A thread from a few minutes ago asked for pictures of louvered deck lids on a 40. I've not considered doing that on my 40, but I am seriously considering louvering my hood for cooling purposes. I'm putting a Cadillac 509 in the car and have been told more than once that I can expect cooling issues if I don't run an oil cooler and louver the hood. Does anyone have pictures of a louvered 40 hood? I think it would look cool if done properly (in addition to being functional).
Mines not louvered, I'm sure there are plenty of pictures out there, louvers on the hood and flames go nice on a 40.
hard to see in the pictures , this is a `40 sedan delivery i did. the same hood as a coupe. three progressively shorter rows of louvers each side between the hood braces on the underside..if you want to run them farther forward and back you would have to remove the hood braces the rows are parallel to each other. i've seen guys run the outer row at an angle , but i don't care for that
The louvers on the 40 Sedan Delivery are just about perfect from where I sit - not overdone in the least but still noticeable. Thanks for the picture, and what a great looking car! (Did you see a decrease in water temp?)
I just had mine done. I think they look best when the rear brace is removed so you can louver all the way back. Then weld the brace back in. 40's also look good with no hood at all. Gary
i really don't know. the louvers were punched before the car was finished. i did a `40 Ford convertible with the same engine (330HP 350 chevy crate) and they both run about the same temperature as far as i can see. running warm is not a problem in either car according to the owner. i had the `40 convertible at Back to the 50's last year and had no problems in traffic or cruising the grounds i think the key is a good radiator (walker Z-line) , a good fan and shroud , and that deflector that goes on the top of the grille to direct the airflow through the radiator and not allow it to go over it. Bob drake and others sell it
I didn't louver the hood on my 40, sectioned it instead for a lower front edge. I put a bunch of 1/4" cooling holes in the inner fender panels for the hot air to escape and run a walker radiator with a electric pulling fan and shroud. Also put a panel in front part of hood to keep air flowing through the radiator instead og over the top. Never overheats, no matter what traffic conditions .
Billsat: Here is one I did for a local customer. It is similar to the sedan delievery. dwrfab Don Ross
I had my hood louvered back in 1984-85. It was done by Harold Waltkins in Morris,Ok. He put 3 rows 28-24-20. I had removed the hood brace to get the louveres above the step in fire wall,then welding it back in. I had him put 5 louveres on each side of hood where the Ford Delux letters go. The first time i drove the car i had a cowl vent. When i slowed down after driving out on the highway,the heat porred in to car from under the hood. That is one of the reason i had it filled . Now if i can down load the pictures. ________________________________________________________________ Put the saddle on the stove honey! Were riding the range tonight.
40 Deluxe Hood. I like them when the back support is removed before louvers are punched. That way you can get three rows.
If your radiator is a good quality one, all your deflector panels fit well between the fenders and the radiator and the bottom tank and front crossmember, you add the solid upper panel available from several sources, use a good mechanical or electric puller fan with shroud, you shouldn't have heating problems with any engine, small or big block, that is not way over-bored or over-cammed or over-compressioned.
One of the best things you can do with a '40 to keep it from over heating is leave the stock sheetmetal around the radiator in place. Ford had it figured out and it works great. The secret is to get the hot air out. Louvered fender panels work well and they will help the hot air evacuate. In the stock configuration, the hot air has to exit through the hole between the panel and the firewall and sometimes it can't get out fast enough. That's why all of the stock shrouds need to be in place so the cool air coming in the front can force the hot air out the back.
If i had a chance to do it over, i wouldn't cut the brace out in the back. Forty hoods are hard enough to line up to the cowl. Mine doesn't fit well (nothing unusual) and i don't think it helped the fit by cutting and re-welding. All of the fortys i've ever owned ran warm, my present one runs 200 idling with the air on at pigeon forge or daytona.
Well thanks. I always figured I'd run hoodless unless I could find a louvered hood. One just sorta' fell my way... I like it too. Now to get it adjusted..... Mike
Here's another view of my hood louvers. The brace was cut out and reinstalled and may be part of the problems getting the hood/fender adjustments right. We'll get it figured out.
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