Hood Louvers? - Retro FZJ80 (1 Viewer)

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I've never seen hail like that, amazing. When I heard glass breaking in the house that threw me a bit. I think you got lucky with minimal damage judging by your video.

I was working out near Pittsburgh somewhere, building a store in a new mall. A hail storm comes up and you can hear it from the back doors being open. A guy on our crew had a brand new truck, runs out the back door , grabbed a hard hat on the way, and lay across the hood of his new truck. Another guy tossed him a small tarp and he tented it over himself sitting on the hood. He saved the hood, save a few hits, his cab roof was a mess.................
 
I read this whole thread myself wanting to know the same thing. Getting ready to do a supercharger and want all the cooling abilities available.
 
I read this whole thread myself wanting to know the same thing. Getting ready to do a supercharger and want all the cooling abilities available.
As a venter myself, I can say it does not hurt. At rest, you can feel the heat radiating out of the louvers. Will it solve your coolling problems? Probably not unless you put a powered fan underneath. For me, fan clutch modification and radiator replacement made the biggest difference. But the cool :cool: factor cannot be quantified.
 
Wrap your exhaust and manifold and it will knock alot of the heat down in the engine compartment if your worried about a supercharger.

I have a turbo blanket, and wrapped the manifold, and exhaust down to where it elbows under the firewall, and then actually put aluminum tape over top of the exhaust wrap (stainless exhaust) and it knocks compartment temps down a lot. I don't know that it does anything to the engine running temps, but if it exposes the insulation on the wiring and hoses to lower temps it will be helpful to their longevity.
 
I would not wrap your exhaust or manifold! I tried that and I know others that did and it ends in a rusted out disaster! The wrap just collects road debris, salt and brine and then just rusts your exhaust away. That was my experience and I honestly could't say I noticed any reduced heat.
 
Weird. My manifold is no different and I pulled the wrap off for the turbo swap a few months ago. The downpipe is SS 304 or 316, and its made a difference in compartment temps i n my opinion. Maybe a rust issue in a wetter environment where there is lots of road salt.
 
I put bolt on louvers on my 80 and and took before and after temp readings. Here's some pics

These are before

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These are the louvers. You can see I just drilled holes underneath the bolt on louvers and ran out of time to go and clean out the middle and trim up the edges. From the thermal camera you can see how much heat is being pulled out of the louvers, mine are roughly in the same position as the way better executed ones from the OP.

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I kept the OE hood insulation, just cut out the area directly underneath the louvers. I'll add some edging to clean up the cut area. If snow and water become an issue the next mod will be a simple flap to direct water to the fender.



The curtains are next ;) Yes these are the Hutchinson rims. The louvers are functional. I read all the threads on cooling and the placement was not by accident. Romer's yarn thread proved this is an area of low pressure and will help to extract the heat trapped underneath the hood. If time permits, the best test would be to tape off the louvers and take temp readings.



This project took approximately fifty phone calls. I found a guy who does hood louvers with a punch that came highly recommended. Only issue was that a typical punch is only good for about a 3" louver. Looking for the same style as an FJ40/45 the networking lead me to the knowledge that a Pullmax machine is the only way. I found a guy who used to own one, called the guy he sold it to, and on and on. Short story long, I found the current owner of a Pullmax up in Longmont and a true artist that had the skills needed.



I work in the dirt unless Christo lets me in when it's raining outside:hillbilly:



Fender welting looking stuff. The same edging bikers put on motorcycle windscreens.



I'll ask if he wants to be known and post up. Price may change as this was the first. A typical louver is about $1.60 if you can source a die big enough. Pullmax work is by the hour. The ABS and cruise control are directly beneath the louvers so I may add something to direct the water if needed.

These shots are long before paint. I'm not sure why but I don't have any pics of the backside after paint.
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Thread revival!

Wits End’s turbo kit is looking like it’s very close to fruition.

I’d like to match your idea & help keep the under hood temps down.

Sounds like I’ll need to call some speed shops or hot rod places & find someone with a Pullmax.

TreerootCO, what is the length of your 7 louvers?
 
so a good 20-30 F cooler with the louvers installed?

Not sure those pictures are scientific enough...some are in different locations and hard to tell if it was the same running time, same temps, same speed of driving, etc. I've heard from many others (based on OBD monitoring) that temps go down a little but nothing like a blue fan clutch. Certainly your actual engine water temps would not go down by 20-30F. Maybe like 2-3.
 
Not sure those pictures are scientific enough...some are in different locations and hard to tell if it was the same running time, same temps, same speed of driving, etc. I've heard from many others (based on OBD monitoring) that temps go down a little but nothing like a blue fan clutch. Certainly your actual engine water temps would not go down by 20-30F. Maybe like 2-3.
Thanks for the clarification. My Big alum. Ron Davis radiator is keeping my water temp nice and cool along with the modded fan clutch. I am hoping the louvers will reduce engine temp a bit when the fan kicks on and pushing hot air out the louvers. At this point, I will take 2-3 F cooler in my water temp. Every bit helps
 

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