Lift-off hoods

[duster360]

I just recieved my lift-off hood from us body fiberglass. To all that may be looking, they are probably in between aar and unlimited. Unlimited is awful, as many others have stated, and aar is the best. US body source has better prices and the quality is pretty good, too.
For those who have lift off hoods (specifically dusters) where/how did you put the hood pins? If you have some pics, I'd love to see how some of you are doing it.
Thanks!

[sunsetdart]

I have a lift off hood on my 66 Dart. I used dzus fasteners to hold it down. There are 14 of them. One thing you must remember........if you are using a hood with a scoop, it will be grabbing alot of air going down the road and the hood BETTER be tied down well. I was told that you need at least 4 across the front, 3-4 down the side and 2 across the back of the hood. That's using dzus, hood pins, you may get away with a few less.

[PureGTS]

I had help when I did mine and I still find it a bit magical. It was on a B'body RR but locating the pins is the biggest problem your facing when it comes time to drill to hit the right spot(s). Here's how I'd do it; Install the hood pins at least three to four inches in board of the edges trying to avoid hitting the structural hollow double wall areas. With the pins installed make sure they are straight up and down not leaning in & out and all goofy. Then get a friend and set the hood in place with the pins removed and center the hood to match your body lines/gaps. Here comes the fun. Go the local shooters supply store and get some of the targets that show color when hit. Tape them to the under side of the hood and set it in place with the pins lowered and covered by a couple layers of cardboard so the moving around of the hod doesn't apply marks in the target bull. Align the hood and once in place smack the hood over the pins to mark the location of the hole to be drilled. Drill small holes one at a time to allow some final adjusting. File the final holes to size adjusting as needed. Then install the chrome plates and pins.

Have fun.

[dusterboy15]

i was just going to use for pins like the lift off hoods on the roadrunners if that wont work i can use the stock latch to help hold it in the front possilbly

[PureGTS]

Depending on the hood's inner structure it may work and then again it may not. My RR's hood was, what I thought, thick enough. But at 70 MPH the front corners were flexing going down the freeway. Not a happy thing when you are planning on triple digits on the track. I ended up glassing in some 3/4" square aluminum tubing down the left, right sides and front. Problem solved; at least at 125MPH anyway.  Look for the flexing as, after a while, it just explodes off and into your windshield or worse...  somebody else's.

I'll see about posting some pic's of my hood to show you what I mean and did.

[duster360]

Thanks for the replies. There's about 2 1/2 inches along the edges before I run into bracing, so I'm hoping to get the pins close to that. Love to see some pictures if you all have some. My uncle mentioned something to me about getting tabs for a cuda or roadrunner for six-pack lift off hoods, but I don't know if that will work on my duster. Just wondering if you all made tabs or used the metal that was there.
I plan to get it mounted and run it down the road before I have it painted, so if any flexing occures, I can get it fixed before I get paint on it....
Thanks!

[sunsetdart]

hers a pic of my hood, but not on the car

[67 dartgts]

Hello:
  Here is mine during shakedown 1/8 mile at about 75 or 80 mph.  Note leading edge of hood. I added two more fasterners to the front.
Belive it they will tear right off saw 2 of them come off at St. Louis Gateway last year.             

   Maynard

[dusterboy15]

i have 2 in the front on my stock hood and i plan on putting 2 more in the rear

[illfish]

I would put some fender rubber adjusters at the back of the cowl to help keep it cool.  Make sure it's fastened well.  They will dance around and explode in your face at 129mph.

[farmington]

for the rear mounts, use a piece of angle (steel or aluminum) and bolt to inner fender .  Sorry, don't have any pictures my crashed computer ate them all.

[norwaycharger]

This is how we did it on a 69 Dart

[dusterboy15]

i was going to drill a holes in the rear on top of the firewall and weld the pins in

[67 dartgts]

Hello:

 It's not the pins that are the problem.  The fiberglass cracks and comes apart around the pins.. you got to use lots of fasterners and secure it
 tight.  Four pins may look neat but over 50 mph they are an inviation to diaster.
 

They will dance around and explode in your face at 129mph.

  illfish said that
 I never had one explode but it's got to be scary.   I did loose one once..it rose straight up and shot over the windshield like a rocket then self destructed about 50 yards behind me on the road.  Belive it or not it was a steel hood on a 1950 Ford..and those things were heavy.  Lesson learned never take a test drive with just setting the hood in place with no bolts.  Yeah I Know it was dumb...but I was young.

     Maynard

[illfish]

Yeah Maynard, a bit of an exaggeration   I did forget to put the pins back in the one I had on a mustang and promptly ejected it on my neighbor's front lawn. 

[67 dartgts]

Hello:

   illfish well I don't feel quite so bad now, but it was still dumb...exciting but dumb.

            Maynard

[dusterboy15]

well i acutally am buying the dzus kit from summit and im going to run 2 hood pins in the front, 2 in the rear, 5 dzus on the left and 5 on the right. Now that should be good right?

[67 dartgts]

Hello:
   Yep that should be good that's what i'm running 2 in front 2 in back and 5 down sides.   Why not just use dzus all around and leave off the   hood pins?

     Maynard

[dusterboy15]

I guess i want the Six Pack road runner look

[mopardart71]

how good are the fiberglass hoods from mas racing, i think glasstek makes theres and they are only $250

[mopardart71]

ok has anyone bought one from mas racing??, im guessing glasstek makes them because i was looking at there products list

[dusterboy15]

nope i would have bought one from them but they dont make them for a 73 duster sorry

[NYrr496]

On my Charger, I removed the hood hinges and fabbed brackets for the pins very similar to a 69 roadrunner. If I can find them, I'm going to use them on my 68 roadrunner.

Originally, on my Charger, I had a glass stock type hood. It was bolted to the hood hinges with low tension springs and had two pins in the front. One day while making a high speed run, the hood was rising up in the center so high, I could see my air cleaner from the drivers seat. That's when I added two more pins to the front and pinned the rear. It still rose up on the sides, so Dzus fasteners would have been nice.

Also, you can glass small diameter PVC pipe under the hood to add strength. Even foam rubber in a triangle. The trick is to make a fiberglass tube. It adds incredible strength. I do it on speedboats to stiffen the deck without adding considerable weight.

[Womanator]

14 Dzus fasseners on my fiberglass hoods.I have 2 hoods for the 68 Dart,1 pro stock and the one in the picture.Cracked the pro stock hood around the scoop and boy did it bow in the middle at 138 mph.Even with aluminum inserts every year it seems I have to have them repaired.But I think it's from both the launch and the speed.