I just picked up a cheap raceweight 6 pack hood for my Dusterand need some advice. I needed some hood clearence for running a taller intake and air cleaner and got a good deal on the hood, its a pin on using zdus fasteners and is a thin race weight hood from MAS. I'm looking into adding some extra reinforcement to the underside to stiffin it up. I was thinking about using the smallest aluminum square stock bent to the shape of the stock hood and making a square frame and fiberglassing it to the underside then adding an extra layer or 2 of fiberglass to the entire underside of the hood and scoop. Sound like a good idea or is there a better way?

Also the the back corners of the hood where it meets the corner of the cowl and fender are a little rounded off, not pointed like the factory, is there a good way to add some material to the corners to make it fit better? Is this posible and how would I go about adding to the edge of the hood?

Any advice would be greatly appriciated. I really havent done much fiberglass work but I pride myself on learing and doing new things, love the challenge and it always comes out great once I do some reserch and dive in . Any fiberglass experts out there that can share some tips on this project? Thanks

Butch

Butch ...let us see the underside of the hood ..

Ok I'll take a picture of the underside today.

Butch

some of the lightweight hoods underside it looks like they use foam padding cut in strips and then they just fiberglass over them basicly creating a rib to stiffin the panel, on the corners you need to roughen it up with some course sandpaper, and you could mix up some resin and fiberglass mat (I like the gorilla hair type, and add what you need.

Looks like they used a strip of cardboard fiberglassed in but I want something a little stiffer. Heres a picture of the underside. I was thinking about adding the aluminum strips about 2-3 inches in from the edges and then making the entire hood a little thicker with an extra couple layers of mat. I'm going to take out the plexiglass that partially covers the scoop hole but I might add something simmilar cut to fit my air cleaner, seems like a good idea to really force the air in. So what do you think?

Butch

And heres the corners as I mentioned...

I'm not a fiberglass expert by any means but this is what I've done. First you need to figure out what kind of fiberglass you have fiberglass or SMC fiberglass is kind of a clear yellowish color SMC is gray in color and get the right resin for it. If you're not sure they make a resin that works on fiberglass and SMC talk to your bodyshop supply place. get a piece of wood from home depot 1x2 or 2x2 whatever you have room for under the hood. Cover the wood and your work area surface with clear plastic packaging tape then spray the tape with Pam cooking spray use some fiberglass mat and resin and cover the wood with it on 3 sides making a -U- shape. Let the mat and resin run out onto your work surface about a half inch to make a -U- shape with wings on the top. Let it set up then remove the fiberglass from the wood and work surface clean the piece with wax and grease remover (from bodyshop supply place) cut your piece to fit under the hood scuff the bottom of the hood and the top of the piece you made with 120 grit sand paper and bond it on using panel adhesive or fiberglass resin. For the corners of the hood that you said are rounded off grind the top of the hood back about a half inch on an angle put a piece of packaging tape on the underside of the hood sticking out over the edge of the corner. (> Don't use the Pam cooking spray on this repair < ) Use long hair fiberglass filler to make your corner. Pull the tape off after it sets up then shape it to fit.

I just saw the pic you put up I would say that's Fiberglass not SMC

So doing it that way your actually making u channel fiberglass suports, never thought of that, good idea.

Out there looking at it again, I'm thinking about doing away with the zdus fasteners and running 4 pins in the corners. I was thinking about forming some aluminum angle stock to the contour of the fender tops and mounting them on the inside of the fenders and along the top of the back cowl area making a ledge on 3 sides for the hood to sit on to keep the shape. Then adding a 2 or 3 inch strip of flat aluminum stock along the underside in line with the pin mounting locations. Basically have a long strip on each side of the hood fiberglassed in, down the entire length of the hood on the sides so that the front and rear pins would both go through the same strip of aluminum for added strength.

Starting to think that the zdus fasteners may be a real pain for a street car.

Dont know if I explained it very good, but get the idea? Any thoughts?

Butch

I have not seen bracing like that in a long time ..

How stiff is the hood as-is ?

I glassed in a balsa wood frame

First .. you never put a hood on the rear tips !! ... that is why yours is sooo rounded-off.

OK ... how much concern is additional weight?

Gotcha, makes sence!!!!

Weight is not an issue as its not a race car, more interested in duabillity and strength. Dont want it so heavy that its a pain to lift on and off, but no mater what it will still be way lighter then the stock hood.

Butch

LAST Q before my recipe ...

Can you flip the hood over and put it on some saw-horses without it changing contour?

If I did, it probably would change the contour. So I was thinking about taking some 2x4's and making a square and shaping them to the contour of the top of the stock hood, so one down each side and one in front and back. It would take some work to shave them down to fit the contour but I figured I could them use that frame to set the fiberglass hood upsidedown on and it would be the same as the stock hood, then fiberglass. Sound like a decent idea?

Butch

THERE you go ...with the 2x4's ....

but if that flexes THIS much ...THAT is plain WRONG

OK ... get some CONDUIT(or sim-size alum tube) and BEND-same to fit the underside of the hood on the OUTside of that existing bracing. THEN put a tube in side-to-side just in front of the scoop.

'GLASS-in(1.5 oz mat) ...and you should be good-to-go.

I've seen them come out of the box brand new with one rounded corner and one square corner and none of the glass looked chipped. almost like they made it that way.

Doc, Thanks for the advice, much apriciated.

One more question for you, if I remove the zdus fasteners and put a fresh layer of fiberglass on the underside, can I just fill the holes where the fasteners were on the top of the hood with fiberglass filler? And with the tubing for bracing, should I weld the center support to the side tubes or just glass them in, would it add anything to weld it, making one peice?

Also I read about using foam pipe insulation cut in half and glassing it to the underside. Would the metal be a better option or would that work also?

Thanks for everything, time for some fun!!!!

Butch