This site is a wellhead of great info. One more question and then I'll stand down for awhile. I'm thinking of adding three rows of hood louvers, each side, to the hood of my '51 merc. It'll be a driver, garage kept, but might see a shower and will be washed now and again. Flathead with Edelbrock aluminum heads, mild custom. Guys with louvers: You like em? Keep your engine room cooler? Dirt, leaves, squirrels, etc. get in? What say you, sledders?
thundershorts- I like louvers on any car so long as they are tastefully placed. Mine work well keeping the engine cool. Only drawback is with a car that has a rake, you engine catchs a lot of water when it sits in the rain. I say drive it, the water will go away. Cheers! Mickm
Bought an old race car that the hood roof and deck were louvred, lived in N Cal at the time and didn't have a garage, it was still dryer than my motor cycle. Its just water and less gets in then you would expect. If I can get my carbs under the hood in my current project it will be louvred also. On a car that the engine runs hot it helps keep it cooler and you don't get as much radiant heat in the cab.
loved my louvers, rain is a pain on the distributor added a pan and it was OK. I don't polish the engine as much as some of you do.
I had 110 louvers in the hood on a 55 Chevy.When I washed the car i would put an old shower curtain over the engine. That worked good also when caught in the rain at an outdoor car show.Hope this helps. Tom (Tired Old Man)
I have always wanted a louvered hood,since the 50's. Never had one,now my 47 Ford does run hot,and was thinking I would louver the hood. After thinking about it I realized I rely on the cowl vent for my poor mans A/C.. Would'nt the louvers just dump hot air down my cowl vent?
I have alot on an o/t truck. love them. BUT they do not belong on everything or every hood. So.... sorry not on your 51 Merc at all. Good luck.
I've only heard of one problem. A buddy of mine drove a 40 P/U as his daily driver. It sat in front of his house. It had a chrome 4 bbl aircleaner with a recess for the center bolt. He bent a rod due to hydraulic lock. The air cleaner acted as a funnel directing the water into the carb. It was a pretty nasty night with the rain blowing sideways. I wouldn't worry about bending a rod unless it sits in the rain for a while allowing the rain to puddle. I don't have a hood so I picked up a 5.0 Mustang dist boot to use if I get caught on the road. A ladies shower cap works too. Back when magazines had useful information they had a tip where a guy used the really old ice cube trays with the removable dividers to catch any water that got through and a hose to drain it off to a safe location. It might be hard to find them today.
I personally don't care for the look of 49/51 Mercs with louvers in the hood but that's just my personal opinion. I've had 120 in the hood of the 40 for the past 30 years and yes if the vehicle is sitting out in the rain the engine gets very wet. If you are bent on having a spotless engine I'd forget the louvers. They do let a lot of air out from the engine compartment and really help with cooling at least on the 48. In that respect they are great.
I just through a bunch of those ice cube trays out. Mallory still makes distributer boots. A marine distributer is also an option or they make a spray and have med it for a good long time that pretty much water proofs them. In a pinch you can dry a dizzy with wd40. But a car with a louvred hood will still be dryer than one with no hood.
I had a car with recessed area at the center on the air cleaner. Had the hood off when it rained and may as well have had a big funnel straight into the oilpan. I have a louvered hood now and run some plexy with a rubber washer under the aircleaner nut to keep water out of the aircleaner and I think it covers the distributor too. I need to get another piece as it finally broke after being tossed around my shop for a year or two. I'm kinda paranoid now about getting water into the carb so I'm looking forward to others responses. My car seems to run cooler (51 Ford) but its tough to say since I also put electric fans on at the same time. If it keeps heat out of the p***enger compartment, so much the better!
I'm going to do my hood on my 59 p/u http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=8424
I tell people to carry, and use, a piece of magnetic sign material. Works great, sticks to the bottom of your hood, keeps MOST of the water out, easy to take off and store when the sun comes back out. Howard
a buddy of mine had about 100 in the hood of his 51 vicky..... until it came up. doesn't have to worry now about his engine getting wet, his new one doesn't have any. yet.
x3 To keep the water and other **** out...go to your local sign maker who does the big magnet signs for the side of vans and trucks....get a large piece...cut it to size and stick it on under your hood in bad weather. Even though it's flat stock....it's still very strong and won't fall off in the rain. I've done that on all my decklids
I got them and like them although I must concur that they are a pain to paint, sand, and buff. Regarding water I would say even a louvered hood is better than running a hoodless car and lots of folks run hoodless hiboys without a lot of water problems.
I remember a guy that had louvers punched in the hood of his 51 Ford, and he had a thin sheet of metal welded on the bottom side of his hood, and a small piece of brake line welded to the back for a drain tube.
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