GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

So last year I converted the stocker to a pin on in the front and I was planning to do a fiberglass hood that pins in the front and is hinged in the rear. However, the weight and cost of a full pin on has really gotten my attention. How much of a pain in the *** are they to deal with? If I'm in the lanes or pits and set the hood on the roof (with some foam feet of course) wouldn't the thing will just blow away at 10-12lbs. I can see myself chasing after a hood like it's a tumble weed. lol. Just wondering if they are alittle much for a street car.

BTW: do these still fit half decent?

Nate_Taufer

iTrader: (1)

It's a pain in the *** too if you daily drive (which i remember you saying you DD your car). Imagine trying to check coolant or oil real quick before you go to work or something. You'll have to go find somebody to give you a hand everytime otherwise it will flex and the paint will start to spider web a few weeks later.

For the extra 6 lbs or weight savings I determined it wasnt worth it.

Nate

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

The car is no longer a DD but does see plenty of street time. I didn't realize that those hoods flex that much so that would be an issue for me. The ones I'm looking at are about 12lbs lighter than the bolt ons plus the weight of removing the hinges and shocks. At $300 I might just order one for the hell of it. I don't know...

TRUCKIN

iTrader: (3)

My opinion is no to the pin on. What if by chance you had an emergency under the hood a fire or something of that nature. Try pulling the pins fast enough or taking off zues fasteners before you and your car burns to the ground.

silverbeast

iTrader: (16)

very good point......never thought about that.

sleeperstyle

iTrader: (4)

i've been considering it for a while, but never really thought about all of the drawbacks. i think if i were to get a aftermarket hood it would be a pin-on style however or just leave the stocker on there.

chpmnsws6

iTrader: (70)

i have it and love it. again, VFN's fit and finish is GREAT and the hood looks OEM. i haven't gotten it painted yet so i don't know how much the paint cracks but i pick the hood up all the time by myself.

chpmnsws6

iTrader: (70)

then take your he-man strength you seem to suddenly gain when something like that goes on and rip the hood off. i'm willing to sacrifice a $300 hood and some $20 pins to save the car. how often do you plan on having your car catch on fire?

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

Not a concern, I have a Halon supresent system going in the car.


ramair: is your hood all floppy, or is it stiff.

chpmnsws6

iTrader: (70)

it has very little flex at all

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

I have a glasstek hood and it does not flex. I also have a couple of friends running the VFN pin ons and they don't have that problem either. The hoods are very light at 12-15lbs at the most. I think they are definitely worth the $300.

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

I was looking at the Glasstek. I noticed yours was forsale awhile back, did you ever get rid of it? I think I'm deffinatly getting one.

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

You guys think 6 pins would be stupid, I know alot of people run 4. I kinda want to keep it attached to the nose since the nose is kinda floppy. I don't think that fiberglass support will be enough to keep the hood on in the front though.

Here's how it is now.

chpmnsws6

iTrader: (70)

i run 5 pins. 2 on each side and one in the center of the "nostrils"

4 just seemed to floppy

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

I ended up keeping it because it was too much of a hassle to try and ship.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

I am thinking of one in the future myself... only because when I eventually do build a new motor, it's most likly gonna need teh single plane intake,a nd if I can get a 2 inch cowl ws-6 hood made, I won't have clearance problems, just have to get an elbow that will sit at the right angle so the cowl won't be an issue.

For what it's worth, I have seen people at car shows take the hood off old school cars alone and set it on the roof. Even on more windy days, I've never seen one "lift off" and take flight... but I can see where it could.

From what I've seen, most people do 3 or 4 fasteners across the front, and 2 in the back, some do one in the middle of the sides as well.. not sure if that's needed though.

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

JL: check out these elbows, no hood clearance issues. http://www.spectrum5racing.com/ .

The Big Show

iTrader: (2)

I'm glad the LS1 VFN hoods fit "GREAT" as you say cause mine sure as hell didn't. And now that I think about it, none of the aftermarket hoods I have ever bought fit GREAT. Quality has been sub par too as I have sent back every single hood I have ever bought and that was from Harwood, VFN as well as Glasstek. They all use the same damn shipping company and the idiots always bust the hood before it gets to my door. I decided to just keep this one because I was tired of shipping hoods back to the manf. And before you ask, I even paid for the "crate" to get the hood shipped in....my ***...the crate ended up being some extra cardboard.



Anyway, I would do the zeus style fasteners before the pin on. With the fastener tool you could have your hood off just as fast as pulling pins if there was an emergency. It would also take a very large gusting wind to blow the hood off the car and it was blowing that much you wouldn't have it sitting on your car anyway. I take mine off and on by myself all the time with no issues so two people aren't necessary and if it is, you really need to hit the gym

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

Maybe I'll do the Zeus style. Do they go right into the fender rails and upper nose support. They are deffinatly have a cleaner look.

The Big Show

iTrader: (2)

Some people do it different ways. I just bought the "kit" from Jeg's that includes all the fastners, pop rivets and springs. Only took a few hours to complete the task.