Cowl Induction

Have you ever heard of "cowl induction" and wondered what it is or how it works? While I have but I never really understood its purpose until recently. Let's take a look at two of my Hot Wheels preminum cars and pay attention to the hood scoop. The red one is 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS and the silver one is a modified "Off Road" version of 1967 Camaro.

The cowl induction design is based on the theory that when the car is moving forward at speed, air moves across the hood then hits the windshield and then is sucked into the lower pressure area under the hood, which provides more cooler/denser air for intake. The result is a horsepower gain. Looking at the 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS cowl induction hood, it has an actual flapper door that is closed at low speed or when it's raining. But when the driver hits the throttle, that flapper opens up and the cooler air passes through the door into the carburetor. From there the air goes into the big block that would also give you some big smiles :D.

Even though the cowl induction is most commonly associated with classic Chevy muscle cars, it's not exclusive to Chevy vehicles and can be found on various car brands, including Ford and Dodge.