help a hotrod fanatic

[johnson]

this is a simply odd question that with my knowledge i dont have the proper answer for. my project is for a 69.5 ford maverick. what i would like to do is to mount a hood scoop that will sit beneath the hood until the speed begins to accelerate at which time the scoop will begin to rise out of the hood. i was thinking using the air flow to regulate the height but i am unsure of what i would need to do this. i would much appreciate the help.

[insane_alien]

it would be inaccurate way of doing it. on a (really) windy day the thing would pop up even if you were sitting still. how about hooking it up to the speedometer which will show your true ground speed.

[johnson]

any recommendations as to how to go about that?

[insane_alien]

not a clue. the limit of my knowledge with engines in cars is that if you turn the key, it starts most of the time.

[GutZ]

Maybe you could send a signal to a controller type thing, to some homemade pneumatic or hydraulic lift thats attached to the scoop. I am not that much of a car junkie either (well besides the 68-69 chevelle), but won't this all interfer with the engine + whatever else? How big is it (engine), do you have enough room?

 

Are you having the scoop lift level with the hood or have it catch under it? Sounds like a cool project though.

[johnson]

shouldnt if the scoop fits around the air cleaner. scoop will stop when it hits the hood. like that idea may work

[johnson]

351w. biggest small block ford.

[GutZ]

Maybe YT has some more realistic ideas, I believe he is an engineer. Even if he isn't he's pretty smart.

 

When you get it all finish can you bring pictures and show on this site? I would be interested to see how it all works out.

 

p.s.

 

I am hoping that "someone" from the MOD team or IRC goers see this and tell YT to reply here. *hint* *hint*

[chilehed]

As I recall the old Plymouth (?) "Air Grabber" scoop doors used a mechanical linkage tied to the throttle actuator. The scoop opened as you depressed the gas pedal. Wouldn't be a good idea here, the mass of the scoop would be so high and the wind loads so great that you'd be at risk of high force required to open the throttle and/or a stuck throttle at high speeds.

 

If you were clever you could make an electronic controller tied to vehicle speed, but you'd need to include some way to get an electronic speed signal. Big job.

 

It'll also be tough to make the thing and install it so that it doesn't look like a piece of junk. Hope you're really good with sheet metal and paint.

 

For performance the best place to have the air inlet is at the high-pressure zones at the very front of the vehicle (in the grill or below the bumper) or at the base of the windshield. On my '68 Torino I had planned to run a duct through the sheet metal into the cowel where the wiper mechanism goes, but never got around to it.

[johnson]

the electronic signal would be fairly easy when you stop to think about it. it could be run like some of the cars these days. they use magnetic sensors to measure the speed. sheet medal and paint is easy. i was thinking of hiding it behind the grill but with the performance oriented motor im going to need all the air i can get to it. i think getting it close to the windsheild is a good idea but now that im thinking about it it would be kinda cool to make the pnumatic raising hood scoop. even if i had to go against the idea of using speed to lift it. all else fails i do a quick job using servos and a few small motors.

[chilehed]

The concept is straightforward, but the execution will be quite challenging.

 

Why not just turn the scoop around and have the entrance at the rear of the hood? You'll have plenty of cool air from a good high pressure zone, and by sealing the air cleaner housing to the underside of the hood you'll keep out the underhood air.

 

It sure would be a lot simpler and cheaper than what you're proposing, and would work at least as well. Then you could spend the saved time, cash and aggravation on the nitrous kit you've been wanting (or the cam or headers or gears or whatever it is ).

 

Don't get me wrong, it's a cool idea. But very difficult to execute well.

 

A buddy of mine had a Maverick with a 351W and a toploader. Nothing fancy, just a 600 CFM vacuum secondary Holly, slightly longer/higher cam, 4-to-1 headers and 3.89 rear gears. It was a lot of fun, but would have had a lot better response with a 465 CFM carb. And if I was building a car today I'd definitely try to set it up with a modern closed-loop fuel/spark controller.

[lightwave]

All you need is a spring loaded push rod to raise the scoop. You can organize the scoop's push rod to be released with a speed sensor either collected from the speedo or from the wheel sensors. When the pulses rise to a certain frequency the spring loaded push rod is released.

 

To translate pulses (speed) to a suitable output for activating a push rod you could use a simple 555 timer chip (30c) and a few other bits of electronics. See one of your electronics friends for the electronics side of things.