North American Turbocoupe Organization



Best way to close off the hood snouts..
88turbomajor Offline
Member
#1
Hi all,

My engine arrived today so it'll be a few weeks before it's running again and my goal is to have the polished wheels and Turbo Coupe hood ready to put on when the engine is in.   That being said, the hood snouts are open and need to be closed somehow.  The 5.0L doesn't need those vents open as the water will drip onto the EFI system and distributor.

Does anyone know the best way to "plug"  or cap those hood vents?   

Thanks!
1984 Mercury Cougar 5.0L LS Silver/Gray
(New 5.0L long block with E7 heads, HO cam with Flowmaster Super 10's)
Previous: 1988 Turbo Coupe
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BradM Offline
Member
#2
I've never done it but here's good set of pictures showing you the structure. It seems you'd have to remove the plenum and block off the vent openings where they meet the plenum. The plenum dumps to the passenger side rear of the engine compartment. Are you sure the distributor and EFI will be affected?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/254243727757
1965 Mercury Comet Caliente; 1968 Mercury Monterey; 1969 F100 Ranger; 1982 Mustang; 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe; 2017 Police Interceptor
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88turbomajor Offline
Member
#3
Hi Brad,

So, I've been using the Cool Cats site as a reference: Most popular is a 1987-88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe hood, which bolts right up to your Cougar. Obviously the scoops are no longer functional on a V6 or V8 car, and in fact should be capped to prevent water from leaking onto your distributor.

So, that's why I asked the question. The author doesn't say how to cap them off.
1984 Mercury Cougar 5.0L LS Silver/Gray
(New 5.0L long block with E7 heads, HO cam with Flowmaster Super 10's)
Previous: 1988 Turbo Coupe
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88Slowbird Offline
Member
#4
you don't need to cap them off it'll be fine

I've seen plenty of 5.0 cars with them not capped off
1985 SVO: Pro 5.0 Shifter, Boport valve springs, Manual boost controller, AEM wideband
1985 TC 5 Speed
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Chas K 88 Offline
Member
#5
I can't see water getting to the distributor or EFI either, maybe the headers. Unless you remove the ducting referenced earlier...
Chas K
Current setup - 88 T-bird, 5 speed, vacuum assist master cylinder, T3/T4 50 trim turbo from Bo-port, oil feed & return lines, 3” turbo down elbow, 3" to 2.5" dual exhaust and PiMPx from Stinger 255LPH fuel pump, CD, trip-minder, RR , K&N, 140 MPH speedo conversion (thanks Jeff K).
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88turbomajor Offline
Member
#6
(11-19-2022, 02:12 PM)Chas K 88 Wrote: I can't see water getting to the distributor or EFI either, maybe the headers. Unless you remove the ducting referenced earlier...

Part of the issue I thought was the air cleaner inlet tube might be in the way when I close the hood with the duct work on, along with the possibility of all that water dropping on top of the engine if it rained super hard.
I was going to take the duct work off and put a nice hood blanket underneath. 

If I leave the duct work on, the water will go to the side onto the header, if I take off the duct work, that water would fall onto the engine somewhere.
Thanks everyone.   I'll see how it goes.  
   
1984 Mercury Cougar 5.0L LS Silver/Gray
(New 5.0L long block with E7 heads, HO cam with Flowmaster Super 10's)
Previous: 1988 Turbo Coupe
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Chas K 88 Offline
Member
#7
I see it now, a picture really is worth 1000 words. My mind had envisioned an open element air cleaner, not what you've got. Could a body guy fill the holes in?
Chas K
Current setup - 88 T-bird, 5 speed, vacuum assist master cylinder, T3/T4 50 trim turbo from Bo-port, oil feed & return lines, 3” turbo down elbow, 3" to 2.5" dual exhaust and PiMPx from Stinger 255LPH fuel pump, CD, trip-minder, RR , K&N, 140 MPH speedo conversion (thanks Jeff K).
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88turbomajor Offline
Member
#8
(11-20-2022, 02:55 PM)Chas K 88 Wrote: I see it now, a picture really is worth 1000 words. My mind had envisioned an open element air cleaner, not what you've got. Could a body guy fill the holes in?

I haven't thought about an open air cleaner yet.  I think what I'll do is remove the duct work and see about putting some fiberglass strips either on the back of the snouts or underneath the hood before I put the snouts back on.

That might work.
1984 Mercury Cougar 5.0L LS Silver/Gray
(New 5.0L long block with E7 heads, HO cam with Flowmaster Super 10's)
Previous: 1988 Turbo Coupe
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gtbird Offline
Member
#9
You could make a bracket out of sheet metal formed in an “L” shape attached to the studs that hole the scoops in place, which I had done once. 
I also once used a piece of honeycomb material (which was solid, no air holes) out of an SN 95 Mustang hood scoop cut to fit.
My last iteration was some perforated sheetmetal that allowed air through, since I never drove the car in the rain.
Rick
1988 T/C Silver with red interior, fully loaded except for leather. 5 lug conversion with 97 Cobra wheels, Cobra 13" brakes up front, Mustang brakes out back, Koni adjustable shocks and struts, NOS Koni lowering springs . Maximum Motorsports control arms and caster/camber plates, subframe connectors.
SOLD September 2020. Will miss this car after 19 years of building/driving/showing....time for a new chapter in my life.
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88turbomajor Offline
Member
#10
(11-20-2022, 04:12 PM)gtbird Wrote: You could make a bracket out of sheet metal formed in an “L” shape attached to the studs that hole the scoops in place, which I had done once. 
I also once used a piece of honeycomb material (which was solid, no air holes) out of an SN 95 Mustang hood scoop cut to fit.
My last iteration was some perforated sheetmetal that allowed air through, since I never drove the car in the rain.
Rick

Hi Rick,

That's a good idea too.  I didn't think of fabricating something out of metal or from an SN 95 hood scoop.  I'll putz around and see what I can come up with.  Thanks!
1984 Mercury Cougar 5.0L LS Silver/Gray
(New 5.0L long block with E7 heads, HO cam with Flowmaster Super 10's)
Previous: 1988 Turbo Coupe
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