how much of a difference does a hood make with overheating

My question is this have any of you guys built a rod and ran it with and without a hood and noticed a difference in engine temps Being in las vegas i need all the help i can get

thanks in advance
-lefty

 

If the hood makes a difference in cooling you have other problems.

 

i realize that i was just wondering if it is a misconception that no hood makes a difference. kind of like H.A.M.B. mythbusters i guess

 

buy a new radiator, you can jack around till the cows come home. till the radiator is up to snuff you are just kidding yourself

 

remember most v-8's are WATER cooled while air passing through the radiator fins dose the cooling having it pass over the engine itself is just a marginal factor

check your cooling system

if its good buy some water wetter or purple ice or simular to aid in cooling also propper antifreeze /water mix helps alot

 

nevermind i gues i will have to conduct my own experiment

 

I have run my 39 chevy(6-71 blown 350) with a stock hood,then with a full hood with the side louvers filled,and recently with no hood. I have seen no difference in operating temperature with any of these configurations.

 

thank you sir

 

This was a test but may not help.

On my 32 Fords ... I have run a 20 vent and then a 25 vent hood and the under hood temperature were 20 to 30 degress warmer with the 20 vent hood. This had no effect on the water temperature of the engine ( 180 ) ...but if it was running warmer, I would guess that the 25 vent hood would be a benefit. Henry Ford came out with the 25 vent hood late in the 1932 Ford production run to help cure the flathead overheating issues.

 

I've run flatheads without hood / hood sides and ran about 10 degrees cooler. 25 hood sides came out late on 32 trucks only.

 

When it gets over 85* here, I take the hood sides off on my T. It helps. 15" 6 blade Mechanical fan and shroud. Small radiator, 17 1/4 wide and 15 tall.

The theory is, a good system will run at ambiant air temp plus 100*

 

Run my '34 without a hood and with the hood but no sides. I couldn't tell that much difference in running temperatures.

 

Also, check for air paths both in and out of the engine bay. Old cars had more room at the bottom of the motor and let more air out that way. A friend told me about a 38 Plymouth that would not cool properly until the hood was louvered; until then it trapped the hot air inside the engine compartment.

 

Just put my 406 s/b with a 671 on it in my o/t 32 with no hood, from a o/t 70 Monte, there was a 15+ degree drop in water temp.YES is the answer.

 

My buddy's '49 Merc had a 350/350 combo with a/c. The Merc ran hot until he louvered the hood.

 

Actually, they also came on passenger cars with V8 engines headed for warmer climates.
They did come out later in the year.
I have read that it was the end of August 1932.

 

It should help. The more air flowing over the radiator, the more heat it can transfer from the coolant to the air. If you have an adequate radiator, you shouldn't need to, but if your radiator is close to stock, the added air flow will help. Building a fan shroud will make a difference too. Good luck!