Carbon Fiber hood from Year One

[Van B]

I got the hood for my Camaro on Friday. I was a little disappointed to see they (manufacturer Glasstek) had blasted it with a heavy coat of black primer. I guess I was expecting to see the weave under the surface.

It definitely is lighter than the Harwood fiberglass one I took off.

I sanded the primer today, but was not able to finish. This is where I need opinions. It will be a lot of work to sand all the primer off and clearcoat it for the natural CF look. Should I just straighten it out (there are some low spots) and paint it?

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

that sucks.. but hey at least its light!

hows the fitment?

[Van B]

Fits great without the hinges on. A little high in the left rear corner. The right side hinge is sloppy so I ordered a new GM set from Rick's. I did have to remove a little material from the sides where the rubber bumper is on the fenders. The hood is too deep on the sides.

[David Pozzi]

Can you weigh it for me?

[Mr.VENGEANCE]

or you can get this...WHOA, big cowl!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/67-68-69-CHEVY-CAMARO-L88-STYLE-CARBON-FIBER-HOOD_W0QQitemZ300092349023QQcategoryZ33646QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

[muthstryker]

or you can get this...WHOA, big cowl!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/67-68-69-CHEVY-CAMARO-L88-STYLE-CARBON-FIBER-HOOD_W0QQitemZ300092349023QQcategoryZ33646QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem

haha that is kinda cool.

[ProdigyCustoms]

the Ebay ZL1 hood in the link is a fiberglass hood with a Carbon fiber overlay.

As for the Year One CF hood, if the hood was not laid up with a clear gel coat, it is not goint to give you the natural look you are looking for. Sounds like they used a black gel coat.

[Van B]

David, it weighs 19 lb. The Harwood 4" cowl hood weighs 25 lb with the latch assy still attached. Not that much lighter I guess..

[ProdigyCustoms]

It looks like the Year One hood has a fiberglass frame.

[Damn True]

I'm guessing that Glasstek does not use a UV compatible resin.

[Rick D]

I put a Glastek CF hood on a friends 69 camaro a couple of years ago and it had a fiberglass frame and it was not finished with clears resins, only black gel coat. In his case it is a 10'5 inch tire car so he was looking for the weight savings not the look. I want one like Charlie got for Red Witch. Now that is a nice looking hood!

[Van B]

Thanks for the input guys. I think it will be easiest just to primer it or put a flat clear on it until I decide to paint the car. Otherwise I will spend a lot of time trying to match the crappy paint on the car.

[Damn True]

I'd love to find a CF hood in the stock/flat configuration (and decklid too!). I don't really want a Cowl Induction hood, but if that turns out to be the only way to go I s'pose I'll have to.

[Van B]

I was happy to dump the 4" cowl hood and get back to a 2". I have a stock SS hood but my carb would be sticking through it.

[ProdigyCustoms]

Damn, we are making a mold for the deck lid now. We are doing Lisa's Empty nest in blue carbon fiber. No plans for a flat hood though.

[Van B]

I would consider a flat deck lid as well, depending on cost.

[Damn True]

Damn, we are making a mold for the deck lid now. We are doing Lisa's Empty nest in blue carbon fiber. No plans for a flat hood though.

Make a second one in black that'll fit a '68 Camaro and it's sold.

Can I send you my stock flat hood to make a copy of?

[ProdigyCustoms]

Make a second one in black that'll fit a '68 Camaro and it's sold.

Can I send you my stock flat hood to make a copy of?

The mold cost would be prohibitive unless there are a lot of other buyers, but the deck lid I see selling.

[James OLC]

I would be in for a deck lid. What kind of timing are you looking at Frank?

[Rick D]

I be in for a deck lid depending on price! Any idea on how much you are thinking Frank?? I know the more pepole in helps justify the cost of doing this kind of stuff.

[David Pozzi]

David, it weighs 19 lb. The Harwood 4" cowl hood weighs 25 lb with the latch assy still attached. Not that much lighter I guess..

Consider that a steel cowl factory hood weighs 57 LBS!
The latch weighs about 1 lb.

Does it seem strong/stiff enough to use the factory hinges? How about the front latch area, is it strong enough to attach the latch or are hood pins needed too?
Thanks, David

[Damn True]

Van,

I would imagine that low-tension springs are needed right?

[ProdigyCustoms]

I be in for a deck lid depending on price! Any idea on how much you are thinking Frank?? I know the more pepole in helps justify the cost of doing this kind of stuff.

Give me a month to get the mold done, the first part and do the cost study.

[MuscleRodz]

Van,

I would imagine that low-tension springs are needed right?A set of these from us set up for a glass hood will go great with a CF hood.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[Van B]

Consider that a steel cowl factory hood weighs 57 LBS!
The latch weighs about 1 lb.

Does it seem strong/stiff enough to use the factory hinges? How about the front latch area, is it strong enough to attach the latch or are hood pins needed too?
Thanks, David

The stock hinges will work fine. Low tension springs from my glass hood are on the border of being too stiff. Front latch area should be good, but they put a sticker right on it recommending hood pins.

[TUBED]

Glasstek has lower tension hood hinge springs that have the OEM look once installed and work fine with their hoods. Their springs are not a hardware store special meaning they aren't to small in diameter.
I have both a hood & springs from Glasstek bought new in 1996 on a Chevelle that does fine. Also you might look at an 83 Pontiac Catalina hood hinge spring for your fiberglass hood needs as they seem to be the same as what Glasstek supplied me but check to be sure.
Gerald

[ks71z28]

After doing the carbon fiber stuff for my 2nd gen Camaro, i realized there is absolutely no money in it. The stuff is nasty to work with and composite parts are hard to mold without any hint of air bubbles or snag in the woven mat. I have several not perfect rear bumpers and amm yeat to make an absilute perfect piece, if they were fiberglass or made to be painted, I too would have filled any pin holes or voids and black primered. The weight savings isn't significant, where carbon fiber has its advantages is rigidity, and epoxy resin is used instead of polyester, epoxy is less brittle and doesn't shrink and warp when curing as much. By the way carbon fiber parts don't use get coat, it is not compatable, so if your hood has it, then maybe you better look deeper. There is a lot of dyed fiberglass being passed off as carbon fiber, beware

Keith

[Whistler]

Hell yeah I feel you. It's a pain in the ass.