Parts Needed
Vents off a Chrysler Lebaron Turbo
Sheet metal (if you want to make covers)
3 foot stick of 3/4" x 1/2" angled aluminum
#6 Stainless bolts, washers & wing nuts (4 of each per vent)
Self tapping sheet metal screws (4 per vent)
Primer
] Hood colored touch up paint
Paint or Bedliner

Tools Needed
Dremel or Angle Grinder
Cut off disks
Masking Tape

Took about 3 hours including taping & cleaning up

I decided to use a Dremel on the hood itself to help stop the paint from peeling up around my cuts. I also ended up only installing one vent at first due to lack of time. it takes a while with the dremel ;)

1. First thing to do is to tape off the area you are going to be cutting on.


2. Next you'll want to measure out where your vent (or vents) will go. Make sure you measure where your supports are under the hood. I found that my rear support next to the valence came forward about 4.5". These vents fit perfectly in between the supports.


3. Then make your cuts. Remember you can always take off more but can't easily add material. I made angled cuts in the corners then ground out the rest to make it smooth.


4. Now you can do a test fit and get it just right. Remember you can always grind down slight imperfections, so don't get crazy removing material.


5. Before you mount the vent for the final time, hit your cuts with some touch up paint to help thwart rust. This is also a good time to cut up your angle aluminum to make mounting tabs for the vent.

6. Once the paint is dry, slide the vent back in and position your self tapping sheet metal screws and tighten down on the angle. Here is a shot of what it will eventually look like


I've talked to a lot of people about what water entering the engine compartment can do. Most people feel that the small amount of water that would come in won't pose a problem. There are some guys other there with their entire hoods louvered.... Others have made cool drip pans to route water away from electronics & such. I figured having a way to keep water and debris out is a good thing, but I didn't want to impede the flow of hot air with a full time drip pan, so I made covers. They are really basic and I'm sure some good paint & trim would go a long way to making them pretty, but they work and that's all I care about.

7. To make the vent cover I got some sheet metal that seemed to be as thick as the hood material and traced the vent shape onto the metal. Cutting on the outside (so water would run off around the vent) you need to remember that once again you can't easily add material so make your first attempt too big.

8. Once I had the cover looking the way I wanted it, I sat it on top of the vent and marked (from the underside, where I'd like to drill holes to thread bolts through to hold them on. I tried to get them as spread out as possible to help cut down on movement.

9. Finally you just need to paint the cover (I used primer & bedliner) and give it a test fit. Here is a shot of open vs closed


10. Once it fits the way you want it, tighten down the wing nuts and that's about it. Here are a few more shots...


UPDATE: I went ahead and added the second vent, same process as above. I'll post more pics when I get the cover made for it but here are a few right after I got it in so please excuse the dirt on the hood...


And for those of you with Wranglers...


I actually suggest using the full pieces of angle like I did on my YJ. With the XJ it was more of a PITA to tighten down the smaller pieces



-Patrick