[78w72]

Just wondering if there is anything available aftermarket or if anyone has made some kind of plug for the open scoops on formula hoods?

I have a VFN formula hood with open scoops, its not functional ram air, just open scoops... in the colder months like early spring or now late fall, the open scoops let too much cold air in and the engine wont ever reach operating temps of the 180 T-stat. This engine has aluminum heads, intake & radiator, and even in 90f summer temps it just reaches 180 and never above... but anything below about 65f it wont reach 180 when driving.

Id like to stuff a piece of foam in there or something else to block off the open scoops... any suggestions?

[VCho455]

It's (or used to be) pretty common to put a piece of cardboard or thin plastic in front of the radiator in the winter months in areas that see very low temperatures. I do it on my daily driver Suburban here when we see 20 degree weather. It makes the heater work way better. I only cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the front of the radiator.

The air coming in your scoops is bypassing the radiator and most likely won't make a noticeable difference in the engine water temperature if you close them off.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by VCho455

It's (or used to be) pretty common to put a piece of cardboard or thin plastic in front of the radiator in the winter months in areas that see very low temperatures. I do it on my daily driver Suburban here when we see 20 degree weather. It makes the heater work way better. I only cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the front of the radiator.

The air coming in your scoops is bypassing the radiator and most likely won't make a noticeable difference in the engine water temperature if you close them off.

Thanks, Im aware of the cardboard in the radiator and may try something like that for the operating temps, it still has good heat just wont reach the normal running temps, probably 150-160.

I forgot to mention the other concern, I have RPM E heads with no exhaust cross over opening for the intake, with the cool air hitting the aluminum intake it takes a long time to warm up which is important for fuel atomizing, you can tell it runs a little rougher when cold... after 20-30 minutes of normal city driving at 35-45mph you can easily hold your hand on the plenum area of the intake. Great for the summer heat but not for cool or chilly days.

Didnt know if anyone came up with something like for driving in the rain to block the scoop openings. I can look at possibly making something out of thin plastic or aluminum and figure out how to mount & remove them.

[johnta1]

Don't know anyone making anything for the scoops.
They don't really have a problem with water getting through it.
And air is what you want a scoop for.


You could do like the snorkel scoops have for race cars?
Basically some foam cut just a hair bigger than the openings and stuff it in there. Make it with a lip in case it might get pushed too far in? (or put a flat piece of fiberboard or whatever on the end, could even put wording on it?)

[johnta1]

Pic of Moroso plug from Jeg's:

[78w72]

Foam inserts are a good idea, and the lip would stop it from getting pushed in too far.

Yes air is a good thing from the scoops but they arent functional ram air and on cooler late fall days like this in the midwest its just too much cold air that delays the intake from getting or staying warm.

[rolling money pits]

Not being familiar with the VFN hood….does it have any structure underneath that would allow something to be mounted there?

If not, maybe affix a studs or nuts underneath?

[78w72]

This is the bolt on version of their formula hood, there is framing underneath on the sides & in the front area for the hood latch & under the scoops, the rest of the center area is just the flat bottom side of the fiberglass skin, cant make it functional which would be nice, but for this car that is a base model firebird resto mod street/strip car I dont care much about functional ram air... it weighs 24lbs which is what I wanted over the heavy GM formula hoods. Im sure I could conjure up something to mount there but the foam seems like a cheaper & easier option to try first.

The easy answer is what Ive been doing, to just put the car away a month before the others that have working exhaust crossovers... I usually drive until they put the salt crap on the roads or it gets too much below freezing temps, Ive went to mid december before... last year it was 65 on Christmas day!

[Formulabruce]

Engine temp is a product of AL heads and Lower CR. To remedy run a heat range plug same as a R45. Don't have the number handy but ac Delco makes one I use in my round ports. It's a single number plug.

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by 78w72

...I have a VFN formula hood with open scoops, its not functional ram air, just open scoops... in the colder months like early spring or now late fall, the open scoops let too much cold air in and the engine wont ever reach operating temps of the 180 T-stat. ...

weird.

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

Engine temp is a product of AL heads and Lower CR. To remedy run a heat range plug same as a R45. Don't have the number handy but ac Delco makes one I use in my round ports. It's a single number plug.

I would suggest this might be correct.

I used to run my car year round;
I always had not just open scoops, but the hood was functional.

It was pretty cool to see frost sticking around ONLY on the scoops... meanwhile the rest of the hood was frost free.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

Engine temp is a product of AL heads and Lower CR. To remedy run a heat range plug same as a R45. Don't have the number handy but ac Delco makes one I use in my round ports. It's a single number plug.

Lower CR? My engine is 10.7:1.

Do plug heat ranges make an engine run noticeable hotter or cooler? I cant remember what heat range they are off hand but the E heads use a different plug than iron heads and Im using the NGK equivalent to what edelbrock recommends.

Im pretty sure based on warm temp driving vs cooler temps that the main issue is the cold air getting into the engine compartment thats causing the issues related to the intake temps, it still runs fine but can tell its a little rougher than when fully warm.
The running temps are due to the AL heads but also the efficiency of the alum radiator and a good tune... even in 80-90+ temps this car never overheats & will sit right at the 180 T-stat temp during any city driving or at the dragstrip on a hot summer day.

[78w72]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

weird.



I would suggest this might be correct.

I used to run my car year round;
I always had not just open scoops, but the hood was functional.

It was pretty cool to see frost sticking around ONLY on the scoops... meanwhile the rest of the hood was frost free.

Weird? Thats how VFN formula hoods are made, all the looks but no functional ram air, guess its a trade off for a bolt on formula hood that weighs 24lbs!

If the hood was functional all the cold air could be going into the carb which is a good thing, not the engine bay keeping the non exhaust crossover intake so cool.

[necdb3]

It's never going to run well in a cold climate without an exhaust crossover. The other item needed would be part of the EFE system which has the tubes coming of of the exhaust manifolds to bring warm air to the air cleaner.

It may not be easy or even possible to do this if an aftermarket air cleaner was installed. Cold drivability can be tough on a car with modifications. Typically, those vehicles are purpose built and cold climates aren't as big of a concern.

[Mr Twister]

Appearance Products of Grand Rapids (Cutlerville) Michigan offered to make me a scoop plug for my Howard Bullet boat some years ago. Good not cheap....

[78w72]

Originally Posted by necdb3

It's never going to run well in a cold climate without an exhaust crossover. The other item needed would be part of the EFE system which has the tubes coming of of the exhaust manifolds to bring warm air to the air cleaner.

It may not be easy or even possible to do this if an aftermarket air cleaner was installed. Cold drivability can be tough on a car with modifications. Typically, those vehicles are purpose built and cold climates aren't as big of a concern.

I realize it wont run perfect during the colder months without the ex x-over... dont get me wrong its not like it runs bad or stumbles or cuts out, its just a rougher idle you can tell isnt as smooth as when its fully warmed up. Under load or burnout launches etc it still runs great, but I know the fuel isnt fully atomizing due to the cool intake. If I let it idle for ~5 minutes after a short drive the intake will warm up but not fully and after a 45-55 mph drive it cools back down some.

I only drive this car when its cooler for a month or so, like mid-late oct to mid november then I put it away. With plugs in the open scoops it would limit some of that cold air hitting the intake/carb and allow it to get warmer faster. Blocking 50% of the radiator as mentioned above would help it get to operating temp better which would help some too.

Thanks for the ideas.