theexbrit Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 This is how I replaced my "Pep Boys Special" hood louvers with some decent steel ones. Here's the original "El Cheapo" ones........ First, place the louvers in the position you want on the hood. I used the contours of the hood to help me in getting them straight & even with each other...... Hold the louver in position (I used some Hercules putty) & run a pencil around the outline of the louver. Remove the louver then put masking tape around the louver with the inner edge of the masking tape running along your pencil lines (the louver has been put back in this shot)....... Do this with both louvers (note the hole from the original vents on the passenger side of the hood......... Then put another "inner" set of tape butted up to the first tape all the way around the louver template, this will give you your "lip" where the securing bolts or rivets will hold the louver to the hood...... Then, using a Rotozip, Dremel or some such tool make your cuts along the inner edge of the inner masking tape (where my finger is in the previous photo. You need to set the depth of your cut to just a bit more than the thickness of the hood steel (about 3mm I think). Do NOT go deep enough to cut through the hood strengthening supports!!! This photo only has the outer layer of tape as I was making sure the new louver would cover the hole left from the old vent, but you can see the hood strengthening support here....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theexbrit Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 (edited) When you've finished cutting you should end up with a hole the shape of the louver but the width of the masking tape smaller (the "lip" to mount the louver). I didn't take any photos of this, sorry. Anyway, remove the inner strip of masking tape so that you're left with the tape that marked the actual edge of the louver & put the louver back on the hood so it should look like this again with the louver sitting on the inner lip that was under the inner masking tape......... Then, holding the louver in position, drill your mounting holes in the louver & through the hood (as many or as few as you think you need) & bolt or rivet the louver to the hood (I used stainless steel rivets). When you're done it should look like this....... Here's a shot of the inside of the hood with the louvers fitted, as you can see the hood strengthening supports are still there, albeit blocking a little airflow (yes, I removed the horrible black insulation from the underneath of the hood)....... As you can see I drilled a few holes through the hood strengthening support to increase the airflow. I am going to cut a bit more out of the support for even more airflow. Do NOT cut or drill the edge of the support (indicated here) as this is where most of the strength is........ Only drill or cut the MIDDLE of the support as indicated here........ My louvers came in bare metal finish so I roughed up the surface with a wire brush & cleaned the surface with some alcohol before spray painting them semi-gloss black. Edited June 25, 2013 by theexbrit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Definitely an Africana type mod; it only rains here in buckets, occasionally... Great lay out and I will definitely remember this if I ever do my 2004 R50/VQ build. What I would have loved to see is under hood before and after temps. B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theexbrit Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Yeah, this is definitely a "sun belt mod!". I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to rig up a way to close them off or "drain" in wet weather. On the temp note, I did several temp mods around the same time, Radiator Reviver, louvers, adjusted electric fans, etc, so it's hard to say the temp difference but there IS a difference. When we were in the Inyo Valley a few weeks ago the temps were in the high 90's & it ran a lot cooler than before I made the mods. The vents really seem to help in cooling it down quicker when the fans kick in, they don't run nearly as long as they used to or as often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 i always though about putting a hood scoop on mine since i have a few extras from my turbo 300zx (z31s) but wasnt sure if i would like it not. ha yours came out pretty decent though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theexbrit Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Thanks, I'm pleased with the way they turned out, much better than my ghetto marine vents that were on before. I thought about a scoop, but I needed hot air to get out more than ambient air coming in. My electric fans push around 3500cfm & all that air needs an outlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceman2989 Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Thanks for doing the writeup on this! After seeing them on your pathfinder, I started looking around to see what I could use for some of my own. This points me in the right direction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Reviving this oldie... Ever since I first saw theexbrit's Pathy, that's when I knew what direction I wanted to go with mine. And to this day I still really want to do these louvers. I even found the exact ones he used. http://rodlouvers.com/Pair-of-Angled-double-Row-24-Louvered-panels-P2005276.aspx In this thread it says it's a "sunbelt mod" referring to the concern of water on the engine. Then another site has this to say about that: http://hoodlouvers.com/heavy-rain-snow-water-no-problem/ So all in all, I'm still considering this mod, I think it looks badass and I can only see benefits to a cooler engine bay. My question is more geared towards the hardware and install, especially where the Run Cool louvers, hardware included, are all made of aluminium, but their price is pretty steep for 2 pieces of metal. The Rod Louvers are steel, don't come with hardware and require quite a bit of prep and modification. Much like Andy I would be cutting mine to an angle too. I do have a rivet tool after all.....this could be another excuse to use get my money's worth out of it lol. And I could buy aluminium rivet nuts as it isn't load bearing. So I guess after all I don't really have a question, I just wanted to revive this thread for my own selfish reasons 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Hawairish, when you're reading this, do you think M5 Rivnuts would be small enough for this particular application? That's the smallest the rivet tool will go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 It'd be a good size, not too far off if you were going to use a 1/4" rivet or so anyway, but I'd probably stick with aluminum rivets for those. Simple, cheap, effective, corrosion resistance. A pack of rivets would be a fraction of the cost for rivnuts and screws. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I also just thought of another issue with rivet nuts, they would create a raised edge between the hood and the louver. Rivets it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawairish Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I also just thought of another issue with rivet nuts, they would create a raised edge between the hood and the louver. Rivets it is. Do they use some sort of gasket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDN_S4 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 No, but I thought about using gasket maker or silicone sealant anyway to keep moisture out. Sent from my Pathfinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Good lord those are expensive!Check eBay, looks like they've got various kits for way less money. If you're too cheap even for that (and I know I am), go to a dump or salvage yard or whatever and look for a piece of metal with louvers in it. An old furnace panel, a locker door, the side of an old arc welder, whatever. Then all you have to do is cut it to size. Or you can do what the PO of a Dodge pickup I found at the wrecking yard did... mount rows of those little chrome drawer pulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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