Louvered hoods are part of Hot Rod history. They have been around just as long and go hand in hand. I have heard my pops talking how they would go down to the local High School and steel the locker doors, cut em up and weld the louvers where needed or wanted. This is no longer nessesary or legal! I personally love louvers I have had them on most of my hoods, fenders, decklids, glove box doors or where ever I could fit them! I recently took some pictures of Sir Michaels in Huntington Beach, Ca louvering the hood on my 2002 chevy (same proccess on an old car). blank canvas remove the part to be louvered all surfaces must be stripped of all paint or finish any cross braces or supports must be removed louvers come in all shapes and sizes. I prefere the traditional 4" each louver is carefully laid out. Measure twice cut once each louver is punched one louver at a time, the old fashioned way.(with the exeption of a hydrolic press) final product, less re-assembly of inner structure, minor prep work and paint final product! not only does it look kool it ran 10-15 degrees cooler!
What is the typical spacing between louvers ??? Is there a rule of thumb besides what looks good....H
I've heard stories of louvers being the same price as gas??? One guy told me he used to pay $.35 per louver when gas was $.35 a gallon. The next time he needed louvers gas was $1.00 a gallon and at the time the louvers were going for a buck each. Sir Michaels charges by the job this hood was $500.00 and my Impala has a combination 5", 4" and 3" louvers stagered it ran $600.00. If the old guys story is correct gas would be $5.00 a gallon?? As far as the spacing it depends on the tooling, I would guess 1/4".
I just talked to Lance at Sir Michaels and he said, to get my 52 Ford F-1 hood louvered, it would cost around $500. That includes, grinding of the paint, removing of any braces, 6 rows of 4" louvers, 30 in a row and a sealer coat. He said it would take about a week.
You can only get them so close together, as the last one you punched hits the die on the next one. But can be spaced farther apart. Thats how our press works.........OLDBEET-K-MEMBER.....Louvers-R-Us
Dang 180 louvers, 500 bucks... that's $2.78 per gallon.. err louver. the old guy mighta been onto something. An old guy I knew used to say Levi's were worth 1 hour's pay... same idea.
Has anyone done inverted louvres? Instead of punching them from the inside out, go from the outside and punch them in.
I had a 87 El Camino with the louvers upside down and backwards in the corners by the widsheild 2 rows 4, 5" louvers?? they looked bitchen kind of like a factory IROC intake but more KUSTOM
Our clubrooms have louvered aluminium covers on the toilet doors - outies for the gents and innies for the ladies.
had my 49 chevy hood done 15 -20 years ago for .75 cents a pop. got 150 of them. dude found this louver press holding up a fence out on a farm. did it out of his garage.
I did some 2'' on some Bugatti parts looked cool on the car . I did a mid 80's IROC Z With 6'' inverted, that looked stupid to me! When I started punching hoods I was doing it for .25 a louver after a few hoods changed that price ! To much work for that little! now I get 2.00 a louver for anyone off the street and 1.50 for HAMBERS but even that has been known to change to Beer and Pizza!!!!! LOL
I've seen both styles on old rods. You can change the shape substantialy with the same dies by using a chunk of die rubber in the press. I think the rubber produces the rounder, softer looking shape.
Haven't seen many 60's cars with louvered hoods. Here is the hood of my 64 Malibu. I think it was louvered in Chilliwack B.C. Canada in the late 70's!
Give squeak a call at the kiwi konnection in bakersfield. He may make u strip ur own paint and remove the bracing but it will be cheaper if you want to do the leg work. Call him at (661) 871-5494
This post brings tears to my eyes. There was nothing cooler than cruising down the highway, looking through the 4" chopped windshield over the sleek, sloping hood of our '55 Stude filled with 120 louvers that I personally filed and sanded the burs off of............I've got a photo somewhere.
My highschool car was a '67 Malibu that we lowered, dechromed, and louvered in about 1982. Nobody else at school could understand any of it. They wondered when I would jack it up and put some "50's" and "mags" on it. I remember having the louvers done. I did all the prep work (paint and brace removal), and the puncher did them for $1 each. I think gas cost about $.80 then.
Have any of you guys ever used the "Cut and Form Louver System" that was marketed through the Eastwood Company back in the mid 90's? A buddy of mine bought the patent on this tool and has never done anything with it. I've tried to get him to produce this tool for the last 10 years, but he's just not motivated. It's a roller die system that is hand opperated and cuts and forms the louvers with a back and forth motion. I've not used one, but it looks easy enough to use, even for me....Would love some feed back if anyone has any real experience with this type of louver tool. Glenn33 www.carartonline.com
I have one of those cut'n form rollers. I purchased it on the Streetrod Nats in Kentucky in the mid 90s. i use it rarely because the original frame is not stiff enough even after i reinforced it. That causes the metal you clamped for louvering to shift or move while u work and ruins the job. All you can louver is flat sheet. There is a picture of the 'machine' on www.SPEEDLOOK.de look in Galery/shop. Mario
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