Jalopnik: hood scoops

Hood Scoop Of The Week: Rover 3500

Murilee Martin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EDT

When British Leyland decided to market the Rover P6 in North America, they knew that they'd need two things to make power-crazed Americans buy their hot saloon: a V8 engine… and wicked-looking hood scoops!

Thanks to Buick, they had the V8, and the British Leyland designers took a long enough break from throwing gasoline bombs on the picket lines to produce this outstanding triple-scoop setup. The center scoop feed the air cleaner, while the two outer scoops are somehow hooked into the car's ventilation system- hey, there's no way that setup could have any problems, right? We don't care, because we say these scoops look great, even compared to Detroit's best scoops from the Golden Age Of The Musclecar.

Naturally, we'll be continuing this series, so feel free to suggest your favorite hood scoops. How about the NACA vents on the Lamborghini Espada? The twin nostrils of the '68 Pontiac GTO? The Ford Thunderbolt? Or perhaps some of the new generation of retro'd-out Detroit scoops?
Image source: BritishV8

LeMons Hood Scoop Of The Day: Mustang II License Plate Special

Murilee Martin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:45:00 EDT

After a long day of 24 Hours Of LeMons BS inspections, we knocked off for the day when it got too dark to see those "junkyard" Bilstein shocks or "Katrina flood cars." Out of the 76 cars that will be racing tomorrow, we probably got through 45; the others weren't... quite... ready... yet (cue sounds of Sawzalls, frantic phone calls to junkyards, welding). At that point, the judge wigs came off and the whole LeMons crew went prowling the pits in search of quality barbecue (embarrassingly enough, we were treated to a fine meal of fajitas served by the guys to whom we handed out the biggest BS penalty all day- glad those guys don't hold a grudge). I'll be too busy with Round Two of inspections tomorrow morning, but I'll do my best to put up some posts once the race itself gets rolling. For now, enjoy the sight of this excellent Field Expedient Hood Scoop, crafted out of the license plates that came with the car: a monkeyshit brown $125 '76 Ford Mustang II with the crudest vinyl-top removal we've ever seen. Yes, you'll see more of this car soon.

A Question That Should Never Be Asked About A Dodge Charger SE

Mark Arnold — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Please, if you have a Dodge Charger SE, never ask "Does the hood from a Charger SRT8 fit on my car?" Yes, the hood should bolt on just fine, but that's not the question you should be asking yourself. First off, why do you want the hood from an SRT8? If it's for the big scoop, you can get superficial aggression a lot cheaper than the $1500 an SRT8 hood will run you. If it's performance you're after, the SRT8's hood scoop probably won't do your V6 any good, so why not spend money on some actual upgrades like a simple aftermarket cold-air intake? We know: This scenario is played out constantly, not just on Chargers, but everything from Lancers sporting Evo wings to stock Caddies with blingin' V-Series grilles. So who are the biggest poseurformance culprits in your neck of the woods? [ChargerForums]