scratchedup
Well-known member
Can anyone shed light on how this is done, cost, how many shops might do this...
Louvered Hoods...how to?
- Thread starter scratchedup
- Start date
Harrison2
Well-known member
ive seen people find the louvres from cabinets and stuff then weld them in.
Zeke
Well-known member
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This^^^
SlappyWhite
Well-known member
creativecars
Well-known member
A louver press; is usually a hydraulic press with a male and female die that will stamp the louvers individually. They must be able to reach the back side, so the inner structure of the hood has to be worked around or cut away and then welded back in place. They must be able to follow a nice layout design to create a hood like you have pictures... one wrong stamp and the piece is ruined.
OP
scratchedup
Well-known member
Would the press/dies work on aluminum?
creativecars
Well-known member
Yes.
OP
scratchedup
Well-known member
Any one know of a shop in Georgia that does this?
rsanter
Well-known member
I have also seen it done by hand by cutting a slice into the hood and then using a punch and die (of sorts) more like a hammer form and then the louvre if formed by hammering the shape with the die
If you have the right dies you can also do lovers on a bead roller which is cool because you can do curved louveres
Look on metalmeet.com as several of those guys have louvre presses and can do it for you
Bob
If you have the right dies you can also do lovers on a bead roller which is cool because you can do curved louveres
Look on metalmeet.com as several of those guys have louvre presses and can do it for you
Bob
JESTERxHEAD
Member
I've actually designed and built a few louver die sets to be used in many different machines. The die isn't complicated (no moving parts) if starting with a blank piece of material the punch has to have a sharp edge to initially shear the material, then as the punch enters the die it will ride on the shear edge and push the material to the other side creating the formed feature, Punch decides the profile of the louver. The die decides the radius and overall profile and the combination of both punch and die determine height. They dont need to be made that rigid because the punch and die are self guiding after the initial shearing process at the top of the stroke. running clearances between the punch and die for thin material like that hood would be around .002"-.005"
Cost of the dies depends on many factors, nothing cheaper than a couple hundred bucks for a simple set in a hydraulic shop press. I done one about 8 years ago that is fed by a coil feeder that would make 600 a minute. (computer controlled gap frame mechanical press)
Cost of the dies depends on many factors, nothing cheaper than a couple hundred bucks for a simple set in a hydraulic shop press. I done one about 8 years ago that is fed by a coil feeder that would make 600 a minute. (computer controlled gap frame mechanical press)
readhead
Well-known member
I charge 2-3$ per 3" louver with a $50 minimum. Paint must be removed from both sides. Sometimes the inner structure must be removed. You can pay me to R&R it or do it your self.
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
zach540
Active member
Readhead,
Just curious, since you are saying the paint must be removed, are you using a beadroller for the louvers, and saying the dies will slip on the metal if painted? Or does this also apply to the press version?
Reason I'm asking, my dad was considering putting louvers in his hood, his friend said he could do it but it would require the paint to be removed as well. My dad had not idea which method he used for the louvers.
Thanks,
Zach
Kevin54
MEMBER EMERITUS
You can't put louvers in with paint on the hood all for the fact that the paint will be **** after getting it punched and scratched. And any body shop person is not going to want to strip a louvered hood if the paint hasn't been removed first. One reason is the fact that the paint will lose adhesion after being punched in areas.
It's so much easier to work with a bare metal part instead of trying to keep what was there before the punching. You want to start with a clean slate when it comes to something like that.
ZRX61
Well-known member
& no body shop guy is going to want to deal with painting it afterwards... $3 each to stamp them.... $25 each to paint & polish the ******* things
readhead
Well-known member
Paint ruins the dies.
zach540
Active member
Thanks all for the replies, I knew the paint would crack, but was specific tool it would slip. Always curious to see other reason, and good to know the responses, thanks!
MP&C
Well-known member
Those style louvers use a dedicated sized punch, as Zeke has shown. Longer louvers, such as you see on the side of typical early 30's vehicles can be done with tooling such as this shown in a Lennox TE150 and Neil Dunder tooling.. The louver length is determined by the machine operator, and the ends are "coined" by rotating the handle to the side on the ends of the very last pass.
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OP
scratchedup
Well-known member
Those style louvers use a dedicated sized punch, as Zeke has shown. Longer louvers, such as you see on the side of typical early 30's vehicles can be done with tooling such as this shown in a Lennox TE150 and Neil Dunder tooling.. The louver length is determined by the machine operator, and the ends are "coined" by rotating the handle to the side on the ends of the very last pass.
I see that in the picture the sheet stock is flat.
Would I have any luck trying to punch on a current oem hood. I could cut away the interior metal webbing... But the piece is complicated curvy...
NOTE: I missed the part about the paint on the previous page. Could I remove the paint first in the areas to be punched? Then have the hood re-painted?
The hood is ~ 57" x 52".
For an example I have masked off an area where louvers would be desirable. I could cut away the factory metalwebbing at the edge of the tape.
Could louvers be punched here neatly and in a line?
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Twisted Sid
Well-known member
What about just putting in a naca duct?
OP
scratchedup
Well-known member
Very nice....how long to build the template?
I picked this up @ AirCraft Spruce locally.
Any suggestions how to attach this to hood....under/on top??? Edge finish?
Yes. For sure.
I'd have them punched in, rather than any other method. First thing I would do is ask around Fayetteville, GA hot rod community. Maybe there's a fabricator or hot rod shop in the area that has a press or knows someone that does. For the price (set-up and punching costs) it probably will be less than the other options.