Mike---I think the aluminum shroud makes an engine bay look kinda racy,
but most of these fabrications are for cars or racers that have been
modified to where the factory shroud, if any, wouldn't fit. So far as
the air ducting back to the intake manifold, this does have a purpose
but does little to lower engine temps. This sometimes cooler air from
"outside" the car is more dense and can allow a tad more spark advance,
which brings with it a slight power increase. More fuel can be burned
with this more-dense air also, which means more power. Under anything
but racing conditions I doubt if this cooler air could be measured or
felt by the driver.
If your engine is always on the verge of overheating there are other
ways to bring this back to "normal." It is written that an engine close
to 200 degrees produces more power than one that operates, say, at
150.The idea here is to get it hot without the uneasy feeling of nearing
coolant overflow. (Boil) Note the coolant temperature indicator gauge
readings on the modern production cars. Some don't even have a gauge
because it might alarm some drivers to know how hot they really run.
Thru engine management they deliberately run what we perceive as too hot
for our TR's!
Dick T.
'73
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