Adding a Hood Scoop to an Omni
Here's a fun project you can do at home--add a functional hood scoop to your 4-door L-body! It's a lot of fun, plus it'll give you great benefits such as lower underhood temperatures, lower engine operating temperature, and it'll impress the guys in the Dairy Queen parking lot. Duane and I ended up doing this for his car (okay, he did much of it while I wasn't there even though I helped come up with the idea) so we learned a bit about making it work; I am in the process of doing the same thing to the Titanic. Here's the general rundown of what to do.
Step 1
The first thing to do is acquire a nonfunctional hood scoop from a 2-door L-body along with a normal flat hood from a 4-door L-body. Those scoops don't exactly grow on trees, so keep your eyes open and visit all the local yards on a regular basis. Once you find one, be sure to get all the screws & nuts that come with it--you'll need them for installation. After you get it home you'll need to prep it for installation. You'll learn that the paint on the scoop is actually a big decal that will be a surprising pain in the arse to remove. But as my pa always used to say, hard work builds character! (My scoop pictured above is in the process of being prepped.) You'll also have to make the scoop functional by grinding out the back of it. Be cautious and preserve the support parts; you'll actually cut three similar-shaped holes.
Step 2
At some point you'll need to make a template. Get some surplus cardboard and make a cutout in the shape of the scoop's perimeter. After you've done that, carefully punch holes in this template to mirror every bolt and screw that hangs down. It'll end up looking like Bonnie and Clyde got to it, but worry not.
Step 3
Once the template is finished, place it on your flat Omni hood. Carefully line it up; Duane and I centered ours left-to-right and moved it rearward until it just cleared the hood's ventilation holes. Once you've rechecked and re-rechecked to ensure it is properly lined up, go ahead and mark its location on the hood; mark every hole as well. With all the marks in place it's time for Mr. Hood to become intimately acquainted with Mr. Drill.
Step 4
Once all the holes have been drilled you can designate the cutout for the hole. In our case we wanted to make the hole as big as possible (to maximize airflow) without sacrificing structural integrity. We left about a two inch gap between our hole and the innermost bolts. The picture above shows how we did it. If you want to cut a different size it's your call. Once the hole is cut you then prep the hood and scoop for paint, then paint 'em to match. For extra class you can highlight the rear lip of the scoop in black--this makes an excellent match with the black trim of a GLH. Once you're done the scoop looks so good you wonder why the factory didn't do this.
Other considerations
Two other things need to be mentioned. The first is the fact that the curvature of the scoop won't match the hood--the front lip of the scoop won't be flush. Duane fixed this by drilling four holes through the scoop and the hood, then adding four screws with washers to hold the lip to the hood. Once you add paint you'll hardly notice the screws at all. Another possibility I have yet to explore is the idea of grinding the sides of the scoop a bit; I figure it ought to be possible to match the contour of the hood. (NOTE: that's just a theory of mine; I've yet to verify it!)
The other thing deals with the problem of foreign objects ending up underhood--low-flying birds, small land animals, that sort of thing. It would seem smart to add some sort of screen to the back of the hood. I originally proposed using some scrap material from a window screen but Duane intends to experiment with something more rigid. You, of course, can use whatever you feel appropriate.
Last modified: 4-30-03. Original content provided by Dempsey Bowling.