[McDeuce]

Never seen it done, but I'm curious. I'm thinking of asking a radiator mfg. to create a radiator for me with a big cut out section, probably near the top of the fins.

My idea is to create an intake plenum that goes straight through the radiator, and put a flat-style filter and filter box in front of the radiator.

Vehicle = 1932 Ford fiberglass coupe
Engine = '97 LT1 350

The intake of the LT1 is at the front of the block, not the top of the engine. So why can't I do a "forced air" style intake in front of the radiator?

If I leave enough room for an electric fan, the radiators that fit behind the grill shell seem plenty large enough.

Is there an inherent problem I'm missing? Would it be prohibitively expensive? Why haven't I seen this done? Having the intake in front of the radiator keeps the air cooler going into the manifold, having a straight shot into the TB seems like I would get a ram-air effect.

[poncho62]

Probably a lot more trouble and expense than it would be worth.........The coolant runners and fins would have to be custom made......And you would lose cooling in that part of the rad.

[curtis73]

Major loss of cooling, huge cost, and only a tiny increase in performance. Cold air can be worth a few ponies, but there is no such thing as "ram air" or forced air until you hit about 200 mph.

If you want to do it as a neat, eye-candy, custom piece, go for it, but from a streetability or performance upgrade it will only serve to empty your wallet and cause cooling headaches.

With all that room under the hood there are about 30 other places you can get cool air, but its not all its cracked up to be. Expect about 1 hp per 30 degrees of temperature. Unless you have a completely maxed-out combination and you're looking for the last 10 hp, don't worry about it. Its all a trade-off. Hot air will drop a couple ponies, but save a little fuel as well.

[McDeuce]

Thanks for the info Curtis. I wasn't aware just how big or little my gains would be.