TADailyDriver

Im leaving to go pick up my new Harwood Fibergalss hood today. Found it on ebay and the owner was only asking $200 and its new never been installed so I couldnt pass it up. My questions is being fiberglass, would i stillbe able to use my stock hood shocks, or are those too stong and could possibly break the hood upon closing it? If so, what kind of hood hinge could i use to hold the hood open when i need to work under the hood. This hood is the "direct bolt on" one they sell on JEGS for $599+. I was thinking of making some kind of prop rod to use but I wanted to see what kinds of ideas other fiberglass hood owners were using. Ill post pics when i get it installed.

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1988 Trans Am 130,340 miles,(The Project- swapped 357 (350 bored ."40 Carb'd/ Built TH700 R4 w/ Hooker Super Comp headers, Holley 650 w/ electric choke/vaccum, 99' Vortec 062 Heads, Edelbrock Cam, 2200 stall, EdelBrock Performer ESP Votec Intake, Aluminum UnderDrive pulleys,3.73 gears, Custom Y pipe w/ 3" exhaust and 3" Cutouts, MSD Ready to Run E-Curve Distributor/Ignition, Edelbrock open element w/ 5" K&N air filter, Catlaytic Converter delete, Flowmaster 80 series, B&M shift kit w/ Corvette Servo.)
Other cars: 1989 Formula WS6 305 TPI/T5/PBR(parts car) 1992 Carmaro RS 3.1/700R4.

vampyrico

you will find that even though its fiberglass it will still be relatively heavy. because its a hood, if it were too light air pressure on either side could potetially damage it. so it still needs to be relaively sturdy. you should be able to use the same supports and latch. but i reccomend getting hood pins as well for security.

TADailyDriver

Well i got the new hood home safe and in 1 piece. Sanded and primered the hood white to match my car. Installed the hood on my car and the passenger side sits flush at the fender, while the driver side sits at least 1/2" above the fender. Also noticed both hinges have a gap between them and the hood where as the hinges sat flat on the bottom of the stock hood. I even removed the rubber mounts along the fenders to see if that would help the hood sit lower and still nothing. I also got an extra set of hood hinges that come with the hood from Harwood. There is no difference in the 2 sets of hinges tho. I will post pictures in the morning, im very tire as i spent 6 hours on the road going to get this thing. Overall im very happy with the look and can even tell a difference in throttle responce and the engine even seems to sound better.

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1988 Trans Am 130,340 miles,(The Project- swapped 357 (350 bored ."40 Carb'd/ Built TH700 R4 w/ Hooker Super Comp headers, Holley 650 w/ electric choke/vaccum, 99' Vortec 062 Heads, Edelbrock Cam, 2200 stall, EdelBrock Performer ESP Votec Intake, Aluminum UnderDrive pulleys,3.73 gears, Custom Y pipe w/ 3" exhaust and 3" Cutouts, MSD Ready to Run E-Curve Distributor/Ignition, Edelbrock open element w/ 5" K&N air filter, Catlaytic Converter delete, Flowmaster 80 series, B&M shift kit w/ Corvette Servo.)
Other cars: 1989 Formula WS6 305 TPI/T5/PBR(parts car) 1992 Carmaro RS 3.1/700R4.

loud91rs

If you are worried about the hood shocks you can pick up shocks from a 82-83 I believe z28 since they came stock with fiberglass hoods. They are weaker shocks designed for the lack of weight. Otherwise you can find shocks that just won't quite hold up a steel hood, and those will work pretty good as well for fiberglass hoods.

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86 Camaro Z28 Hardtop Sunset Orange Metallic, harwood 3" cowl, 355, t5, 3:73 posi disc rear
85 Camaro Z28 T-tops Impulse Blue Metallic, SS hood, 5" spoiler (both from hawks), shaved handles, shaved antenna hole, etc.

TADailyDriver

In fact i took the shocks from my dads 92 RS which hasnt had a hood on it in 4 years now. only 1 shock is good but with both on, its enough to hold the hood open and its not very hard to close. I still need to get the hood aligned right tho, the gaps are all off. heres a few pictures of the hood:

http://img97.imageshack.us/i/0926091846.jpg/

http://img143.imageshack.us/i/0926091837.jpg/

freaky_ice368

Did you trim the edge that goes all the way around the hood. It's supposed to be trimmed before installation. It is there to prevent damage in shipping.

vampyrico

thats a killer looking hood. its a real pain to adjust the hood. much easier if you have two people. but it took alot of loosening and tightening when i put my hood on.

TADailyDriver

Ya it took me awhile today but i got it just about there. The driver side corner near the windsheild still sits too high and im not sure on how to get it to come down. I adjusted the hood on the hige as low as it will go and still nothing. I think it may of came down a 1/25 of an inch but thats it. I think im going to repaint is flat black next weekend, the white doesnt match very well and looks sort of tacky. The only real problem I have with the hood is the driver side front corner like to bounce alot up and down at about 50mph. Would adding hood pins make hood stop bouncing? It sits very tight on the car so im not afraid of it coming up on me as I make sure its latched properly every time now.

TADailyDriver

No I didnt, the hood had already been prepped by someone when I bought it. It was just never installed on the owners car.