I'm getting the '64 galaxie hood ready for louvers... im wondering if anyone has done a galaxie hood before? I'm looking at the inner support which is pretty heavy on the back side. The luvers will make the hood stronger so can I leave some of it out? you'll be able to see the inner structure thru the louvers if I leave it? What have you guys done? I'm fishing for ideas... Tuck
That Six-four sure is looking good.......that inner structure might be important for the hinge support as well...I think I'd put it back in or modify it so you still have the majority there........you could always tilt the whole front clip like I did with my 65 T-bird...
[ QUOTE ] Cut out the inner support, punch louvers, REPLACE SUPPORT!.....OLDBEET [/ QUOTE ] Right. paint the side of the support dark so it won't be real noticable if it bothers you. Oh, sweet ol' Ford 641/2 right?
"The luvers will make the hood stronger".... Hmmm...it's MY experience that they usually put cheek and heel marks in them! Cool Galaxie, Tuckster...always loved them big ol' Fords!
Louvered a 67 Chevelle hood 20 years ago and we oversize cut the support from an extra hood so we had overlapping at the seam. Less chance for the heat to warp the top panel during welding. Painting is a *****, probably best to paint the top of the support before welding in. alchemy
in my aged experienece...i would say..you shoudl probably put it back on after you punch louvers...hahahaah.....um...yeah, then paint it black so you "probably won't" see it.. but make no doubt....punch those louvers, make it scream...so when the socal boys see it comin down their street, their pants fill with cream...thank you, thank you...i'll be here all week.
Tuck, Here's my 2 cents, and they aren't nearly as funny as Toke's... Your louvers will have sharp corners at the cutouts Sharp corners = stress points Sharp corners + vibration = tearing Louvers + inner support = less vibration See where I'm going with this?? You may be adding RIGIDITY with the louvers, but you're creating areas of concentrated STRESS. Maybe re-work the inner structure so it's hidden? Remove the hood springs and use a prop? Ed PS- Thank you, thank you... I'll be here all week.
I dont know how long you've been deciding about the louvers butI'd just like to toss out a few things to consider; Are you prepared to waterproof you're ignition since if the louvers continue up above the distributor, it's gonna get wet when it's parked in the rain or when snow is melting off it. You'll be cleaning the engine a lot more too since it'll be exposed to the elements when parked. Are you going to block off your cowl vent or run some grill air ducts, like '40s and early 50s cars had, to source cool air since all the hot, hot, hot engine compartment air coming out the louvers is going to get ****ed straight into your car through that cowl vent? Are you doing this because "it looks cool" or because you need the added air flow for a hot running engine? I like louvers on "racing-function cars" that need them for cooling purposes in locations that are actually functional. I think they look superflous on "cruiser cars", and the car in the picture looks like a cruiser, not a racer. I may be wrong...I was wrong about something once last year. With that said, Yea, put the brace back in, the corrugation of the louvers don't strengthen anything above what the cuts detract. paint it blact before puttingit back in and figure out a way to slide a masking paper between it and the hood so it doesn't get painted body color when it's painted. I like them "fastback" Fords!
TUCK Looks like the philly connection is weighing in heavy today. the louvers will actually stiffen the panel to some extent just as any time you stretch the metal you do gain some rigity. however if your like me you'll try to punch as many louvers as will fit and thats the real problem.. my exp. one louver adds rigity many louvers have the opposite result. (just like rolling a bead in a floor panel) I AM CERTAIN you will need to keep MOST if not all of the hood inner structure. or you could go the real race car route and use 4 hood pins to homd the bonnet in place later sawzall ps until now I didnt like these 60's fords.. seeing that profile has totally changed my mind..wow!
Tuck, That is one of the sweetest lookin' 60's kustoms that I've ever seen. I hope you get a better digicam one of these days. Ed
Heres the scoop... I have two hoods. The hood that is on the car had some light damage from when the flywheel exploded, parts went through that hood.... TOKYO SEEN IT FIRST HAND haha... so that hood im keeping as a "plain" hood in case I hate the louvers. I bought a cherry hood that im prepping! Dr.J, I'm going to louver the hood for "looks", I'm going to weld the fenders/rockers/cowl like a early 60's show car... and im not stopping there. I found a rare '63 marauder and im useing that grill and the rear tail light panel, cutting the spot welds and it fits right in. The marader grill looks close to a 60 merc grill... and it fits right in the '64 galaxie with the marauder core support pieces. The rear bumper is getting dropped and im making a rear pan that uses the same trim pieces that wrap around the tail light and trunk... they will mirror on the bottom too. It will rule. I wanted to know if the inner structure was ever left out or portions of it... that and I was dreaming it would be cool to be able to get the whole thing out and CHROME IT... then put it back in... but thats out of the question. I've been taking pics but left my dig cam adapter far far away from this computer... so ill post them later when its all said and done. Tuck Thanks for the input guys as I was planning on leaving it in... .just didnt know what had been done in the past...
oh yeah... and dr.j on that ignition warning... I know all about it on my shoebox ford that hoods louvered (plastic over the engine at night)... That can get real annoying!!! that and running it without a hood its ok... none of my cars are driven very far. I work 1 block from where I live
I just bought a 64 galaxie wagon with louvers in the hood, they cut out the support and left them out but it has held up for about 15 years, i think I might put something back in just to be safe tho.
Tuck, when you louver a hood, that is the time to weld some tabs on the underside to bolt a drip pan to. It can be tapered left and rite and dump the water off onto the inner fenders or to the rear if you have a distributor in front or vice versa if the distributor is in the rear. Works great and can be removed if done rite when you don't need it. Or installed in the rainy season. An old trick from the wet coast of Canada. By the way, a buddy of mine with a 63 Galaxie cut the back of the rear quarters off his car and louvered them in rows at the rear and welded them back on. Same with the bottom of the front fenders. Much work, but makes people scratch their heads when they check it out. Nutz.
hey nice wagon... im gonna have 4 times as many louvers as that. it'll flow nice with the back of the hood forward... ill see if i can find a pic as an example of what im doing... tuck
Damn theodore, looks like someone was shooting bottle rockets off your hood there. Tuck, I have been running for 2 years in my A without a hood, no moisture problems yet. How many louvers do you think you can fit on there 200?? TZ
dude im gonna run at LEAST 200 louvers. The louvers are 2" wide. They're a round louver and look really nice, they're not too tall. I'm gonna need that louvered hood for when I visit texas right fltblack... haha all that added heat from my AC unit! Tuck
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