I like Marc's idea, because it is echoing Oldsmobile's heritage.
I think the forward dual hood scoops appeared on the 442 and the W-cars in 1970, 1971, and 1972. Not sure about later models.
More along the lines of your first picture, I think some form of the hood vents further back on the hood appeared on some Cutlasses, 442s, and W-cars beginning in 1967 and lasting on one Cutalss-based model or another up through 1974. The vents are much less aggressive looking, but still could be an interesting mod for the Aurora, imo.
I personally think that the lines on the W-30 hoods are to sharp for the Rora. The 2004-05 GTO hood scoops are better suited for the 2nd gens and could easily be morphed in to the stock hood.
My 71 cutlass had hood louvers, but I always wanted a w-25 hood for sure! I think Oldsnut is right, those lines from a new GTO would look good. There used to be a picture of an intrigue made to look like a Hurst Olds with the white and gold. That hood looked sick
*2001 Olds Aurora W-30, 4.6 L37 swap, MADTUNER PCM, Nav Radio upgrade, Volant CAI, port & polished TB, vented grills, aftermarket oil cooler, FitchFuel catalyst, High Flow cat, Custom Corsa Exhaust w/ electric dump, Strut Tower Brace, Bonn GXP Front Brakes, large STS radiator, fans @205/215*, AMSOIL Synthetics *2003 GMC Yukon Denali *2005 GMC Sierra 1500 CC *1981 Firebird Formula
I have always been curious as to how water is kept from pouring in through the opening?
It wasn't. Before I had my Aurora, I had a 1972 442 W-25 455 with the hood scoops. I didn't like the fact the moisture was getting into the scoops, so after I owned that car for about 5 years, I changed the hood scoop for the bumper scoops that Olds used on the 442 in 1968 & '69. Result: no more water getting in. Pic...................
The older my car gets with the aluminum engine the harder it is to keep that engine cool I think this will be great but what about rain and winter months?
The older my car gets with the aluminum engine the harder it is to keep that engine cool
All you have to do is have the cooling system backflushed once a year, and cooling will be no problem. Be sure to add fresh antifreeze and a new thermostat when that job is done.
The older my car gets with the aluminum engine the harder it is to keep that engine cool I think this will be great but what about rain and winter months?
There are ways to do that. I ran my S80 Volvo with custom hood vents for a couple of years under all weather conditions, as long as there's some form of deflector under thee hood; you can get the benefit of improved heat dissipation and intake growl while making sure no water gets in your air intake...
This is what it looked like on my Volvo. A bit grungy, but a simple aluminium shield worked well, both for water projections (from the top, attached to the mushroom air filter) and heat protection (as a vertical "barrier")
Personally, on clear days, I was removing the rear hood seal (3-4 feet long), & putting it in the trunk.
It's just my goofy idea, certainly unwise in the rain, with all the electricals on the engine side of the firewall. I keep toying with the idea of a hood modification, raising the rear end of the hood (maybe just in the middle), for better airflow.
Without actually figuring out a solution for rain, I keep seeing references/stories of how what I have in mind, shouldn't work. Aerodynamically, the windshield area is supposed to be a high pressure point, at speed. So, the idea would have been that since the radiator is a high pressure point --I'd want extra venting at a low pressure point, to improve flow-through.
From there, the ideas of low-pressure spots to put a vent become so odd, removing the hood seal starts to seem normal. The best variation seems like a functional "Buick-style" vent (although those are fake exhaust ports). I'm suspicious it wouldn't work, and/or it would take too much out of the unibody. (It might also be crazy hard to do.)
The hoodscoop idea is a totally different approach, of course. You are looking to spread more front-end pressure over the radiator, by increasing the intake area. ---or the volvo in the picture looks to just be a cold air intake, for the engine itself.
You can also relocate the front license plate, but that's another thing I can't quite see how to do, without it spoiling the look and lines of the car. (I'd really want to get a tiny motorcycle-size license plate. I have no idea if that would be legal.)
It's odd to me that, in the 1990s, they thought the future of cars was to eliminate the front grills & take air in from under the bumper. I guess it was supposed to be more aerodynamic. What they seem to have gotten rid of is the chrome on the grills (which is a pollution/electroplating thing) ----and grills are smaller but still there, with people looking for more cooling.
Own:2003 Aurora 4.0 3rd Owner! All options 145k Had: 1998GX 168,000 Intrigue-RIP total loss. 1999 Intrigue GLS 215,000 mil-Trade it in for Aurora 2001 Aurora 4.0 2nd owner! miles 22,000~170,700- Sold 2018 Volvo s90 Inscription.