You want to know what one of the first things I ever did to a car was? It was taking a cowl induction scoop, one of those flimsy fiberglass ones that you could buy cheap, off of a 1976 Mercury Comet and pop-riveting it onto the otherwise clean hood of my 1979 Chevrolet Caprice. Why? Because I wanted a hooscoop, no matter how pointless or, in the Caprice’s case, useless it was. Putting the scoop on the Caprice then gave the car a little more edge to go along with the Auto Drag wheels and the lack of exhaust past the catalytic converters. Twenty years later, I wish I could go back in time and smack younger me upside the back of the head, because there is no way in hell I’d do that now.
Some cars rock hoodscoops well. Pretty much every musclecar of the day that had one had a useful one…think the Shaker scoops, the functional, sealed Cowl Induction setups, the Olds 442’s under-bumper air catchers, and the mailbox setup that the SC/Rambler used. All were functional, all were intended to either draw colder air in or to vent hotter air out. But did every scoop work the same? No…some scoops work better than others, and each work differently than the other. Uncle Tony is back with more knowledge for you to sit upon…who knew that you’d be getting a lesson on Bernoulli’s Principle today?
If you’re interested in land racing Dave Woodruff teaches a whole seminar on hood scoop dynamics.