mcalus

Has anyone cut out the inserts in a stock 93 Z28 LT1 Camaro hood?

Basically make a ram air hood out of the stock one without having to put a hood scoop on it, but dont use it as your intake, basically just to keep your headers and engine cooler...??? Dumb idea??? Whats your opinion?

Here is a picture of a my stock hood...

2000GTP

I've heard of people doing it and they claim it makes a difference in running temps, not sure if that is fact or not.

exgmguy

I did it, and it definitely made it run cooler on hot days. A noticeable difference on the gauge. Some people don't like water getting on their engine though. It is working fine for me so far.

Crows89RS

Don't those inserts just bolt in? if so couldn't you just take them out, put them in whenever?

exgmguy

The inserts snap in, but the plastic behind them is solid (apart from the holes that the tabs go in). I CAREFULLY cut mine out with a hacksaw blade. Nice and square like. You don't even really notice the new holes unless you are looking for them.

OrbitalChris

my question is what is the paint code to your car.. I almost bought one that color but I ended up with sebring silver... I love that color!!

Brangeta

I don't fully understand the way this would work. Does anyone have a picture of a stock hood without the heat shielding pad underneath it? I was always told that without the heat shield, the paint on the hood would bubble because of the heat.

Is there a hole behind the plastic inserts, or would you have to cut one?

Since this would be completely unfunctional, wouldn't this just allow a ton of dirt and water spill on to your engine?

shock6906

It wouldn't be completely non-functional. It would allow some cool air to get in the engine bay and potentially keep things running cooler, but yes, it seems that there would be a large amount of water, dirt, and other debris getting in your engine bay. The best thing I could think of is to cut out the area behind the inserts, but leave the strips of plastic (or fiberglass, I forget which) intact so you can snap the inserts back in for foul weather.

JoeliusZ28

ummmmmmmmmmmm no. unless you run your headers upside down like a jetboat, theres no way the hood would get that hot.

Brangeta

Then why is there a heat shield? It has to be there for a reason, just like there is a reason GM uses exactly enough fasteners on the body and interior to keep things from rattling and no more than necessary. GM wouldn't put it there unless it had a purpose.

Our SS never had a heat shield, and I always assumed that was because the hood wasn't made of steel. Though... I've never really thought about it. Is the stock LS1 SS hood made of fiberglass?

MarcR94v6

It's for sound deadening and to keep water out of the engine. The hood vents where meant to be functional, but they had problems with water leaks so they patched them up with the inserts. But they still leak from the areas around the inserts, without the heatsheild, it drips directly onto wires and eventually causes problems.

What's said above is a bit of opinion mixed with fact and experience.

And another thing - I do painting and body work and let me tell you, the heat from the sun, especially a black car, gets the paint hotter than a hot running engine like an f-body ever could.

Crows89RS

I've had my heat shield off for about a year now simply because it looks like dirt **** whenever I pop my hood. I just cleaned up the underside of the hood real well and now it looks great.

I might try this, I don't know though, I'll probably **** somethin' up in the process.

exgmguy

I think that GM was playing it safe by leaving the vents closed. They have to make the car hard to break for the biggest of idiots. BTW, My car is the same color. SEXY!

exgmguy

I guess you can see the cut out vents rather well.

MarcR94v6

Maybe so, but it appears you did a good job with it because it doesn't look weird. It almost looks stock, like part camaro, part GTO vent.