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FUNCTIONAL durango cowl hood.

6.5K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  TheBadazz  
#1 ·
Today i started to wonder how i can get some nice super cold air into my durango . One thing led to another and i got the idea for a fucntional cowl induction hood. I thought i would run it by you guys and see what you think... it doesnt seem like it would be to much $$$ so i think i will try it once i get some extra cash to play with. maybe $100 bucks total.....

Im thinking im going to remove my old air system. then find a cone filter that will mount vertically where the old air system would connect to the throttle body/engine. So basicly a filter sticking straight up off the engine. Cut a hole in the hood the same size diameter as the filter. then place a cowl hood scoop over everything.

I was even thinking of fabricating a "bowl" or something to mount between the filter and the throttle body/engine that would seal with the hood once it is closed.

It sounds simple enough and looking and cheap cowl hoods on ebay i think i make something up. Let me know what you guys think before i start cutting my hood up!

heres a BUSTED quick pic i made on the paint program at work to give you guys an idea....... it would work???right????
 

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#2 ·
Perhaps you should turn it the other way so the air will rush in, create forced air in there.
 
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#3 ·
i was thinking about that but it looks like it will be alot harder to find a scoop that faces forwards that would fit an airfilter under it, look good, or like the rain....

With it facing the towards the rear with the ope side near the windshield, as your driving the air presure builds up right there.... so having it facing backwards will still work great. it wont be forcing the air but it will have more than enough, and if it rains it wont be guzzling water down with it facing the rear...
 
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#4 ·
there is a rubber molding that is attached to the cowl and is designed to keep an airtight seal between the cowl and the hood. I remove the rubber molding in the summer, helps the engine run cooler. That is a cheaper mod than adding a rear facing scoop. I would agree though that it makes more sense for a front facing scoop in my opinion.
 
#5 ·
How would a rubber molding keep it air tight? the back of the cowl is completely open for air to enter. Plus there will be a whole in the hood for the filter to come up through to get fresh air. I would like a forward scoop but they are all cheap scoops with only a inch or two of clearance. not enough room to have a filter stick up into. I have found some forward scoops but they seem over kill and not really the look im going for.

Im not dead set on any idea yet. Im still open for options.... im just looking to see if you guys think its do-able and or worth it.

Another main concern is with a forward scoop and the air filter right in the open, is the rain. It rains alot here... or atleast it has been the past few months. i dont want something that would funnel water right into my engine.

once i get a solid idea of where im going with this ill post up parts and pics/drawings of what ill be putting together.
 
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#6 ·
mabryusmc said:
How would a rubber molding keep it air tight?
no, I'm saying that from the factory, there is a stock soft rubber molding across the cowl that seals the stock hood to the cowl. remove the soft rubber molding and you will have an opening between the cowl and the stock hood of about 1 inch. I remove this soft rubber molding in the summer so the underhood temperature drops. I've put a remote thermometer under the hood and driven around and the temperature drops significantly.
 
#7 ·
Man, I'd say go for it! :rck: As far as I know that those types of hoods are steel....correct me if I'm wrong. If you didn't mind fiberglass, I'd go with a Shaker like the one on my Dak. I was wondering about this dilemma with my Durango. If it came down to it, I'd get me a Shaker for my Durango. Each is their own though. The other reason why I would get it is because of the cheezy posiblities of what kind of decals I can put on the hood like " Caution Intake " like you see on jets!! :D :crazy: :huh: :help:
 
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#8 ·
If you blend the scoop into the hood with bondo or something (I'm sure there's a better way than bondo but it's all I can think of) it would be pretty cool. I was actually thinking about doing the same thing. The only thing is that I've heard both that air will get sucked into cowl hoods, and that air is sucked out of cowl hoods to keep the heat out. You'll need to make sure air is getting sucked in because if air is getting sucked out it will be like the oppositve of forced induction. Sucking induction! haha
 
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#9 ·
DodgeEnthusiast said:
If you blend the scoop into the hood with bondo or something (I'm sure there's a better way than bondo but it's all I can think of) it would be pretty cool. I was actually thinking about doing the same thing. The only thing is that I've heard both that air will get sucked into cowl hoods, and that air is sucked out of cowl hoods to keep the heat out. You'll need to make sure air is getting sucked in because if air is getting sucked out it will be like the oppositve of forced induction. Sucking induction! haha


I was thinking the same thing..... im wondering if i can come up with something to seal the area allowing the filter the fresh air but not having the air around the engine come up through the open for the intake.

you know how older muscle cars have the old school circle filter on top of the carb? it has the filter housing then the filter inside and then the lid on top of everything. i was thinking about making my own filter housing out of "no idea yet" and putting a type of weather stripping around the top leaving it open until you shut the hood. once the hood is shut the top of the weather stripping/ filter housing will make contact with the hood and the opening.... ideally sealing the filter out with only fresh air? make any sense?

I think it can be done. i was doing a tune up last night and pulled off the intake and was taking measurements. the top of the throttle body was alo larger than i thought. I think the key it going to be finding a way to mount the filter vertically on top of the throttle body.

I was thinking about tossing in a TB spacer while i was at it.

Just have to take my time and look for complete custom parts and a lil fabricating.....

thanks again for the input.... any great ideas let me know....
 
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#10 ·
so what if we went with a forward scoop.. this one doesnt look to bad.... i still think its over kill but it look like it might work.

when i popped the hood last night i noticed the tb isnt in the center of the hood. i will have to get a scoop large enough to fit in the center but still cover the filter.

check this scoop out... let me know if you think its over kill
 

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#12 ·
you like that? thats all i had to work with to get a simple concept on here for you guys to view.... give me a break... or some time and i can get some cad drawings up here..... sheeesh....

you get the concept outa the pic right? its there... just needs some sit down time to get something solid and "post worthy"
 
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#13 ·
lund makes the stick on scoops. now before you start laughing, I have a cousin that installed a large cowl scoop on his chevy and drilled holes to mount it. the hood is now a mess with creases and dimples around the scoop. I think a stick on job, with a properly prepped surface would work fine for street applications.
 
#14 ·
thats what i was thinking..... i know alot of the scoops come with a double sided adhesive to mount the scoop. I think as long as you took your time and were careful i think a scoop could be mounted and look good...
 
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#15 ·
mabryusmc said:
thats what i was thinking..... i know alot of the scoops come with a double sided adhesive to mount the scoop. I think as long as you took your time and were careful i think a scoop could be mounted and look good...
yup and for a reasonable price it would painted to match your truck, $100?

now, I don't know exactly how the cowl concept works in practice, you may have to cut some of your hood to make it truly functional, I'd do some research and reading before doing cutting. The other issue I recall is that some of the durango throttle bodies are not in the center of the engine compartment, they are slightly to the right (passenger side), so if you center the scoop, it may not align to your throttle body. Also, Edelbrock sells the open element air cleaner and filter for $50? I have one that I put on once to try it out, quite a noticeable sucking noise on throttle, hopefully your passengers won't complain about that! You'd have to mount a heat shield around the air cleaner so it gets the outside cold air.

All in all not a bad project, it's got me thinking.... :)
 
#16 ·
The engine is indeed mounted a bit to one side. The simple "old school" 14 inch round air filters can be bought for about $35 at Napa; just get a Mr. Gasket one and replace the Mr. Gasket paper filter with a K&N. DO NOT get a throttle body spacer. It's been said a million times on forums over the years- they DO NOT do anything for performance and in some cases actually decrease horsepower due to restrictions caused by the wrong sized spacer. Spacers work in carbureted engines, not fuel injected.

IMO- That huge harwood forward scoop is way overkill and should be left for the guys with track cars. I also don't really like the stick on hood scoops, and I think they would be too small for what you're trying to accomplish. But again, that's just my opinion. It's your truck, do what you want and like!
 
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#19 ·
If you fry Bondo or any other means of grafting something on it will look like crap and will crack. Just save the mone and get a real cowl hood if that's what you want to do.
 
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#20 ·
thought of that... would be way more expensive and i havnt found a hood i like. I talked to a body/mod shop around here and they said they would put it on for $100... no primer or paint though.... id have to do that. They showed me pics of previous jobs where they added scoops and cowl and thel molded everything really nice.


thats way cheaper than buying a hood... plus i can put what ever scoop/cowl i want.
 
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#21 ·
mabryusmc said:
DodgeEnth............. your picture creaps me out everytime... kinda gross......lol
Haha you're not the first person to say that, trust me.:)

I think that cowl looks a lot better than the huge scoop, but like Neil said, only if you can find some way to blend it into the hood cleanly without it cracking or showing the seam.
 
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#22 ·
Make sure they use fiberglass for the scoop. Body filler (or Bondo) shrinks in heat and may even crack. And of course your hood has plenty of heat under it. I work with my buddy in his body shop and he can blend scoops to perfection. Also get a fiberglass scoop, it costs more, but it weighs a lot less.

I'll probably get mines done this spring and I want to find a used hood, so I can have it "scooped" and painted and not have to stop drive my truck, while it's being done.
 
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