fiberglass hoods

[john evans]

anybody running a fiberglass hood on their tta?

pictures anyone?what brand?

 

[mark b]

I know one of our New England area people bought the last gen type hood. I saw it up at Cotton's Performance. It looked really cool, but it's one of those "like it or don't like it" things to most people.


http://www.ramairhood.com/store/detail.aspx?ID=41

 

[john evans]

on our cars, i'm not sure if i like that style.the frt of the car is too square.how about a cowl hood.anyone have any idea of the weight differences?our hoods weight a ton.

 

[TTA850]

Here's a few pics of my 89 GTA, it's a harwood 2.75" or 3" hood out of Jegs if I remember correctly, I put it on the car a while ago when I was doing the turbo motor swap. I dont know the weight difference but I can tell you I fairly easily lift the hood off myself when removing the engine or whatnot.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/411000-411999/411384_19_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/411000-411999/411384_21_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/3/web/411000-411999/411384_28_full.jpg

HTH,
Steve

 

[john evans]

i like that look alot.flows with the cars lines better.can you recall the price on that hood?i guess about a 30-35 lb. weight savings.thanks for the reply.

 

[zerotta]

I'd be interested in a high-quality direct factory replacement 'glas hood with cutouts for the factory hood vents.

IMO ANY 4th gen ram-air hood on ANY 3rd gen looks tacky and trashy.

 

[mark b]

Originally posted by zerotta
I'd be interested in a high-quality direct factory replacement 'glas hood with cutouts for the factory hood vents.

IMO ANY 4th gen ram-air hood on ANY 3rd gen looks tacky and trashy.

I think a number of us agree on the 4th gen and would also like to see a stock replacement one. However, with a limited market there may not be cost justification for a manufacturer to make it. The setup cost on these things must be high.

 

[mark b]

I don't wish to bend this thread, but relative to replacement parts, I was told someone makes a light-weight complete replacement hatch that replaces the glass with (lexan?).

Has anyone seen one of these? Those hatches weigh a ton....

 

[Jas89TTA]

I have the fiberglass Ram Air Hood on my TTA, At first I thought I would not like it but after I seen it on the car I think it looks good. It's not the WS6 style like mark b shows in the link. The style I have fits the 3rd gen much better. Pics of the hood I have is at
http://www.americansportscardesigns.com/images/ta-500.jpg

 

[RobR]

Originally posted by mark b
I think a number of us agree on the 4th gen and would also like to see a stock replacement one. However, with a limited market there may not be cost justification for a manufacturer to make it. The setup cost on these things must be high.

There isn't a limited market. They made hundreds of thousands of TA, GTA, SE's with that hood. I'm sure there would be a market for a stock fiberglass hood. Maybe just approach one of the major hood makers, might be all you need to do.

 

[mark b]

Originally posted by RobR
There isn't a limited market. They made hundreds of thousands of TA, GTA, SE's with that hood. I'm sure there would be a market for a stock fiberglass hood. Maybe just approach one of the major hood makers, might be all you need to do.

I didn't realize the TTA hood was on the other cars.

BTW - The only market that isn't limited is death..... as long as there are people. Otherwise, every market has a limit and even though there may be 100,00's, there are many less on the road and many, many less interested in buying fiberglass hoods. So I stand by my statement that it's a limited market, unless of course you don't think I'm entitled to my viewpoint.

 

[Darkside8889]

www.vfnfiberglass.com has them in cowl and stock style. Weigh around 20 lbs. Think most are pin on though

 

[zerotta]

The TTA hood itself is no different than any Trans Am/GTA hood of 1985-1992 vintage and will fit on any thirdgen Firebird.

Granted, when many (most?) people modify the exterior of their car, they want something that doesn't look stock. I like the stock hood looks myself, but wouldn't mind something lighter if it's high quality and could pass for stock when closed.

 

[mark b]

Originally posted by zerotta
The TTA hood itself is no different than any Trans Am/GTA hood of 1985-1992 vintage and will fit on any thirdgen Firebird.

So how many GTA's did they make in that period?

 

[zerotta]

Originally posted by mark b
So how many GTA's did they make in that period?

http://www.thirdgen.org/newdesign/tech/techdb.shtml

quick math from that link:

Around 35,000 GTAs
well over 250,000 Trans Ams from 82-92.
over 125,000 Trans Am with the same hood as the TTA (85-92)
Total thirdgen Firebirds: over 800,000

 

[john evans]

and now back to the fiberglass hood question,who has the best prices /quality on hoods.what is the weight difference between the two.

 

[mark b]

Define quality..... most fiberglass stuff needs work out of the box anyway. I've never seen one that doesn't. So is quality more of a general fit and possibly minimal finish work in your view?

 

[zerotta]

http://www.texastransams.com/parts/fiberglass.htm

they have some, but no weights. they have the regular firebird hood without the cutouts for the vents too

 

[The Swede]

Guys,

One issue on the aftermarket hoods is that if you get the WS6 style 4th gen hood you loose plenty of the sight forward.
I sold my hood rather fast after i had it mounted.

 

[john evans]

quality,meaning good fit,nice appearence,good molding technique
minimal prep to paint.prices anyone?jegs and summit come to mind for a harwood.i didn't know if anyone else had found a better ,less expensive distributor.any other styles?i've seen some poor quality mustang hoods and it's pretty obvious that the
QUALITY isn't very good.