I was thinking about cuttting the bracing of the underside of my hood to save weight. this will mostly be a weekend warrior and a stop light car. anyways i just saw them do this on monster garage a couple of weeks ago. just an idea and would like some input on it. thanks brad.

The previous owner of my car cut the bracing out underneath, now the corners curl up at high speed.

the front two corners bend up at high speeds? when you say high speeds do you mean 100 plus or highway speeds?

Highway speeds

A guy I know bought a TA with a louvered hood. They had to cut the bracing to get the louver machine to the hood metal, now the hood sags in the center.

and here, this is what im doing for fun.............

i need a metal sheres to finsh the job

saws suck! so do grinders!

wheres my sheres!!!!

NEEDforSPEED, put down the tools and step away from the hood

no lol

NEEDforSPEED, put down the tools and step away from the hood......... open a beer, light the torch, fix the hood

shhhhh, its got a new life, this was just aband behind are shop they where just going to thorw it away.....


so i saved it

good man! saved a part of something that sets america apart from all the other countries! You're my hero!

LMAO!!!!

would a set of hood pins fix this?

this would also give you a little more hood clearance for guys like me who just barely hit the hood with the air cleaner.

I have no doubt they would.

Why not just get the factory fiberglass hood.They dont have cross bracing.Just a frame around the outer edges.

Because that's expensive. If you already have a grinder, you can chop the bracing out for the cost of a couple blades (around $5) and then if the flex bothers you spend $35 on a set of hood pins.


Much cheaper than $300-400 for a hood and then having to prep and paint it.

Ive seen the FACTORY fiberglass hoods sell under $150,cheaper if they need a little glass work.I dont think thats too expensive.Plus you can paint them your self.Its not that hard.Plus the FACTORY glass hoods have ALL the same mounting points as the steel version.So no pins or whatever else are needed.

I would buy a factory hood for 150 dollars.
Where did you see this?

LOL did anyone else notice what the hood says?
And just my opinion, as long as you leave the MAIN bracing, and just remove the extra stuff, the hood should be plenty strong and still considerably lighter...

There is a local publication around here by the name RECYCLER.Its free to run ads under $250.There is always some type of part/s selling very cheap.Ive seen decent hoods sell for well under $200,& less than $120 if they need work.

anyone remember what car/years had the factory fiberglass hood?

I would love one on my GTA. I thought it was only on camaro's..

82-83 Z28's

darn, would be nice if some t/a come with em.

Didnt some T/As have aluminum hoods

How much is 'considerably' lighter?

can you cut all the bracing out then take 1/4 inch steel rods and weld it under there in a triangle pattern???? and can the same be done the the doors?

Make sure you remove the hood shocks if you gut the underside of the hood.

I bent the crap out of a stock V6, non-gutted hood the other day after I put a good hood shock on one side with a marginal one on the other. Bent a good 30* angle in it.

The hood is junk now

I guess this is a reason to get a pin-on fiberglass one. lol