a little crazy idea on scoop

Do you have a link for that? I'm really interested.
Thanks,
Russ

http://www.firebirdcentral.com/product_p/she-2539.htm

Edited by dave302 - 02-March-2018 at 4:22AM

Years ago I had a 2nd gen T/A. It had the functional flap and despite the fact it faced the driver, that area was a high pressure spot on the car and it worked well.

During the 1970's Ford, GM and Chrysler played with hood scoops and the resulting benefits ran from amazing to dismal. Some notable findings:

Most hood scoops of the 1970's and 1980's were ornamental and even when made functional, added little to the actual performance of the vehicle.

1972 GTS models with a functional Ram Air setup had a marginal performance increase, non-functional models actually create a large area of heat (that cannot escape) in the total scoop area that can increase vapor lock/performance issues when using some aftermarket intake setups (I can personally vouch for that)
Chrysler 6 pack large scoops worked very well but ate everything that came by
1967-1968 Mercury Cougar scoops did not help
1971-1973 Mustang Mach 1 scoops did little to help, in fact it was shown to create an area of low pressure that siphoned air out
Chevelle cowl induction hoods worked pretty well
Corvettes with the functional cowl scoop worked well
Buick GS 1970-1972 scoops again created an area of low pressure that siphoned air out of the carb at speed
Ford Mustang II Cobra scoops did nothing, even when reversed and opened up
etc...

Back then, wind tunnel testing was still in it's infancy and engineers took a back seat to designers, so what could have worked very well was unable to be integrated into the design of the car. Also, the drag created on most outweighed the benefits, water entering the air cleaner/carbs was a constant issue, debris entering the scoop would clog filters or worse. Ford had an issue with daily driven vehicles getting water on the ignition setup (distributor mounted on the top front of the engine) as well. On a pleasure vehicle, not much of an issue but on a daily, it created a problem. The fact is that pressure areas determine the best placement of hood scoops - low pressure spots negatively affect performance, high pressure areas positively affect performance. What "looks" great is not necessarily good for performance. The benefit to performance was a supply of cooler, more dense air that would enable the engine to produce more power. When it worked, it worked pretty well, but most of the time, it just appeared to look cool.

Once air does get into the engine bay through the scoop has to be routed efficiently into the intake system. Seals, cases, ductwork all play an important role in getting that cooler air into the intake system. One of the best setups involves removing the inner headlights and using ductwork to introduce cool air into the system - unobstructed flow, high pressure area, less water issues and no drag increase.

As stated above, anything is worth a try!

If your still thinking about the Thunderbolt style setup, this air filter housing might work out better than your stocker;

I can testify the 72 GTS hood when left open all the time, allows the potential for water penetration into the distributor. I've learned to just keep a hefty garbage bag and pop the hood and cover the top of the engine.