Intake Cold Air for Street rods

[Learpilot]

I have watched all the TV hot rod shows about cold air for cars, but they always show a Muscle Cars. I know hood clearance is tight but you have a wide engine compartment to run the large tubes. Well my Street rod has a lot of hood clearance but no width.  I have not figured out how to get cold air. I don't want a hood scoop or use my cowl vent.  I do have louvered sides and thought about getting air from there but is it enough air plus there is hot engine air going out of the lovers. I have about an inch above the radiator.
Thanks in advance !!!
Rick

[Charlie Chops 1940]

I don't remember what you have for an engine but I'm gonna take a stab at sizing of an air duct at 3-4" in diameter feeding a similar size tube sticking out of a closed type (like OEM) air cleaner. You could buid a rectangular duct to round over the radiator and then use a wire reinforced hose to the air cleaner. Another way is to run  a hose from the air cleaner down the front of the engine facing it into the breeze behind the front axle. Maybe not very elegant but it couldn't hurt. Try a few rough protypes to see what works.

I've not done cold art ducting as I think effort spent keeping the carb cooler with an insulator block gives more bang for the buck by keeping the fuel in the carb from evaporating. If that gets covered it would hurt to get make-up air as cool as possible.

Just a couple cents worth.

Sometimes our planning is for naught. I run a 2 piece belly pan full of a few hundred louvers under my track roadster and found that it still dammed hot air up in the engine compartment - which ended up seeping into my area, even with all the cracks caulked, etc. When I took the front half belly pan off the improvement was remarkable. That was alot of effort wasted...but it looked cool. Maybe if I drove it in the winter....ha!

Charlie

[phat46]

I have watched all the TV hot rod shows about cold air for cars, but they always show a Muscle Cars. I know hood clearance is tight but you have a wide engine compartment to run the large tubes. Well my Street rod has a lot of hood clearance but no width.  I have not figured out how to get cold air. I don't want a hood scoop or use my cowl vent.  I do have louvered sides and thought about getting air from there but is it enough air plus there is hot engine air going out of the lovers. I have about an inch above the radiator.
Thanks in advance !!!
Rick

Seems like I used to see a lot of after market cold air kits with an under the bumper scoop. They were usually rectangular in shape and fitted closely against the front bumper. I was thinking  that one of those set back from the bumper, like even with the front fender or sheet metal wouldn't show too much and might be effective.

[jaybee]

Seems like it'd do the trick, and I do think that both heat soak at the carb and intake air temp make a difference.  One of the reasons why the later model guys are so into it is that with computerized engines they can monitor intake temp.  The underhood temp can be 50* F higher than ambient!

[chimp koose]

could you pull air from the front of the wheel wells?