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Whats the point of a COWL HOOD?

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Old 11-26-2006, 11:39 AM
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Whats the point of a COWL HOOD?

I see them on all sorts of drag street cars, and even a few trucks... Do they do anything or are they just there for looks or what?

-Thanks
Old 11-26-2006, 11:51 AM
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give me more room for my engine, and it should draw air from the windshield...IF its made correctly.
Old 11-26-2006, 03:30 PM
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Originally Posted by rolling-robert
give me more room for my engine, and it should draw air from the windshield...IF its made correctly.
if you are running an induction system that sits too high to fit under the stock hood, you can gain a lot of clearance with a cowl hood, and they are made to draw air from a low pressure area that is created at the bottom of the windshield on cars. ive got one on my car and you can see it work, spray down the hood and winedshield and go for a spin, the droplets on the lower 12" or so on the windsheild will run towards the center of the car and then travel down the windshield towards the cowl opening, kinda neat
Old 11-26-2006, 08:11 PM
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Yea, looks much better than having a top of an aircleaner sticking out of your hood.
Old 11-26-2006, 09:11 PM
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Cowl hoods were the original cold air intake.
Old 11-26-2006, 09:51 PM
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How do you keep water out of them in the rain?
Old 11-26-2006, 09:57 PM
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Originally Posted by Zyth01
How do you keep water out of them in the rain?
Normally you dont... My one friend had a 91 RS and had a 4 inch cowl hood and an open element and he drove that in the rain all the time. i cant imagine how it worked but it did...

and Z2Eight....do you have anymore pictures of your car?? Where are you near pittsburgh?...I live in Allentown but i go 2 Pitt so basically im in pittsburgh 7-8 months a year now...
Old 11-27-2006, 10:23 AM
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PM'd Mack
Old 11-27-2006, 12:06 PM
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they look sweet... and are fiberglass.....well some are anyways....


Old 11-27-2006, 08:44 PM
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i dont drive it in the rain on purpose... but the rain isnt going to be blowing straight into the engine anymore that it would be blowing up into the engine bay with a closed hood, the aircleaner may get damp, but i dont know if the engine would actually suck water
Old 11-27-2006, 10:54 PM
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i originally got mine for blower clearance, then decided to play the all motor game at the time......looks wicked cool too
Old 11-27-2006, 10:56 PM
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Got mine for weight savings, they dont make stock iroc style hoods, so i went with the lowest cowl possible. looks good too.
Old 11-27-2006, 10:58 PM
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Rain isn't a problem with them.
Old 11-27-2006, 11:14 PM
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Rain really isn't a problem as stated above.A screen can be fabricated to keep out leaves and other pests but not obstruct airflow in.And the other added benefit is letting hot underhood air out.
Old 11-27-2006, 11:37 PM
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i got mine to look cool.
Old 11-28-2006, 01:04 AM
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Here's mine.. http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1501...41290424xcxiuX
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2699...41290424YrInoJ

There's 2 main points to a cowl hood..

1) so the engine can draw in cooler outside air from the base of the windsheild
2) to have room to fit your intake/carb/air cleaner setup under the hood
Old 11-28-2006, 11:04 AM
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i personally dont go for the cowl look myself, but its a neccessity when you got a big engine. !!!HEY! Answer this question someone!!! What is the benefits of a jongblowed hood? Are they lightweight?
Old 11-28-2006, 03:57 PM
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Jongblowed hoods are just a rounded off cowl. Yes they are lightweight because theyre fiberglass. I would say the diff between a fiberglass Jong' and a regular fiberglass cowl is negligible. But the Jong is just plain nasty.

BOOYA


So... maybe Im a little partial.
Old 11-29-2006, 05:21 PM
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Except the nasty part. I think they look good.

Anyway, they're the same thing. Just look different.
Old 11-29-2006, 05:26 PM
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Maybe a stupid question but how does the hood open? Doesn't the end of the cowl swing into the windshield?
Old 11-29-2006, 05:41 PM
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The hood lifts up and then swivels up just like the stock one. Hard to explain, but it should open just fine. Unless you broke something...
Old 11-29-2006, 10:14 PM
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mine is a pin on so my hood opens by 2 guys grabbing the 4 corners and then placing the entire hood on the roof of the car. much easier to work on engines that way, just if you don't have 2 people the hood isn't coming off.
Old 11-29-2006, 11:37 PM
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For the Trans Am's with the "Power Bulge" it's on a solonoid relay. I don't know when it opens, but I have a special air cleaner assembly set up thats specifically designed for it. It's supposed to take the air from the bottom of the windshield and pull it into my carb (84 T/A). I think it's supposed to give the same effect as the dual snorkle on the Camaro's...but instead of pulling twice from behind the headlights, I only pull once from the headlights and once from the cowl. Tomorrow after work I'll take some pictures and see if I can get them posted for you.
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