Hood scoops and bubbles...need room

[Jeff V]

I have a 16 classic and this past summer completely rebuilt the 302 Ford engine ( bored, stroked, new intake manifold, cam,forged pistons & rods etc. and have found that my stock flame arrestor is preventing me from getting my max hp. The clearance now from the top of the flame arrestor to the bottom of the engine cover is zero, so to increase the size (either diameter or height) of the flame arrestor I need to put a bubble or scoop on the cover. I'd like to keep it simple and clean looking but haven't found the right fiberglass part that I would want to seamlessly add on. The current flame arrestor is 8". The painted stripe is 12" and it would be nice to stay in that width. Have any of you found a good solution to this type of problem, if you call 350 HP and a tight fit a problem :wink:


Jeff

[Tony]

Hopefully Moody Blu' will take some time off from his deck-off tank replacement project and respond to this post!


:beer:

[bmc69]

I think mine was the 'top part' cut off a larger aftermarket scoop....is this what you mean by 'clean'? It is a scoop though..not just a bubble, so water does splash through the front from time to time..


http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/417716/fullsize/p1010168.jpg
http://www.supermotors.net/getfile/417715/fullsize/p1010169.jpg

[FlynLow]

Unless you are trying to keep it original, put the scoop on. You'll have plenty of clearence to even add a spacer if wanted or needed [better flow and cooler air/fuel]. I went through Summit and got a scoop that was 12" wide and painted it same as stripe. Remember to get a plug for the opening to keep water and trash out when towing or stored. If your going to aftermarket exhaust with long risers, your going to run into the same problem with clearence. The riser will burn the gel-coat. I cut out hatch above riser and installed billet vents. This may sound radical to the purist, but, I have a saws-all and ain't scared to use it for better fit and performance.

[Jeff V]

Thanks for the pics and suggestions. I did put a 3/4" spacer in and that's what's got me hitting the lid. I think like the idea of a functional scoop. I always wondered how enough air got in with the two little vents for the engine, with a blower creating a vacuum at the back end. My exhaust is a stainless version from Hitek in Austrailia and has more clearance than the stock risers,so that's not a problem. I'll look some more and any other ideas from anyone esle are appreciated before I go mad with a sawzall.

[DONZI]

Here's another example on a 16 also.

[tiger lily]

jeff, where at in whitmore lake are you? where do you run the boat? i live right off of strawberry lake road, if you ever go on the chain im sure youve seen the house, i do most of the boating on the detroit river and lake erie though..

[Mr X]

Here's a couple more.

[justleft]

Here is the scoop on my '87 22C.

[Mr X]

IF there is no firewall.....

[FlynLow]

Rosebud racing has made some repro's of the X18 scoop.. As far as aftermarket exhaust, IF ordered correctly the risers will clear the hatch easily..

Short tube risers would give more clearance and the heat probably wouldn't damage the gelcoat. But, the long tubes seem to have a higher rise which puts them pretty close to hatch and will burn the gel after a good run. I was warned of this when I spoke to Stainless Marine.

[mphatc]

I have a 16 classic and this past summer completely rebuilt the 302 Ford engine ( bored, stroked, new intake manifold, cam,forged pistons & rods etc. and have found that my stock flame arrestor is preventing me from getting my max hp. . . . . if you call 350 HP and a tight fit a problem :wink:
Jeff

Jeff,
I'm curious . . .
How many RPMs are you running the 350 HP 302 . . . I built mine to 333 HP at 5800 RPM, we tested on the dyno with the stock H&M flame arrestor and found no loss below 5000 rpm which was all I wanted to spin in the boat . . .

FWIW K&N filters are approved as flame arrestors . . . not that I would use one . .

Mario L.


Mario

[BigGrizzly]

CMI made mym sport tube clear my hatch and the pipes don't get hot enough to burn even if touching.

[Last Tango]

Take a look at the hood scoop available from FORD for the new Mustang. Summit Racing also sells this scoop. It is low, wide, easily installed, and can very easily be painted to match your boat and stripe. It will not look like a cancerous goiter on the deck. You can also reverse it so that stuff isn't flying into it all the time. You can cut a nice tight round hole for the flame arrestor in your engine cover.

[Gearhead99]

There is/was a company that made repo fiberglass scoops. Back in the 80's I bought one that was a repo of the Firebird Scoop.

Was held on with 4 bolts, I think. Cut my hole in the cover, installed taller flame arrester. Mounted the scoop with the opening facing the rear so it wouldn't scoop water and spray. Worked great. Put the stripe right over it.
I'm looking for a pic.

FYI, I did try it facing forward. It was WAY TOO LOUD. The backseat passengers got to know what the back barrels sounded like. Also, took some water over the gunwale and the scoop did what it's name implies. Scooped the water into the carb. Didn't put the fire out, but it sure stumbled badly. Then's when I turned it around.

[tmdog]

Looking for a scoop? Try "up22.com". Company called Unlimited Products. Bought my scoop there. Many to select from and has a heading for boat scoops.

[Jeff V]

I'm still playing around with different props trying to get my rpms up without loss of speed. The best performing prop is actually the original stock prop that came with the boat, a 23p 3 stainless blade. Without any flame arrestor I picked up another 150 or so rpms and about 2 mph on the stock speedo, so I know there's a restriction. I'd like to get up to 5200 rpms. I'm contemplating having some work done to a new 23p prop to see if I can get there. I had a GPS of 70 on a short run where I ran out of lake and wasn't topped out. I had another couple mph's left. My speedo then was reading about 71-72 and I've seen 74 before.
Without the flame arrestor it easily pegged the 75 mph speedometer. I'm here to tell you that is really moving in that little boat. I can get a pretty good chine walk going if I'm not carefull. If I get it maxed out with my trim tabs down about 2 LED's, then back them off completely while I give it more trim, considerably more than I used to give it when it had 190 hp, it seems to stay quite stable. It took about a 12 pack to get there the first time. Now I've got it figured out.

Mario,
What are you seeing out of your boat?

[mphatc]

Jeff,
You asked:
Mario,
What are you seeing out of your boat? . . . .

An empty wallet . . :) . . . right now nothing as it's all apart again :garfield:

I've never had a GPS in it, but did run beside a PWC with a GPS speedo . . he was running 67-68 and I walked away from him . . . not quickly but clearly a few MPH . . .

My boat is an 18 Corsican, with a Bravo I at that time I was running a Hydromotive 4 blade 23P. My exhaust has been restricted with the H&M logs . . I'm looking to improve on that, switch to aluminum heads to get some more ponies and trim some weight . . .With this set up all I could spin the Prop was 4800 . . at which point the chine walk would scare me . . :eek!:

I ran this set up with the flame arrestor and w/o . . and we used it on the dyno, but we did not run the logs on the dyno . .but some real headers . . :frown:

Hence my interest in the Hi-Teks . .

Mario