Differences in car bonnet

The vent grills in the front bonnet or hood as we call it in the US allow hot air to escape from behind the radiator. I am sure that they improve cooling and air flow however I like the look without the grills so I don't have them on my 72.

Alfred,

I have always understood that the Ford era cars (up to 1974) had no hood vents from the factory, the later 9000 series cars came with them. Hood vents were then retrofitted to earlier cars by owners in an attempt to improve cooling. Many would argue their benefit and I would suggest if you can find a clean uncut front hood keep it that way.

Julian

Hello,
thanks for the answers and explaination of the function. Since I am living in Germany with much lower temperatures than in CA I will prouve the temperature when I will have the car. In case it is not necessary - I believe so - I will keep the good looking front of the car.

Thanks Alfred

As Julian said, the small hood vents seem mostly cosmetic due to the small surface area relative to the square footage of the radiator. If you really like the look, I suggest finding a fiberglas front bonnet and cutting that up. An uncut steel bonnet is worth maybe $1500 USD while a cut hood is worth nothing.

quote:

Originally posted by Bosswrench:
If you really like the look, I suggest finding a fiberglas front bonnet and cutting that up. An uncut steel bonnet is worth maybe $1500 USD while a cut hood is worth nothing.

I recently sold one for $1,000 . Saying that it is worth "nothing" seems a bit ridiculous. And while they do next to nothing for cooling at speed, They definitely help while the car is stationary.( which is usually when a cooling issue would be noticed)


Ron