Interesting Hood Vent

[54blackhornet]

Never seen this installed on a pickup, probably not necessary but cool looking.

[special-K]

I've seen the medium duty big block hood vents used in a light duty like that before, but not for a long long time. It would be a cool way to run a cold air intake. I wonder if that's how it's used or as a vent

[Keith Seymore]

That would be Bruce Larson's rig, with Bill Jenkins next to him.

K

[special-K]

I like how Grumpy's truck is painted like a '67 with the west Coast Seniors painted to blend in. Sharp looking car hauler! I wonder what that is sticking out on the side of the bed in front of the rear wheels, a scoop for brake cooling?

[HO455]

Correct me if I'm wrong but those loading ramps on Jenkins truck look awfully short and steep. No room for error there. Not to mention not being able to see the truck once your committed.

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by HO455

Correct me if I'm wrong but those loading ramps on Jenkins truck look awfully short and steep. No room for error there. Not to mention not being able to see the truck once your committed.

Don’t think they drove it up . Winch comes to mind

[custom10nut]

That is an incredible picture
And yes, I am curious about the vent.
It’s very possible that it’s a Cold Air intake, as the under hood temperature would be quite high, especially in the Southwest.
The “Vent” in front of the rear wheel is most likely just that, to help cool the rear brakes.

[jumpsoffrock]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=601648

Vents were factory for big block medium duty trucks. 366ci were treated to only the basic vent. 427ci trucks got the vent plus a badge next to it denoting "427".

Apparently one of the vents was used for cold air intake. I'm guessing those roll back trucks were modded one day when they were visiting a parts counter and asked about something they saw on another truck. And on a slow day the guys in the shop put them on the C30 pictured. Real neat.


I have always wondered what happened to all those many rollbacks used by all those many race teams back in the 60's and 70's. Many of them look completely custom and unique, it'd be hard to mistake them for another average rollback.

I find it strange that almost none of them have turned up.


Jim Hall's Chaparral Camaro Trans-Am 1970(judging by the wheels and rear floating hub size, this might actually be a C40-60) Next to it looks to be a C30)

[special-K]

I identified the vents in post #2, and you are correct, without the 427 badge it would denote a 366. I figure the pro race car haulers ended up at dirt tracks. I've seen many of these trucks pop up over the years. They are ramp trucks or wedge beds, not rollbacks. Some built their own and some are built by body works like Hodge. Our fellow member 60lcf had Hodge build his not so long ago

[54blackhornet]

I’m glad you guys enjoyed this photo ! I posted one a while back and got reprimanded and it was deleted. Someone *****ed why ? It had a Chevrolet support vehicle behind the three McLaren Can Am cars. Life is to short to focus on just one subject.

[KQQL IT]

Thought the vent signifies a
427

At least dad said they're 427 hood vents on the jeep hood.

1971 baja 1000

[54blackhornet]

Thought this was worth sharing again.

[special-K]

Here are a couple nice ramp car haulers and another shot of Pat's '72 C/50

[BLAZERMAN]

Only trucks with the 427 got the vent on both hood sides, all other big block trucks got a single vent on the driver's side only.
Can anybody make out what's mounted under the rocker of that truck? It looks like a fuel tank with filler neck to me.

[special-K]

You got it right, fuel tank. I've seen that before. Maybe it was on that truck in another picture. What do you think that is in front of the rear wheel on Grumpy's truck? Looks like a scoop, maybe for brake cooling?

Here is an earlier picture of Larson's rig



And another later one with different rims and... Hubba Hubba

[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by BLAZERMAN

Can anybody make out what's mounted under the rocker of that truck? It looks like a fuel tank with filler neck to me.

Maybe that was the best spot they could come up with while not loosing any storage space under the ramp?

[BLAZERMAN]

Originally Posted by special-K

What do you think that is in front of the rear wheel on Grumpy's truck? Looks like a scoop, maybe for brake cooling?

Here is an earlier picture of Larson's rig

Attachment 2259129

I'll bet your right that it's for brake cooling, those guys were.pretty innovative and usually chose function over looks.

[BLAZERMAN]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

Maybe that was the best spot they could come up with while not loosing any storage space under the ramp?

I'm sure your right, they didn't waste any spare space on those rigs,. Any free space was used to carry spare parts, tools,
and equipment.

[special-K]

Yeah, those bins in the bed go back to the frame and no sense in giving up space on storage. Utility bodies for the 73-87 trucks had to accommodate the fuel tanks, so the front boxes were compromised, which sucked. This is where large truck tanks are mounted. That tank sits no lower than the hauler body. A rear tank behind the axle would be a long trip for the fuel to travel. Plus the ramps need to be stored. Yes, those guys were very innovative. That's why the earlier years were the best in racing for me. Made it much more interesting

[HO455]

If my memory serves me correctly I heard this from Pete McCarthy, that back in the day that some of the race teams were as competitive off the track, as on the track and as a result there were numerous engine swaps and other modifications to the tow rigs. One Pontiac racer had a 421in his ramp truck that was unbeatable for several seasons.