With the ram air hoods has anyone had any trouble with water getting in the engine when it rains or is washed? Regarding water trapped under the hood, has this caused any ill effects for anyone here?o No: Just curious, as I have never had a ram air car (i.e. real or replica GS), only Skylarks for me -Chris
The '70-'72 system's all I know about. The aircleaner mates to the scoops on the underside of the hood. The part of the aircleaner that is under the scoops has 'buckets' that have their lowest point lower than the snorkels on the aircleaner base, meaning no water runs inside the aircleaner. The 'buckets' have drains that allow water to avoid the distributor and alternator by directing water away from these components. Some water will collect on the timing cover, but the engine is more than warm enough to evaporate that. Never had a problem with mine, ever, even when I drove it through the winter, although I did have a pair of muffs I made up for the for the hood scoops, so if it snowed I wouldn't have to dig snow out of them.
The "stock" GS Ram Air system isn't affected by rain/water, however, do NOT use a Stage 2 hoodscoop/hood in water (rain, carwash, etc.)! I had a '71 GSX Stage 2 (replica), and driving down the road in the rain caused all the water to run on the hood, right down into the air cleaner and carb, and wanted to try to stall the engine! THAT SUCKED! I didn't drive it in the rain again, after I found that out.:Smarty: ou: :TU:
Nothing to worry about Hey driver2, whatever moisture gets in, would most likely just get vaporized, as long as you keep the drain holes open. I recall back in the early 80's, I had to drive mine in the snow a few Winters:Brow: and snow would get sucked in (you could only clean so much of it off). And after a few snows, I'd start the car first and then clean the snow off the scoops. But I never did have a problem. There will not be snow or rain(hopefully) ever covering my car again!:bglasses:
Dan, I NEVER had any problems with the STOCK GS scoops in the rain, but with my Flat hood with the STAGE 2 hoodscoop, that was a different story. The Stage 2 scoop sits in the center of the hood, and underneath it, the hood has a cutout hole above the air cleaner. I didn't like it because of the "hole" in the hood (just because of the weather reasons). I DO like it, because it LOOKS great, and it WORKS good (on a DRY day!).:TU: I had to be careful just washing the car, so I didn't get any water in the carb, with the hose. The Stock scoops are far enough Forward on the hood, you don't have to worry about it. The Stage 2 hoodscoop is good for Appearance, or for Racing applications, but I wouldn't recommend it for the Street, if there's a chance you could get caught in bad weather. I wouldn't do it again.:Smarty: :TU:
During the mid '80's, I used my '71 GS as a daily driver for about 2 years. I did have a problem one time, in a driving rain storm on the highway. The car started to stumble, so I pulled into a gas station to take a look and, sure enough, there was water in the air cleaner. I mopped it up with those little blue gas station towels and continued on my trip with no problems. Just must have been the right combination of wind, lots of rain and maybe vehicle speed or wind direction. Never happened again after that, and I did drive it in all weather, except snow.
What is the differece in the stage 1 and stage 2 hoodscoops, What does a stage 2 scoop look like? And did buick actually sell "stage 2" cars?
Well, there's no "stage 1" hood scoop, we're talking about the standard GS dual scoop hood. The Stage 2 scoop is a very large single scoop (sometimes referred to as a "shirtbox") in the center of the hood. The hood itself in this case is not a standard GS hood, but rather a Skylark hood with a rather large hole cut in it to fit the scoop. I presume a large open air filter type of air cleaner is emplyed in lieu (more vocab practice for my resume!) of the dual snorkel aircleaner. Now here's where I may be shaky: The Stage 2 package was dealer supplied, after sale of the vehicle, over the parts counter, starting late in '71 (I'm sure a few Buick historians can sift through my fuzzy history and the rumors I've been told). Mainly the package centered around Stage 2 heads and a revised, Stage 2 camshaft, along with the hood. They must have also suggested a different carb. Approximately 50-75 sets of Stage 2 heads left the factory, due to casting trouble, so we can only get a rough estimate of original Stage 2 conversions, and like the Stage 1, no VIN difference is between a GS455 and this package. I have read that Buick actually sponsored two Stage 2 GSs "unofficially" in sanctioned drag racing.
Now that I think about it I had the air cleaner lid flipped on mine thru a lot of the 80's, which would have helped prevent sucking air (and water) thru the ram. Not that the water was the reason, but looking back, I bet it helped quit a bit.:TU:
ram air hoods & water i do not drive my car in the rain. however, when i wash the car, water penetrates around the ram air hood insert & into the insulation . i have since removed the insulation which should not be there anyhow . the water that drips into the ram air intake on the breather, drains thru the holes with no problems . were there ever any seals to place between the inserts & the hood metal ? gerry 72 gs 350 ht #s
