Do you think louvers are as popular now as in years past? I have had several cars with ventilated hood tops and deck lids but I haven't louvered a hood in years,I always thought they looked cool but I remember what a PITA it was to prep & sand them for painting. HRP
I think so, what kind of body guy doesn't like bloody finger tips? Some day I'll have the aprons on the '29 Steelback punched with large louvers like these on the Blue Train Bentley. Bob
Dean,don't get me wrong,I love louvers and am well aware you do also,I'm just nor seeing them as much now as in the past. HRP
I absolutely love everything about louvers except laying them out, punching them and SANDING them. Other than that louvers are wonderful. Bill
Still pretty popular 'round these here parts... Just finished this up on Monday for H.A.M.B.er Alec. He's takin' 'em home to Austin in a coupla weeks.
Just Recently got to see one of my older patterns finished and painted. Kinda nice to see after about 15 years in primer. My typical rayed pattern with the louvers tipped to match the hood's back edges.
I don't follow. Could you explain, in the frame that louvers go back to the turn of the previous century, and have been a widely popular modification since just after WWII? What do the 90's have to do with it? Was that a local thing in your area?
I seem to recall a resurgance in louver popularity beginning in the mid 1970's. with how-to articles appearing in magazines around that time. I like them myself, in moderation. As mentioned earlier, watch your fingers when prepping for paint!
Not that I agree to the "a 90's thing" but there was that whole retro rod period with those anemic V-6's, that kind of negated the need for any heat release because they they just didn't make any. Pastel paint and velour upholstery seemed to take precedence.
I love louvers my 47 Chevy has 108 of them in the hood. I've been looking for someone near Pittsburgh, PA to louver my trunk lid for my coupe, looking for 4" for the coupe.
120 in my hood but those were done in 1981. They let the engine run a hell of a lot cooler on 100+ degree days though. Since I am building a completely new hood this time around I'll have to wait and see if I want to have it punched.
Well I like them louvers! I'm just fitting the hood and gas tank cover that Iron Hill Hot Rods punched for me. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have always loved louvers and right now both my cars don't have any.Maybe after I drop my 454 in my 40 f0rd pickup.
They tend to be way over done. There are select areas that they look good/fit into a build, like the hood side panels of a hotrod. Beyond that, they remind me of the gaudy, over accesorized look of 90's streetrods(bright yellow with lots of billet and digital dashes).