If I do make them work, would anyone be interested in purchasing them? O.o Maybe I can crank out a few before the semester is over?

im no weding guy but wouldnt it be easeyer to solve your warpin issues bye tack weld in some 1/8" steel in stripes around the areas you plan to use alota heat?

wouldnt it help ? adding some structure so it wont buckle.

then you could grind off ya tack welds and smooth it out?

louvers on hoods are TOO old school for SA/FB's IMHO.

make VENTS not Louvers.

working on cutting any material off a hood is easier with a cutting tool, not a plasma cutter, which will literally cut through like a red-hot knife through butter.

Tape is your friend when cutting, not marker/grease pens

I don't think the pics survived the last sweep for old threads, but my old '80 RX7 that got totaled by a Caddy in 2003 had the hood punched for louver plates on the hood, pretty much where you got things circled. Sputnic flanged the openings so he could louver plate steel and then simply lay that piece into the holes cut into the hood. I've still got the bottom plates I was going to use to direct water away from critical components at low speed in the rain. Once the car was in motion, everything would be blown out through those holes so cruising and parking were a concern since I wasn't going to run out and cover the louvers at the slightest hint of precipitation.

:cool:

What do you mean 'vents' and using a plasma tool is kinda the whole point, I was going to reinforce the frame around that hole I have circled and then weld a small receased louver.

*note* always mesh your vents and louvers, to keep unwanted particales out of your intakes ^.^

Like I said I am going to the metal shop tomorrow so I will try and test it a bit...

I wish someone had a picture... I'd like to see how they did it... and maybe take notes x.x

I have had a similar idea, more so vents then louvers though. Start out by cutting the bracing on the underside of the hood.... carefully. Then take a cut-off wheel and cut the horizontal slits, followed by the two vertical slits. Use of block of wood on the underside and gently push down on the top to bend the slit inward.

You will probably get more of a boost in performance by venting the hot air from under the hood, rather than the ram effect into the air cleaner. If the ram effect is all you want, you may consider a NACA duct on the hood, or ducting from the bumper.

http://www.raceace.com/products.html

http://www.raceace.com/louverblacksm.gif http://www.raceace.com/sidebare.gif
http://www.raceace.com/louverblacksm2.jpg http://www.raceace.com/movieclip.jpg

Those would soooo be what I am looking for except for the rivets XD, I am soooo anti rivets. Too gangsta wanna be for my tastes. By defeinetly a great startin point!

Dodge Viper Wheel Vent

http://www.x2builders.com/pictures/dsc03012.jpg

http://www.hennesseyperformance.com/...php?Item_ID=47

http://viperpartslarry.com/hood.htm


http://www.burnsvilleoffroad.com/articles/01_09.aspx

Okay That is interesting XD, thanks!

What is XD?

Umm.. like a lil anime face going >.< While laughing...?

*is completely blindsided by the question...*

It is a face. Squinty eyes and a big smile.

How about making a functional system like the old Cowl induction hoods on the Elcamino's and Chevelle's?

I saw some of those Cowl style hoods, in my opinion they look better on the Chevelles or 73 Z28s...

What I might do is this sort of vent louver thing that I will build into the hood... its hard to explain without diagrams.. so I will try and draw some up tonight or tomorrow.