so i figured this should go here since cowl hoods are an aftermarket item.

are there any problems with having a cowl hood when it rains. like water getting to the distributor or anything like that?

 

On my carb '84 Trans-Am we removed the plastic vent piece on the bulge hood - big mistake, water came in and got in the carb, probably ruined the motor. I see you also have an '84, be careful if you have a carb!

 

My car came with a iroc daytona hood which is a cowl hood with cutouts on the side of the cowl in the center. I took this off because i was afraid of rain getting in. I sold it to a friend and they did get the distributor wet and had a few problems. I dont know if a regular cowl hood would do the same.

 

The cowl hood on my 85 has never been a problem. I've driven in the rain a bunch of times and the engine compartment has never been wet or showed signs of water draining down the firewall. All rain comes off the windshield and drains through the air vents on the cowl just like they would normally.

 

i have a daytona hood on my '84 TA for over 4 years now and have never had a problem. the only problem is having to clean off water spots on my engine before car shows.

 

so i know you answered about driving in the rain, but how about it just sitting outside in the rain, for i have no garage, it's still all ok?

 

A properly designed cowl hood will have a rain gutter and drain holes to allow any water to drain out without causing problems. I had an 1984 15th ann. T/A and it had the power bulge hood and it allowed water into the carb. I had to do some work on it to correct that problem.

 

You should have no problems as long as you have an air cleaner in the carb. For the last 4 years I have had a '67 Corvette style scoop on my '82 Camaro with the rear cowl opening and the front cut open and have had absolutely no problems. My air cleaner sticks above the stock hood line about 2 1/2" and gets the full effect of air and water with no problems. I have a K&N oiled filter, might be an issue with a paper filter getting wet, not sure.

 

A buddy I knew fitted the cowl with come mesh, much like the stuff that covers gutters on your house, and he cut a KN filter to go behind that. I have no idea what it did for his air pressure or anything, but he never had wet problems

 

i take it you're running a open element?

 

I have a 4 inch harwood cowl on my 91 and the car sits outside, and I havent had a single problem.

 

Yes, I have the triangular shaped Holley (not the mesh one, but the one with a regular type filter not foam) and I took out the 1 3/4"(I think) filter and used a K&N for GM 231 v-6(Fram CA192) which is about 3" tall and just reshaped it. I clean and oil it in the spring and it's fine. You do need to tune a little rich to compensate for the forced air, but other than that it's cool.

 

On my wife's 90 RS (see the link in my sig), we never had a problem with rain. It was not garaged, and driving regularly in the rain. It was a TBI car, with an open element K&N. The distributor nor the tb never had any problems.

 

I have put a cowl hood on my 1991 car and strangely enough, i couldn't get it to start after it had been in the rain. had to change dizzy cap, rotor arm, plugs and leads. As it wasn't functional, the rain could have got into the dizzy cap, but i'm not sure if it was just coincidence.

Peter

 

im getting a cowl hood soon. I dont think it will mess with anything.

 

I've got a 4" cowl on my 91 and I havent had any problems with it at all.

 

I have had an ACSD ram air WS6 hood for about 3 years now, no mods to the hood. I have the stock TBI setup now, but have also run an open element K&N for a while. Parked outside all the time, driven in heavy rain, through countless car washes. No problems so far.

 

I had no problems with my 4 inch cowl when I used the car as a daily driver, just the usual rust and corrosion on anything that gets splashed, I was always able to clean it up with a little elbow greese and some polish. My problems only came to light after it was no longer my daily driver. I would let her sit for a couple of weeks at a time and was no longer a fanatic about polishing everything once a week and everything under my hood started to look like crap. Never had a reliabilty problem, it just got real dirty is all. Ruined my FACTORY 69 vette valve covers that my father gave me off his old vette.. boy was he pissed.

 

only problem is snow and wind, then the snow getting under the cowl onto the distributor and melting when the motor warms up.

 

I know this is a little bit different... But my buddys old truck has a 2" cowl on it and he drives it year round in the rain, snow, slush you name it, he has never once had a problem!

Same with me, i cut out my stock hood to allow a little airflow through there and never have a problem in the rain.

 

I've had mine for over a year and never had a problem...

 

I have driven in the pouring rain with a paper openelement filter with no hood, no problems. Driving with my 4" Glastek hood (back is cut completly open) i can see the rain getting sucked under the hood going strait to my breather. No problems at all.