95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys, I just got the VIS Cowl carbon fiber hood for LT1 Firebirds...

Scheduling delivery was going to be a hassle, so I went down to the freight company and picked it up...

I will say, finish quality is top-notch...

There are no provisions for hood struts and the inner fiberglass liner is quite thin, so I will have to do some creative brainstorming to come up with a strut setup for it...

I am extremely happy it has a nice big cowl opening covered in black mesh to allow for heat to get out of the engine compartment... That was one of my biggest requirements for an aftermarket hood, that it be functional besides visual, and with my engine setup I need all the help I can get keeping things cool...

I also noticed some asthetics that will make some cringe...

If the hood is left in carbon fiber and not painted I am sure the asthetics won't be an issue, but for someone like me, who plans on painting the hood, they can require quite a bit of rework or be a deal-breaker all-together in regards to getting this hood...

First off, in regards to the center rib that runs from the bumper to the back of the stock hood, this hood has a center 'crease' more than a raised rib... Kinda like what the camaros have for a front crease on thier bumpers... So to make it match up will require either some custom work to the hood, or custom work to the bumper...

Next the outer 'V' on the firebird hoods has a nice increasing rise over a 1/4" distance... The hood has a much more direct bump between levels... Again it will require work to the hood or bumper to get them to match and blend perfectly...

Lastly, the 'flat' areas behind and around the headlight cutouts is more curved on the VIS hood than the stock one is... Potentially requiring some rework to get them to match up as well as the stock hood does...

Again, if left in carbon fiber (which would look just out of place without carbon fiber headlight doors that matched the weave/placement of the carbon fiber) these issues might not be a big deal...

I am planning on having the hood painted black to match the car and might leave the sides of the cowl as carbon fiber to give a nice accent...

Regardless I am thinking I will have the center rib on the bumper smoothed to match the hood and might have the bumper or hood modified to get the 'V' section to look right...

I am seeing if a buddy or two can drop by tonight to help get it put on the car... In the meantime there are no pics because I am recharging the digital cameras batteries...

I will put up pics of at least the hood off the car, and hopefully pics of the hood on the car, later tonight...

PontiacFan

iTrader: (104)

Is it 'later' yet?!?

95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

Pics as promised (and no in 5 degree weather I was not going to try to be **** and remove the tape residue, which is the redish-brown stuff on the hood still):






And a peek at what is 'under' the hood:



Excuse the garage, it is middle of winter and we bought a ton of new furniture in the past few weeks...

I also hate using a flash on a black car... always highlights every dust spec... A perfectly clean engine compartment can look like *** with a flash...

Keep that in mind if you care to look at the rest of the pics:

http://www.darklogic.net/VISCarbonFiberFirebirdCowlHood/

95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

I forgot to add that the fit and overall 'finish' is outstanding...

If left in carbon fiber, all of the previous asthetic issues are non-issues... To paint it, they all come into consideration...

About the only PITA part I am running into is that they did not put certain 'locating' holes in the hood (such as for the u-hook, the safety latch, the hinges, etc...) so those will have to be added, as well as drilling/tapping the holes for the safety latch itself...

The finish of the clearcoat is really nice and I noticed only 1 small 'flaw' in the carbon fiber mat itself, and that 'flaw' is only if you know to look at it, and exactly how to look at it to see it... (needless to say, I went over the hood in gross detail to check for issues/flaws)

02TransAm/Batmobile

iTrader: (32)

im likin it better than the lt1 ws6

SLPHawk300

iTrader: (1)

Any chance you could get some pictures in the light? It's hard to tell what it really looks like with it being so dark...thanks

98Z28MASS

iTrader: (6)

loosk good, and what are you running there under the hood? Supercharger?

SpdFrk1990

iTrader: (6)

Looks good hopefully you dont have any issues getting stuff mounted.

95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

Yeah it is all of 14 degrees outside today, but I did get my old hood put up and out of the way which allowed me room to work on this one, so I got it unbolted and layed out...

I have the templates made for all the locating holes and for the safety latch cutout... I figure I will get a couple of things done at a time over the next few days, as I don't really feel like freezing my **** off in the cold for an extended period of time...

I believe I have a viable solution for the hood strut situation, so after all the holes are drilled I'll get a weight on it and then add a few pounds for bracketry and get the new struts ordered...

Nice thing is I believe I can reuse the stock hood bracket, thus keeping the stock strut ends and just getting everything to mount with a big adapter plate and some rivet-nuts on all sides... It might look a little bulky, but should spread the pressure over a big enough area considering the thinness of the fiberglass used for the bottom panel... Plus I think once everything is done and painted black with black fasteners it should look pretty good...

I'll keep everyone updated with pics as work progresses...

SLPHawk300

iTrader: (1)

But no brighter pictures? I'd like to see some at street level if possible...see what it looks like head on and from the side but bright so we can see...

emerica4601

iTrader: (5)

never! the ws6 lt1 hood owns all!

haha jk. lets see some daytime shots of this beast

95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, it may be a while before that happens, as it does not even get started below freezing and definitly won't be pulled onto salty driveways even, let alone salty roads...

If we get warmer weather next week and it is above freezing for a few days, I may end up sweeping the driveway of the salt and pulling it out of the garage, but until then I'll be stuck taking pics inside...

95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

Ok, just got done weighing the new hood, and it comes in at exactly 22.5lbs...

So, figure about 2-2.5 more lbs with the latch, bracketry and what-not...

SLPHawk300

iTrader: (1)

Throw a flood light on and take some better pics, lighter/brighter pics.

95 TA - The Beast

iTrader: (2)

Ok, so I braved the sub-freezing weather multiple times today and made all the necessary mods to the hood to make a true 'bolt-on'... (for reference, drilling the hinge locating holes, the latch locating slot, the safety catch cutout and bolt holes and figuring out a securing method for the safety catch, implimenting it and getting everything bolted together)... As well as moving various fuel lines and wiring harnesses out of the way so that I don't need to trim down the hood edges to get the hood to close fully like I decided to do with the stock hood...

So, tomorrow I will get the VIS hood bolted on, aligned relative to the bumper and fenders, realign the headlight doors to match and then maybe put down some large cardboard (you don't think those big boxes alongside the car in a few pics are there holding anything, do ya?) put down so I can back the car into the driveway and take some pics in the daylight...

What, you guys don't think I am even more anxious than you are to see how it will look???