Soo i recieved my SS hood from Rockauto today for my '98 camaro. Well i did what rockauto says to do before they leave and inspect it, well it had a bunch of cracks and the box it was in was beat up and bent. Soo i had them return the hood and i'll be getting another one in a few weeks. I was hoping it wasn't made out of fiberglass but it is, i guess all the ss hoods were made from fiberglass cause its suppose to be OEM. I'm hoping the quailty is better than the ones on ebay. I understand they need to be preped first but damn mine was cracked everywhere. GRRRRR.

 

What did you hope they were made of?

 

yes they came fiberglass and are you sure it wasnt the shippers fault on the hood damage?

 

Steel.

 

Ohh ic. Well i just hope the quality is better than the ebay hoods.

I'm not too sure who's fault it was but i had it sent back and i'm waiting for a new one.

 

Im pretty sure all the ss hoods/ fbody hoods in general are fiberglass

 

I'm pretty sure all z28's and base models and same with pontiac, except WS6 had steel hoods.

 

my z28's hood is very light, perhaps aluminum?

the SS hood I have (I assume it's OEM..) is fiberglass.

rockauto's pretty good, but shipping a bigass hood like that probably isn't easy without some damage. Do they have a warehouse near you you could pick it up? I mean if the next one arrives damaged..

 

So all the SS hoods they have on their website are stock pull offs?

 

SS hoods from SLP were blended Fiberglass. Same as the WS6 hood.

 

No, it is steel. So is the Firebird/TA hood.

 

huh.. pretty light for a steel hood. I changed mine out by myself in the garage a weekend back in the summer. Neither of them were heavy.

when I had my 88 gmc and I took it's hood off, as soon sa the bolt came loose the front of it fell down on my back like a ton of bricks. it was quite a bit harder to get off.

 

GM hoods are not fiber glass they are made from a material called SMC much stonger and lighter.

 

had to look it up.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7762808_smc-fiberglass.html

if I had to guess, knowing that the only way to get a "new" SS hood is a NOS part from some warehouse tucked away in an obscure place, the rock auto hood is NOT oem, but a fiberglass repro.

Rock auto has a good reputation in my book, but I'm also fairly sure they're not above selling "cheap" parts either, so your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not this hood will be any good.

what'd it cost you out of curiosity? I nearly rearended a guy this morning (was nearly part of a 5 car wreck actually.. guy 3 cars up wasn't paying attention and I couldn't see. Thank god I don't tailgate when I can't see. ) so it'd be nice to know how to replace mine if it gets damaged.

 

Its alittle under $400 soo I guess I pay cheap I get cheap, I just figured rockauto sells replacment parts only soo I. Thought it would be the same meterail as the stock ss hood but I guess its not. I just hope they don't end up like the ebay hoods and crac over a short period of time. Mlaybe its better quality than ebay but not as good as GM? Theirs no brand on the hood or box or on the info just verious manufacture soo I don't know if its made by the same company who makes ebay hoods or someone of better quality. Once I get the new hood back I can finally send it to my guy to have it painted and he said he's going to do 3 coats alltogether soo I'm guessing 2 basecoats and a clearcoat or the other way around. I'm having it painted the same color (black)

 

let us know how it turns out.

I imagine if it says various manufacturers, they probably partner with 4 or 5 different places that make aftermarket parts and they source one and send it your way.

it could be one of the ebay manufacturers, or it could be someone who only deals with specific parts like this. There's a van that I see on the road every morning out where I live that seems to specialize in parts for body shops and things, I can't remember the name now, but it could be a supplier like that. edit: remembered the name, insignia.

I have a feeling rock auto is mostly a drop-shop based company moerso than warehousing.

 

Yeah I will defently let you know how the next hood turns out.

 

The closest you can get to factory is someone making what they call duraflex hood, which is another type of fiberglass blend. Similar, but again, not OEM.

If you really want OEM, your best bet is to check yards or the boards here. Just expect to pay a premium.

When I wrecked my 97 SS in back in 1998, the insurance company had to order a new hood from SLP and it was about $700. I worked at the dealer as a bodyman, so I kept the stock hood, repaired it and sold it to a local guy for $500.

 

I hope he meant 3 coats of base. Needs to be sealed, thats at least one coat, at least 2 coats of base and at least 2 coats of clear. Make sure he uses flex additive.

 

Yeah, the steel isn't very thick, but it is steel. This became quite obvious after a small rock chip on the edge of my hood started to rust. That's the price you pay for living in the north.