My uncle totaled my 86 z28 with a 454 so I just bought a 92 rs and I put a 5.7 vortec in it and I need more hood clearance. I don't like how big a 4 in cowl is and I love the look of a 2 in. And I want it to be a Steel hood and I can't find a 3 in steel. But summit has the 2 and the 4 in stock. How big do I need?

 

You can make a Vortec fit under the stock hood ... so... how would anybody here know how big of a cowl hood you need without knowing the specifics of your setup?

 

A 5.7 Vortec should fit under the stock hood.
Do you have a bigger aftermarket air cleaner?

 

Here is the Goodmark 2in. steel Cowl hood . It measures 3in. at the vent.

 

Your most likely looking for a Cowl that's open all the way as apposed to a 15" diameter hole.
The reason I posted it is to show you what to expect in the design of the 2" and 4" steel Cowl hoods from Goodmark.
Anyway here's what I can just barely fit into the hole. It's a 14x3in" Open Element with a Extra Flow Filter top that brings it up 1 more inch.

 

My engine is a vortec 350 (fastburn ZZ4) with the GMPP vortec eliminator high rise - air gap intake, holly 750 dp, and a 14x3 drop base cleaner. It fits perfectly under my Goodmark 2" steel hood (just like Ron posted).

Goodmark makes FANTASTIC hoods. If your setup is anything like mine then go for it. an easy way to 'measure' is to run a line from the top of one fender to the top of the opposite fender and see how much your cleaner sticks up past that line.

 

That's really a great idea you mentioned RedLeader289.
First time I have ever heard of it. Very nice.


Here's one I used to make sure my element would fit into the Cowl opening and how much room there is around it.
Play doe that the kids play with.
I put Cellophane over the top of the element and placed 1" diameter ***** of it around the top sides .And One large one built like a tower in the middle to see if it would hit the top of the hood.
Close the hood until it just rest on the car with out locking and then open it slowly. If the doe has not hit or only hit a little bit I will close the hood all the way. Open it again and you should have impressions on the doe telling you exactly how the element sits in and around the hole. Possibly even the amount of room from top of the filter to the top of the hood.

 

Thanks for the pics Ron. Ive been wondering who makes the hood I have. It was on the car when I bought it. Exact same design underneath as yours is. I knew it was a high end after-market that someone put some money in, and I like it, but it did take some getting used to as mine is like 4"-5" (never measured it) Looks mean on the car though, and definitely should help it run cooler in the southern heat down here. Yours has some nice paint underneath like mine does and Im wondering if they make a pad for the underside of these hoods

 

Thanks, Ron, the playdough is a good idea too