Now, I want a bolt on fiberglass hood, but the lift off versions are much cheaper. The one I want:
$599 Bolt on
$399 Lift off

What would it take to make a lift-off version safe to use with the hinges and hood latch? Or should I spend the extra mulah and get the bolt on hood?

 

Lift off versions do not usually have enough support on them from my knowledge.

Bolt-on fiberglass hoods usually are a 2 piece fiberglass design. All your mounting hardware is pressed between the 2 pieces.

On a lift-off I believe it's just a one piece type and doesn't have the back plating to allow for the mounting of hardware. I could be wrong though, since I have never actually see the underside of a pin-on hood.

In the long run throw down the cash to get the bolt-on. You might even consider trying to get together a GP from a maker.

 

It would probably take about $200. Seriously, if you want a bolt on hood, just buy it. Don't try and modify a lift-off.

 

Might even consider the evil Ebay Source. I bought a 4" cowl bolt-on GlassTek hood off there for $325 shipped due to ripped off corners. Had it shipped from FL to IL. Spent about $50 to $60 bucks and fixed the corners myself.

From what I figured it would have ran me around $550 or so new from GlassTek including shipping and sales tax (IL purchase).

 

Heads up my harwood "bolt on" needed two days of work to actually bolt on!, the edges are raw and about and inch longer than needed, the hood will have the provisions to bolt on but it will not close right out of the box..thought you should know so that your not surprised after the purchase.

 

Yeah my GlassTek hood also took awhile. The front lip was 1" thick which looked down right stupid next to the 1/8" headlight plates. I ended up using a belt sander to take off the lip to 1/4" thickness. I had to mess around and cut some of the adjustment stops too.