Hot Rods keeping everything dry

120 Louvers in the hood of my 48 and it has been in some gully washer rain storms and has sat out in the open all the time I was driving it. the only problem was when I had a shiny engine I had to do a lot of cleaning if I wanted to play show and tell. The 250 didn't even get a spray can paint job before I stuck it in in 1989 and maybe once a year I washed it off at the spray wand car wash but the hood never got opened at a show.
I am undecided as to running a louvered hood on the new build though. All of that polished finned aluminum may negate punching the hood.

 

What's the fun in that Bobby?

All joking aside, while you are driving in a monsoon it's not too fun but as time goes the story's get better! HRP

 

An elderly friend of mine was driving his '36 Ford sedan to the first run to the sun in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina years ago and a hurricane come on shore, the rain was relentless on Friday & Saturday, when Sunday rolled around J.D's car would not start, we tried everything we could think of and still nothing, it would turn over but it was. getting frustrating.

A gut that was from North Carolina ask if he could help and withing 2 minutes the car was running.

He pulled the coil wire and stuck a screw driver in the distributor cap and told me to spin the engine over, he said when he saw a spark from the coil wire to the screwdriver he knew the distributor had taken on moisture.

We were on our way home in about 10 minutes, HRP

 

Fla. is off an on wet. One would think ,even as a teen,I would of been more design aware! In the late 1950s,I built my own car for high school,no hood,no fenders,no top 28A roadster.
The now an then wet did sink in after a few months of driving.
So I went an got a old car with top,hood,windows> Henry J.
The "J" then needed a big V8 Rocket 88.
But also cut the top off the "J" after getting a 55 Thunderbird folding top=back to getting wet again for two months in 1960 before "J" was again water proof.
I did many years later add a folding top to my 28A Roadster Bobtail,,,but still no hood or side windows.

 

Dana my friend, I admire you.

You have keep the same car since you were in your teens and now you are still hopping in and out like a kid. HRP

 

When I was a kid,yes I coul;d hop in,but really now days,I'm very happy I made the doors work,didn't weld them closed. Kept them working. The kid then, thought working door was nice for the pretty girls,now good for old guy LOL

 

Buddy had a 36 Master Chebbie Coupe ,with a stock hood , LT 1 , 3 Deuces . It sat for a few months during spring and summer , while he was gone on the “ farm “. Upon his return he tried to fire it , few cylinders were hydra locked with water and bent a connecting rod . Keeping it moving during rain has to help , a can of silicone spray is your friend with wet ignition . I have been riding the old Harley and soaked with rain . Come to a stop light and put your feet down and that damn wet coil and plug wires will light up the left inside leg . It will cause you to talk about someone’s , mother !

 

I hear you Dana, we still get it done, it just takes longer. HRP

 

When we traveled in my pickup we put our luggage in the big black contractor trash bags and nothing ever got wet no matter how hard it rained.

 

AND he is still looking for pretty girls LOL. @dana barlow

 

Me and you both John. HRP

 

Dana shoot's and he scores! HRP

 

Same in a bunch of his posts. He's STILL a Chick Magnet

 

I hear he has a new book out. HRP

 

Back in the late 1980's, a friend and I got the hoods on out pickup trucks louvered. His was a OT Dodge and mine was a 1959 Ford F250 with an older Chevy small block (recently divorced - it was a budget build...).

As I heard the thunderstorm rolling in, I realized that the stock air cleaners would collect water and look like a bird bath - then the water would run down the center bolt hole into the engine. Black plastic trash bags and duct tape provided a temporary fix.

The long term fix was spun aluminum wheel covers (Moon look-alikes) from the hot rod shop. 14" filters with a 15" disk. Drilled a 1/4" hole dead center on the disk and made a longer 1/4"-20 rod from thread-all. Rubber washer from my collection of universal faucet washers. We drove both trucks for years.

Russ

 

Sounds like a good read!

 

Sooner or later your going to get wet!

 

I live in the rain forest for 7 years and almost always drove a pickup. If you were going someplace you hauled your chit in the back. It took some doing but if you packed it right only the stuff on top got really wet.

 

picture of my 40 without hood it got rained on a few times not a problem. I try to avoid rainy days because I live on a dirt road and don't want mud all over it.

 

a buddy had a louvered hood on his shoebox. he said silicone spray on the ignition parts helped a lot.

 

Steve Osborn (weeds on here; RIP) on the way to the first Americruise in '93. 1929 roadster pickup. No top. No hood. Southbound on US-71 between Kansas City and Joplin, MO. That's not a dirty camera lens; that's runnin' 80 per in a LOT of rain. b-t-w; I took the pic while driving Clarence.

 

Been there,done that, it's nut's but you do what ya gotta do. HRP

 

As we begin to get back to some sort of normalcy after the pandemic damn if the rain didn't show for the first cruise-in this year.

 

Ain't that the truth. HRP

 

I haven't had any problems driving with a louvered hood in the rain yet; I cover the engine with plastic when I wash the car.

 

I'd just be happy if I didn't have to wear a plastic bag on my gas pedal foot...which is right under the leaky cowl vent.

 

For a couple of years I had the same problem, I even put a new cowl vent rubber gasket in and it slowed it down but didn't stop it from leaking, when I was installing the new interior I was under the dash and noticed I didn't have a drain hose on gutter, new hose and no leak. HRP

 

That is why my cowl vent is now welded closed. I'll never drive with a wet right foot again.

 

My '31 Model A Cabriolet isn't louvered but it got caught in downpour, that rained pitchforks and babies, while at a cruise in. Sat it out in the car with the dog....Sun came back out and we finished off the gathering. Got ready to go but the car started and died and then would turn over but wouldn't fire. Fuel, yes...Spark, yes. Checked timing...good. Had a buddy drag me around and popping the clutch, no fire.
The light came on...was the liquid going to the carb gasoline or water?
Pull the fuel line and drain water until gas comes out. Fired right off....
Seems the filler neck in the cowl leaks, so does the rumble/trunk deck lid...on trips anything in the back gets put in a black plastic bag

 

Hello,

When we were driving around in the 2nd 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery with a 327 for power, there were two rows of louvers on the hood. One row on each side of the chrome strip. They looked neat and served a heat reducing function for the motor when we ran the York A/C compressor in hot So Cal coastal drives.

Any time my wife drove the sedan delivery by herself, the A/C was on. That in itself, allowed my wife to drive the sedan delivery on short errands and to visit friends. Our other car did not have A/C and she could not ride the Harley by herself. So, the A/C worked well in all aspects of owning a 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery for us.

On cold coastal mornings, on the way to the waves, if a stop light was there, one could see the heat coming out of the motor area through the louvers. So, as much stuff that is coming out, there was as much stuff getting into those open vents. When parked, the side winds and swirling winds found the openings, as small as they are and deposited all sorts of stuff.

That was the bad part of owning a louvered hood. As clean as the engine compartment was, it got cluttered up with stuff and dirt getting inside the open vents. So with the activities of the day(s) continuing, one does not notice spots and grime on the motor until the next hood raising for an oil check or something.

Now, as there is coastal rain and fog in So Cal, during most of the year, moisture was evident. When we took the 40 sedan delivery out in the rain, it was noticeable instantly, as smoke came from the water/moisture on the hot engine parts, including some that escaped down to the headers.

After those wet days, detailing the motor and compartment was always necessary. The water spots were everywhere. Even if we had several coats of wax and sealer, the water spots from the heat and moisture almost baked on unless I was able to get it off using wax or sometimes, a reddish looking rubbing compound.

Jnaki

Louvers are very cool when placed on various places of any hot rod or drag racing vehicle. But, one must abide by the difficulties and extra work that the water intrusion creates. My one solution was to wash the exposed 40 Ford Sedan Delivery, but not getting the hood wet. It was spray cleaning and drying on the whole hood in and around the louvers.

So, if you don’t mind the extra work and moisture getting on the motor, then get the louvers on the hood. Side louvers might have a difficult time getting stuff inside, but the winds always play havoc with openings in metal.


Lee Bright San Diego Prowlers 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery

Lee Bright had a great idea on his immaculate yellow 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery. (one my wife would like to own…) One place where louvers would not pick up any water or grime is in a belly pan below the rear of a sedan delivery. Unless, of course, one goes in deep water in a flooded intersection or a low lying coastal highway during those King Tides…