Purist need not apply! Can it be done(&worth it) Cowl Induction no hood cut

[CudaChris67]

I was watching a trackday event hosted by the Shelby Club (fords everywhere) and I saw a mustang that looked like it was using the fresh air cowl to feed the air intake.

I didn't take a pic, too bad because it was done nicely, small connection and color matched so it looked like it belonged there.

So what do you all think?
Here are some pics of some not so subtle ones I found on the web:

 

[4spdragtop]

Great idea Chris, Im sure with some creativity/ingenuity you could make it look very cool.

 

[inkjunkie]

Everything, well almost everything, is doable.

 

[67Dart273]

Well.................this might be OK on a race only car, but what are you gonna do for ventilation into the car?

The LAST thing you want is such an intimate communication between the carb and the interior of your car

 

[DFX 340 Duster]

I deleted a photo of a cowl induction mod that was on a big block 64 Dodge Polara that was for sale near me last month. They took a dual snorkel air filter assembly and removed one snorkel. They welded an oval shaped duct to the where the snorkel was and it's length was about 4 or 5 inches short of the firewall. They had a similar piece of ducting attached to the firewall and a short span of flexible rubber joining the two pieces of ducting. There appeared to be some sort of mechanism attached to to the firewall and just below duct. It appears that there was a capability to open and close the air path from the cowl in order to prevent rain from being drawn into the carb. The untouched snorkel was pointing towards the passenger side. The entire assembly was painted in flat black and blended into the background as the entire car was painted black. It was very well done. I recall seeing similar cowl induction setups on a number of cars back in the mid-1970s.

 

[Rocky_JS]

You could remove the heater assy and use the right cowl vent for air and the blower motor hole to link the two. You wouldn't have to modify the car at all and would still get the benefit of cowl induced fresh air.

 

[CudaChris67]

Well.................this might be OK on a race only car, but what are you gonna do for ventilation into the car?

The LAST thing you want is such an intimate communication between the carb and the interior of your car

I am using aftermarket a/c that does not utilize the cowl air, so I can block it off. And I have wing windows if I want fresh air.

 

[CudaChris67]

I deleted a photo of a cowl induction mod that was on a big block 64 Dodge Polara that was for sale near me last month. They took a dual snorkel air filter assembly and removed one snorkel. They welded an oval shaped duct to the where the snorkel was and it's length was about 4 or 5 inches short of the firewall. They had a similar piece of ducting attached to the firewall and a short span of flexible rubber joining the two pieces of ducting. There appeared to be some sort of mechanism attached to to the firewall and just below duct. It appears that there was a capability to open and close the air path from the cowl in order to prevent rain from being drawn into the carb. The untouched snorkel was pointing towards the passenger side. The entire assembly was painted in flat black and blended into the background as the entire car was painted black. It was very well done. I recall seeing similar cowl induction setups on a number of cars back in the mid-1970s.

Sounds cool, let us know if you find it again

 

[1968dartman]

there is a guy here where I live that took out the signal lights in the grill of his 68 dart and used those holes to feed fresh air to a dual snorkel air breather. He put the signal lights in his bumper. With the right tools and knowledge anything can be done. JMO

 

[krazykuda]

The cowl induction really works when the car is moving.

I used to know Mike Bettenhausen (his uncle is Tony Bettenhausen the Indy car racer). They own a Dodge dealership around here. I got to know Mike when he worked in the parts department at the dealer back in the day.

He used to race a "lower level" of NASCAR racing himself. He told me once that they tried to use the cowl induction on his race car. They modified the car and poured power steering fluid on the hood of the car, then took it out on the track and got it up to 140 MPH. Not ONE DROP of power steering fluid hit the windshield, it all got sucked into the cowl induction. It really works when the car gets moving!!!

 

[Hersbird]

The cowl is about the only area of high pressure air on the car. Air grabbers, TA hoods, and custom ducts in the grill all look cool and tap cooler air, but the cowl gets cool air with a slight amount of positive pressure on it.