ISMA Hood for Firebird, from Fiber Concepts in Warminster, PA. Contacts: Rob and Charlie(female). Phone orders only.
http://www.fiberpartsconcepts.com/?redirect=false

The intention here isn't to post a "look what I got" thread. It's not my style to do that. Rarely do I even talk about my car, unless it's about something that might also interest or benefit others. And with only 2400 posts in 18-1/2 years on TGO, I don't post much at all lol. But I do a lot of research, and when it's about a product that people have shown a lot of interest in, such as this hood, then I might post my findings, especially if I have purchased such products.

And there has been a lot of mystery surrounding this hood throughout the decades, its existence, its availability, and so-on. Also, yes, I've been one of those interested people. I wanted one, for real, not just to chat about wanting one someday. And when I discovered that, yes, it still exists after nearly 40 years, it can still be purchased, I purchased one, and here it is, fresh from its manufacturer. So after decades of wonderment, now we know, for the record, that, yes, people CAN still get this hood.



Made-to-order. Arrived 09/08/22.

Lightweight. Solid. Dimensionally spot-on. Bolt-on. White gel coat top. Partial black gel coat underside.

Out-of-the-box looks good enough to install and go, so prep and fitment should be "normal," hopefully.


Bulge is about 2-1/4" tall. That's about 3/4" to 1" taller than factory.

Production time was long because it was made-to-order, so that was expected. Follow-up communications were positive and prompt.



Box and packaging were impressive.

Shipping from PA to NV is what it is these days. But if you're near PA and have the means, will-call is welcomed.



After years of considering what I wanted to achieve, I decided it was time to make the call to see if the listing for this hood was for real. Had a long, excellent conversation with Rob and Charlie. Nice people. Ordered it during the call. Glad I did.



Finish plans won't be disclosed at this time, and I don't do progress pics or threads, so nobody is likely to see anything new about this until it's finished, which won't be anytime soon.

 

Very cool !! Congrats, nice looking hood

 

My post was a bit cryptic. People like pictures, not words, so I kept the commentary to a minimum lol.

For people who might not be familiar with this hood, it was part of a body kit for the 1984 Trans Am for the ISMA Racing Series. Throughout the decades, one will pop up from time to time, giving it a somewhat mythological/legendary status. And whenever one would come up in a topic on TGO, people would wonder if it still might exist and can be purchased. Now we know. Yes, it does exist, and it can still be purchased. I just didn't want to post anything until I had one in my possession. Such things have to be kept on the DL until there is real evidence to share.

Having originated in 1984, it's probably the first fiberglass hood ever made for the 3rdgen Firebird. Some 82-83 Camaros received fiberglass hoods from the factory, but I don't think any such hood was available for the Firebird at that point in time.

 

This is fantastic news! Thanks for sharing this. I had these folks page bookmarked, but didn't know if it was for real.

Any photos of the bottom of the hood (engine compartment side)?

Just this past weekend, I was talking to a metal fabrication shop about making a Turbo hood with a mirror image scoop on the other side, forming a sort of Pontiac cowl hood if you will. This is exactly what I had envisioned.

 

Will definitely be following this.

 

I'm not in town to take more pics right now, but when I began opening the box it was upside down, so I did see the underside. But then flipped the box over to open it upside up. The underside is partially finished. Finished around the perimeter and bolt-on "structural" areas, black.

Here's an underside picture from an ebay listing I saw during the pandemic. It's not MY hood, but this is what the underside of mine looks like and will have to do until I'm able to post pics of the underside of mine.


Edit: I suspect the hood in the photo above is on the car below. No proof of that, but just a hunch.

Not my car, but I saw this car for sale online about two months after the hood in the ebay ad, in the picture of the car picture, sold. Coincidence? Since evidence of these hoods emerge online about once every 5 to 10 years, and the ad for the hood, and the ad for the car, both showed up within a couple of months of each other, seems to me it's not coincidental.

 

Thats a sweet looking hood!!

 

Pics of the underside of my hood.

 

Plenty of air cleaner to hood clearance with that. Thank guys.

 

That is beautiful! The cowl isn't actually functional right? Looks blocked off? I prefer my honeycomb vent in my 84 hood but I suppose one could make a honeycomb for it...

 

It looks beautiful to me, too. It's my first fiberglass hood, though, so I have nothing to gauge its quality by. But if someone had a white car, the hood looks good enough to bolt on and leave it as it is. My neighbor is a former paint and body man. He looked it over and was impressed by the quality. I knew he wouldn't want to paint it, but I asked anyway lol. No equipment anymore, but he recommended an excellent custom shop in the area.

Correct, the cowl isn't functional, but it could be made to be. Like most fiberglass hoods, cutting openings to make them functional is up to the owner. For this hood, a couple of honeycomb grills would be required due to the width of the bulge, although I suppose you could place one grill within the center of the area. I have a couple of junkyard power bulge hoods "in stock" with grills.

I removed the block-off plate from my Formula's hood and replaced it with a grill from an 82-84 TA hood, decades ago when you could still order the grills from the dealer. Heat waves pour out at stop lights.

Not many quality fiberglass hoods available for Firebirds anymore. Duraflex hoods look questionable in their pictures, and people who've purchased them have confirmed that the quality is poor, but that's all that appears to be available in the RA1 hood these days. Not sure about the quality of RA2 hoods or the few other style hoods. But it's nice knowing the ISMA hood is both, available and nice.

 

When are you going to do a fit up? That's what I'm really waiting for. It's kind of still just a picture in a catalog until confirmed how well it fits...

 

Not for a long time, as I stated in the last sentence of my initial post. Far more important things to deal with than the car, including newer things that have come up since that initial post. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

 

For sure like this hood more than most of the other offerings

 

There were some early aluminum parts available for certain models in the early '80s, primarily the aluminum front bumper support (it was supposed to be a Iron Duke I-4 engine thing, but my '83 TA had one on it) and aluminum early TA/later formula hood, that was sort of the equivalent of the 'glass Camaro hood.

From the pictures, that looks EXCEPTIONAL even for a high-quality "street" hood (street 'glass parts typically have a better fit and finish as well as more structure... because people expect more of them than a race car hood which typically needs to be as light as possible and look OK from 20-50' away.

You really don't want to do that, most parts like this don't use UV-stabilized gel-coat and after a few months out in the sun, it will get chalky and start cracking.

That's what we're all itching for. I would argue EVERY serious Pontiac guy has drooled after this hood, but I've never seen good pics of one on a car without the rest of the IMSA stuff (basically widebody kit), and am worried it might be too much without it. Back in the day, I took an '83 TA hood (basically a later formula hood), glassed in the scoop insert, and then built a mirror image on the other side that I thought looked INCREDIBLE, BUT- it was stock hood height and had a dip in between the 2 sides (think similar vintage corvette hood), making the hood scoop add a lot less visual weight to that part of the body.

Like if the price they quote on the website is correct and if it doesn't look overly large on a TA without a wide body... I'd be all about getting one.

OTHO, the site says they are all made to order, I wonder if they can make it with a lower scoop (and some other changes 😉huh...

FWIW, my car currently has the short Harwood cowl hood which I feel is the only real tasteful aftermarket hood easily available for these cars... I think it's advertised as being a 2" cowl...

 

i assume if you opened up the back of the scoop, you'd have to have some vertical supports in there to prevent the scoop from drooping??

 

Thats a sweet looking hood!!

 

Two more people have hoods on order. Maybe we'll get feedback on a fit up in the next couple months from one of them.

Regarding cutting the opening of the cowl, I am told it has a skin layer that can be cut out, and there is another structure layer behind it. They will make it open but you would have to pay extra for them to redo structure in that area.

These are very heavy for fiberglass, not much weight savings over stock, so maybe shop elsewhere if weight reduction is your motivitation.

 

Very cool, LAFireboyd. I'll be waiting patiently for updates, even if updates are slow.

Jim

 

I'm away from home. Visiting family in Indy. Even updated the location on my profile. I probably won't be driving home until the springtime thaw. Even when I return, living in Vegas and working in LA doesn't leave much time to play.

I purchased the hood so I would have it when I'm eventually ready for it, and I'm not. But when I phone vendors to inquire about products that I'm serious about purchasing, I'm prepared to put my money where my mouth is. I don't waste their time with, "ok, thanks, bye." This hood was one of those things. And since its availability has always been suspect, I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to get one if I could. Turned out, I could, so I did.

Then I wanted to get the word out to other members, but it was important to have one in my hands first, just in case it turned out to be not real. Sounds like people are on it, which is . And if someone gets his installed before I do, then good for him. Until then, all I can provide is this "catalog" for y'all to enjoy.

 

I have the same hood but an original from the 80s. Has a removable top section, and is wider.

 

Ok. Now that I have time. The hood was made back in the 80s by a company called diversified Glass. The first one had a removable cowl section. That could be cut open. The real IMSA/SCCA hood aka the DG one, is wider.

 

 

Hood looks great, those hood pins...not so much.
How long was the lead time to get this delivered? I may have missed it in the conversation

 

Here's the first design from DG from the 80s. No idea where put the scoop. It's buried, moving

 

Any update on the fitment of this hood? I was hoping to use it for my current project

 

I noticed the link is dead, hopefully still avaliable

 

You would think, right? But no. I was away when I last posted, and I've been back and forth across the country for the better part of two years since. I had an appointment with a local custom body shop to fit it and paint it in late 2024, but then I had to leave again, so that didn't happen. As we all know, life happens. So the hood still lays, covered, on my garage floor.

I'm not sure the hood is available anymore. Someone in another thread last year said someone else was making it now, no longer Fiber Concepts. I don't remember the thread, but it might've been the one for Firebird hoods in the FAQ forum. He posted a phone number to call. A search shows Fiber Concepts still exists, but I can't bring up the website on my laptop or my phone, apparently for security reasons. Warminster, PA is probably only a couple of hours from Central, NJ, so if you can get in touch with them, and if they're still making the hood, it would be a quick drive to pick it up.

If anyone else has gotten one, then they haven't posted it up, that I've noticed. With this thread revived, maybe someone will notice it and post theirs or create a thread of their own. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Edit: No, it wasn't in the thread in the FAQ forum, so sometime in the last year or so, the ISMA hood must've been brought up in a random thread, and that's apparenlty where the person posted the phone number for the new manufacturer of this hood.

 

2nd favorite hood after the RA1 hood. RA1 works great with the 85-90 body style. I love the Imsa hood, but really only if you get the rest of the pieces.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0g...9o_nJnCuiGAPMw

 

I found the thread. Fiber Concepts was sold. Post #7 (the last post) in the linked thread has the name and number for the new owner. No idea what's happening, if it's still operating, if it's still making them, so phone him with questions for answers.

Looking For 3rd Gen Firebird IMSA Widebody Kit - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

Not a fan of body kits, in general, Thirdgen. The ISMA body kit was good, but the hood looks just as good without the body kit. And hood swaps are normal. But body kits "redesign" an entire car, and I don't want that. There are a few pictures online of the aftermarket ISMA hood on regular factory Firebirds and TAs without the body kit, and it looks great. Like factory but symmetrical, and a touch taller.

I do, however, have a set of front and rear wheel "spats" for the Z20 Special Appearance Package that I think might coordinate well with the hood. That's, sort of, a minimalized "body kit" from the factory. But if they make the car look cheesy, then I won't leave them on. I think the stance is what will be most important for those; the lower the car sits, the better they'll look on the car. They'll go with the hood for paint, whenever...

I like the RA1 hood; RA2, not so much. The lines of the RA1 are similar to the ISMA hood. It would've been my second choice, but I'd have only wanted the original brand, which isn't available anymore. The Duraflex version is "lumpy" looking. There are videos of Duraflex hoods laying in the street getting run over by cars, and they're so flexible that they don't break or deform. Believe it or not, that's actually a Duraflex selling point. But with such flexibility comes an inconsistent finished surface, which probably takes a lot of prep to get smooth. And that, I'd think, would take away some of that flexibility, until the surface product starts cracking because of the flexibility, or maybe not. Doesn't matter anyway because I got my first choice.

I have three power bulge hoods, but for an aftermarket alternative, the ISMA hood is the only one I wanted, so I got it when I could, and now I'm covered for the future, however that goes.