Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

Anybody block the front grille for racing? I've heard of it being done, but what are the drawbacks? I'm doing some front end work on my truck and I figure I could block off the front like I seen on some race cars. My truck is a RACE-ONLY vehicle, so I don't need streetability or street-legal stuff. My plan was to completely block off the front grille and put a few 1" holes in the middle to trickle just a little air through to the radiator. I have e-fans and an open engine bay(no inner fenders, cowl hood with vent). Could I get away with this? I'm looking for every little advantage I can give to my truck to be competitive with the more powerful cars/trucks at our track.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

I think regan wilson's is blocked.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

A buddy and i were just talking about aero.. He seems to remember reading somewhere that loosing your inner fenders will slow you down even though you loose weight due to aero.

but bloocking your grill could help as the air entering through the front is now draging on many different things rather than getting forced around the truck as a hole. Bring some duct tape and cardboard to the track before you make it permanant.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

Do you think I'll have trouble with my fiberglass lift-off hood since I don't have inner fenders on my truck? It's a 82 C10. I was thinking that it would build up pressure under the hood and possibly crack the thin fiberglass(at high speeds).

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

Lot's of cars run with out inner fenders on glass fronts.. I may self will be joining that club when i can get my front mounted..

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

In NASCAR, they gamble with the amount of tape they use to cover the front grill. The grill creates less drag with more tape, but could make the engine overheat if they use too much.

As a side note, that 572 Nova they built on Horsepower TV had some problems from not having inner fenders. Between that and the cowl hood, air was getting sucked from the carb at high speeds. They solved it fabbing up some inner fenders and an air pan for the carburetor if I remember right.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

What type of racing?

i actually ran a vega with fiberglass front end with grill completely blocked off. No overheating problems. i think this is due to run only lasting 13 secs.

NOTE: this is coming from someone who doesn't know jack about cars/engines. But, on the other hand, maybe this also proves that you don't need a grill for drag racing?

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

That was the other thing I was worried about...stealing air from the carb at high speed. On the other hand I'm not really that fast, so I may not have anything to worry about.
I think I may be ok with the blocked grille since this truck won't be driven enough for it to matter. I only use it for racing. I do plan to cut some 1" holes to trickle just a bit of air....or cut two rectangular air vents in the lower part like the older Camaro's.

C10 Simplex - I'm talking drag racing 1/4 mile. I'm looking to run in the 11's or slightly faster.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

I have my hood tied down pretty good. My grill is open like factory. I don't have inners and I have been 142.58mph so far.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

Do you have a carb pan to keep from being pulled from the carb through the cowl? I'm pretty set on blocking my grille since I got a wimpy motor in a heavy truck...every little bit helps.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

I don't have a pan right now and don't seem to have a problem.

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

we use to cut the fire wall and build a box to draw air from under the windshield..thought the cowl

Re: Blocking the front grille for racing?
 

That was another idea I was gonna try...something like what Nascar does.