Thread: 1968 Plymouth Valiant 1st Gen HEMI

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".....what about an A12 cloned scoop to keep it in the Mopar family?....."

Thanks Robert. That’s pretty much what the Green Valiant currently has, and I think it looks great on the car. If this car was going to be used basically as a toy I’d be keeping it and not look back. That being said, the issue I have with it is that it’s open in the front.

This car will become my daily transportation once it’s running. From first hand experience bad weather (like our monsoon season) at best usually leads to a lot of ruined air filters and nasty looking engine compartments. I think I could buy an A12 scoop with the front not cut out but think it’d look ridiculous. I could build a removable plug to fit in the scoop for inclement weather (been there, done that) but really don’t want to go through the hassle.

Before we raised the engine I think I could have probably used the flat hood with no problems. With the engine raised it’s looking more and more like I’ll need a scoop to clear the air cleaner.

A lot of people don’t realize that the teardrop “hood scoop” on the TBolts was never intended as a way to get air to the engine, actually just the opposite. The air to the 427 was actually provided by an air box over the carbs fed by 2 LARGE hoses that picked up air through where the inboard High Beam headlights used to be. The “scoop” was actually just a bubble to clear the air box. By opening the 2 holes in the back of the teardrop (which by the design of the teardrop was a low pressure area) the teardrop actually helped evacuate hot air from under the hood.

When we had the engine set lower one of the potential problems I wonder about was hot air backing up under the hood at highway speeds and I filed the teardrop idea away as a potential solution. With the engine in it’s current location I don’t think getting air out of the engine compartment is going to be an issue but air filter clearance may be.


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