musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Hey guys, this thought was always sitting in the back of my head... I was thinking about cutting out holes underneath the front two vents on the Trans Am hood like so:



And add a ram air filter like this:

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/ca...icarsonly.aspx

I have my old hood lying around so I thought I might use that as the guinea pig.

However this is a dumb newb question which always bugged me.... what about rain? I'd imagine that some sort of drain would need to be created to prevent water from getting sucked into the filter while driving in the rain. That just makes me wonder how the 4th gen ram air hoods work...

I doubt that I'm the only one with this thought but I figured I'd post it up and ask... couldn't find anything in a search!

lb9 GTA

I don't think there's enough room between the hood and the rad support for it to work well. I'd love to see if it could be done tho. I'm thinking about using mine for ventalation.

spade

iTrader: (3)

that would be coool

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

I think lb9 GTA might be right.... I took a closer look at my car today and decided to make a couple more half-assed pictures on MS paint of how/where I might cut the hood:

The green and yellow lines are there to help visualize the creases already there... I'll be cutting on the outermost lines (red/white) if I decide to do this.



And here's how I believe they'd rest on the engine bay with the hood closed. Now that I look at this picture, I think the cuts on the white lines might be pointless but we'll see. These are just approximations... I didn't make any specific measurements yet so there's a chance they might sit in a different location.



Hmmm, maybe this will work considering how the Hawks filter sits?



I'm just wondering if that's enough airflow to make this mod worthwhile. But the ventilation definitely wouldn't hurt like lb9 mentioned. And I'm still wondering about the rain water getting into the filter.

spade

iTrader: (3)

What's the worst that can happen with rain water going in?

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

I'm just afraid of it going through the filter and into the engine.

Lampropeltis

TTT. I wanna keep this discussion active - maybe a sticky mods???? I did a search on this and I see that this has been a topic that has bounced around and has a few threads, but so far musclecar70'sfan has done the most leg work in studying a ram-air set up with a stock 85-92 Trans am hood. I think its an excellent idea and have thought about it often myself as I currently am doing some mods to top of the motor on my GTA. If we could devise an air box that fit that spot neatly (hawks 3rd gen looks too wide) and kept water out of it I think it would definitely add plenty of power. Even better would be if we could combine the SLP dual intake with this idea - maybe a cutout on the dual intake right where the vents are. Heck this could even work with MAF firebird as you could just use the MAF off of an IROC to connect the throttle-body and intake tube. Then you would have many sources of air AND a ram air effect. That would be a nice power gain. Now, question is does anyone have dual-snorkel SLP intake they are willing to butcher?????

Lampropeltis

Here's the SLP dual air intake I was talking about in my previous post.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the input Lampropeltis! But finding an SLP airbox should be oodles of fun lol... well I just called Hawks about their ram air box and they said that you usually don't drive fast enough for the rain to have any effect on it. However they said it was designed to fit their ram air hoods and will not fit under the stock hood when I mentioned what I was thinking of doing. I'm sure it might be possible to modify it, but I don't wanna dump $210 into something then start hacking away at it.

I was thinking about maybe buying one of these things that you always see strapped onto a TPI throttle body and maybe fab some duct so air's getting pushed directly into it? Man I envy whoever owns this car... they got a sweet setup with the ignition coils.



edit: I just realized that looks like a blazer/s10 engine bay lol.

lb9 GTA

I was looking at my hood the other day and figured out that if I cut a hole in the front brace close to the air cleaner I'll at least get some nice cold air into the engine. That brace is open to the vents and literally goes right over top my air filter so it should work nice.
Here is my air cleaner setup so you can have an idea

and this is musclecar70sfan's stock hood for reference

Transmetal

I've been wanting to do this for a while. Don't think the filter idea will work given the space but If nothing else it wouldn't hurt to have some more air flow into the engine bay.

fitbmx17

have you figured out any more on this if it is possible or not? and this may be a dumb statement but... would the hood latch cause any problem as far as placement of a filter would go?

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

That's for sure.

Nope nothing dumb with that question... I haven't really gone much further with this "project" but latch clearance shouldn't be an issue; my only concern would be weakening the structure around the hood latch from cutting the metal away for the air intake. Right now I don't have any time to work on this, but I plan on taking a stab at this in perhaps a few weeks when I'll be done with school for the semester.

jahblah

I THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY FOR THINKING ABOUT THIS!!!!! typed it in google search and HERE WE ARE!!!!! i pondered buying a TA hood for this very reason months ago but as stated above, dumping over $200 into something to hack at it isn't my thing either. Would LOVE to see this accomplished though..KEEP..HOPE..ALIVE..

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Hahaha glad to know that we're on the same page. Unfortunately, I never actually took a stab at it, considering that my spare hood is buried in a shed that's not at my house. I'll try to bring it out sometime and start cutting at it, especially since a buddy of mine (another TGO member too actually) recently got a welder and seems to be doing well with it.

deadbird

A member named scauffiel did this a long time back. I'd doubt there are any pictures of it lingering, though.
It was for a TBI and had a pretty elaborate (fiberglass iirc) intake tract to the air filter at the TBI.

deadbird

That would be S10Wildside.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

I have no doubt it can be done...anything can be done/built with some fab skills and the right tools. As far as using the hawks airbox, I wouldn't waste my money. You'd really have to custom make a box specifically to fit the area. And in all honesty, even though hawks thinks rain water would be ok, I would not want to take my chances. Water plus engines do not make for a good combo. Some type of drain could be made I'm sure.

lb9 GTA

I don't have the guts to cut my hood myself. I might get a body shop to do it possibly. My hood is almost perfect so it would seriously suck to ruin it for a couple HP. Especially considering the intake on my car isn't perminant.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Yeah that's what I'm thinking regarding the hawks airbox, I think that it would be best to shop around an Autozone or something picking out the right size/shape air filter, and then building a custom box around it. Preferably one that would seal with the hood once its shut.

I totally understand, the only reason I'm even considering this project is because I have a less-than-perfect hood lying around in a shed so I thought I'd put it to use. And if it turns out right, I'll probably fix the dents it has, paint it, and just keep it on my car.

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

I have been contemplating opening the side vents due to the fact I need to get some cool air to my new supercharger setup. I don't think it would be to difficult. My question is why weren't they opened up to begin with.



You can kinda see the upper vents in this picture they are black.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

That's a sharp GTA you have, are you the guy with the 2nd-gen style exhaust tips? I think I saw a youtube vid of a red GTA like yours pulling out of a driveway. The side-vent idea you've got going is a pretty cool idea and makes sense considering your setup. Is that a TBI style fuel injection setup or a carb?

As for them not being opened up from the factory, they sort of are. If you look under the hood you'll see channels going from the front vents to the rear side vents as a means to help keep engine bay temps lower (when you're moving), so you can say it's "partially functional" from the factory. Does it do much? Probably not, but that just leaves us with our tools and imaginations haha.

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

It is a multiport injection HiRel intake, they offered in the marine market for high performance vortec headed marine engines. The Throttle body is 110MM and is built into the intake.

Yea that is my car on You Tube, a buddy of mine took some pictures of it and a movie, so Pioneer could get a look at it. They ended up putting a system in it on Power Tour as part of their Ambassador program.

I will probably open up the vent on that side, got soem other loose ends to tie up first.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

Very cool, I plan on doing the same style exhaust you've got over the winter. Good luck with the rest of your endeavors with that car.

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

If you do the cut out post it man, I am interested:-)

panhead201

panhead201

$232 bucks on ebayI'm doing it for cold air intake,twin screw supercharger,and i'm gonna poke out the cheap looking parking lights for brake coolers.Its one piece abs,weighs nothing,cut it shorter if you want it to live on the street.I'm building a comp 5.0 SCCA gt car.89 TA 305,whipple supercharger kevlar hood,stripped,gutted,QA1 dialin coiloversfuel cell,cagedafr0917 heassconsidering tbi to blow thru carb swap 6al ignition,lose the ecu prom entirely1wire dist,forged internals,cosidering 10-12 qt dry sump.Rays eng.(vox racing)wheels,17x9s front 17x11 rears,brembo brakes,pirelli p7 cinturato,run fats for ttesting.If you guys ever plan to race one seriously throw away the rear spoiler.It actually lifts the back end.panhead201

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

No offense, but that front bumper is hideous. It would destroy the look of a TA and make it look like a honda civic. And you mention your doing a whipple supercharger and a blow through carb setup, although I don't believe whipple even makes centrifugal blowers. I also heard that the actual TA wrap around spoiler did in fact create some downforce, though not a ton.

musclecar70sfan

iTrader: (1)

I gotta agree with WhiteDevil on this one; that body kit looks awful in my humble opinion. The goal here is to keep the stock look/feel of the car. I also genuinely don't want to offend you, but please work on the grammar. It was pretty tough understanding your post. But good luck with whatever you decide to do!

jahblah

I didnt know it was a 3rd gen at first lol but if you do a straight hood, id like to take a gander at it. good job though

panhead201

It looks absolutely hideous!But they stopped giving out points for good looks in races.Its got a3ft by 1ft mesh grille in the front and aerodynamically,ground clearance,wheel well width,weight,etc,etc,for $200 bucks I could'nt make it myself and you aint gonna get more cold air under the hood and thats what I thought the thread was about.pasnhead201

panhead201

try going to whipple.com or something creative like that.The one for the 2010 camaro is $10,000, and try some wild and crazy website like edmunds.com about the spoiler.Plus,they paid SCCA five bucks a car for the rights to the name.And they used a 302 not 301 which was never sold to the public at all.Another big no-no in the rules.

panhead201

https://picasaweb.google.com/1109234...75440039328290

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

http://www.whipple.com/ Ummmmmmmm.......

And if you don't know what a centrifugal supercharger is, you probably shouldn't be supercharging your car. The pic you posted is a roots style/twin screw blower....completely different than a centrifugal, and not possible to run with a carbed blow through set up. A centrifugal blower is the style that mounts where the pulleys are, on it's own bracket, and almost ressembles a turbo.

Also, if you search on this site, there is in fact a tech article with facts about the trans ams and IROCS, and the factory spoilers added a small amount of downforce. Not anywhere near a true racing style spoiler, but then again, most of our cars are street cars and you don't need downforce till around 150 mph.

panhead201

Did you go to the s ite I posted above your last message?Please do while I look up whipples site adress.That was an obvious mistake on my part.I'm looking it up as soon as I finish my message.

panhead201

www.whipplesuperchargers.com that is th corrct site.The one in the pictureabove.I have been building,racing,experimenting with engines for over 40 years.If you look at these two items please respond honestly.Of all the twin screw centrifugal superchargers I find whipple to be the best.The one in the above picture is mine.I can go out in the shop now and take more pictures,include anything else in the picture you'd like to prove it.Mine is set up fer a tbi,and I plan to carburate it.I'm trying to find the correct adapter plate.I would also like to have an intelligent conversation with an intelligent person.

whitedevilTA

iTrader: (8)

I was just telling you that centrifugal superchargers are completely different than twin screw/roots superchargers. Whipple does not make centrifugal style blowers.

This is a centrifugal blower


This is a twin screw/roots style


What I am saying is that the supercharger style you have generally cannot be made to work with a blow through carb. You are not "blowing through" the carb since the carb is bolted to the intake side of the supercharger. I've seen that TBI whipple before and the TBI throttle body gets bolted to the back of the unit. Since the supercharger is "sucking" air through the throttle body, or carb, a blow through will not work. Thats all I'm trying to say. You seem to have all your parts listed already, but you may want to do a little more research since that setup won't work.

panhead201

You are absolutely correct that the tbi sits at an angle..So I had in mind a predator slide injector that bolts to a 4105 flange.It's got several different mounting profiles on it,though.I don't know if you are familiar with them,most local drag car guys dont even know what I'm talking about.They are like a Mikuni slide injector for a bike.One moving part.0 to 800cfm,no chobe,no bowls,nothing.They are strictly made for blower or supercharger adaptations.Look them up if you get curiousI've used 2 of them on a 12-71 and they are idiotproof.This car is gonna be a flat out gt race car,I've got a plasma cutter and I'm throwing everything overboard that does'nt have to be thereI live way out in the country and I will be able to drive it on the back roads and a lot of my friends own garages that do state inspections.And we live outside of the St Louis area so theres no emissions.Plus this car passed legit a month ago so I can do anything I want for another 11 months.Thats the only reason the windshield is'nt lexan yet.Check out predator carb,there'sprobably one or two listed on ebay.Thanks,panhead201

Torchred87T/A

I was thinking along the lines of this but instead of cutting the spots open and just leave them there, wouldn't it be cool to make the two small scoops throttle actuated? Basically take the idea of the cowl induction hood off a 70 Chevelle SS and apply it here, Would that be possible?

panhead201

Hi,I know the difference between a supercharger,blower,turbo.Cant remember my terminology,does'nt matter.Hope I managed the attachments right.Actually a cowl hood is what I made.I used a hillborn, offie type scoop with throttle activated barn doors.Your idea is great,would look better,Ill see if I can make it Iwork.Just worried about pulling enough air from the rear side.Thanks,manI'm using a World products TBI,don't know if its on the market yet,got some friends there

Transmetal

Dang, all this time watching this post I got kinda excited that maybe somebody actually tried this, not yet.

panhead201

I'll try it.what I made outta a camaro hood and fiberglass looks like crap.panhead

Lampropeltis

I think you have the right idea musclecar70's. After looking at hawks air box and talking to a buddy mine that used to have one on his IROC, I don't think it would fit properly. I haven't moved forward on the idea cause I don't have access to any of my tools these days (new house, small garage, everything buried under my other half's gazillion boxes of woman stuff ). Certainly the intent behind this is to keep the stock appearance but give the hood some functionality; if it worked it would be perfect. Call me crazy, but I think the stock hood is the best looking hood for 85-90 Trans ams; especially GTA's. So I feel like we just have to look at autozone or advance at other air filters and find one flat enough to fashion some kind of setup around it. Nice that you have a spare hood - I've often thought about going to a junk yard and looking for a beater hood just for this idea alone. But I guess Ill have to wait until I can see my tools again Women!

On a side note, I've always thought the RA II hood is the best for 91-92 formula 'birds. It just makes them look badass.

BlwnSS

that setup is crying for meth injection

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

Yes yes it is! It is actually purchased. Since I am not using the stock overflow tank it will become my meth tank. Also since there is no air filter my control and pump can go in the passenger battery tray.

soarestransam

This has been bouncing in the back of my head for some time as well i also have a stock gta hood laying around maybe i can attempt it once u do urs so i have a guide on how to do it would be pretty sweet u would think hawks third gen would sell the hood an air box cheaper since there is no aftermarket cold air intake setups for our cars

Lampropeltis

S, not to be difficult or anything, but this thread has gone off course; the topic is not just about getting cold air under the hood any old way you can. The topic of this thread was SPECIFICALLY about making the factory trans am hood's front vents functional. Nothing else, period. All this talk about superchargers, aftermarket bumpers for road racing applications (which I DO think is cool cause I am a road racer at heart, not a drag racer) has nothing to do with the original posters topic for this thread. So please, if you have or are interested in experimenting with making those specific vents usable, then by all means post. Otherwise, please find the appropriate threads for other topics. There are TONS of threads about other bumper styles, blowers, and home made hoods that extract, induct, or otherwise use air in some way shape or form. Thanks gents.

DAVECS1

iTrader: (2)

I don,t think the op has an issue with me discussing the merits of cutting my hood to get air to my supercharger even if it is different hood vents. He asked for opinions, instances, and opinions. The for has moderators and to a lesser extent if the op has a problem then he can feel free to bounce things in the right direction. Not sure why your policing one out of 10000 threads. Most people around here appreciate my advice and input. Sorry you don't

stoltz87

I've done this, i cut them open with a dremel and ran some large rubber tubing from them to my intake.

gilly327

got any pics im in the process of doing the same. almost done