A friend wants to buy from a buddy an older year one aar cuda hood. This one was made years ago (probably like 10 years ago) and still looks pretty good. Any problems with those hoods or fitment issues with those?

I bought mine about 15 years ago. Mine had a bow to it when I bought it from Year One. Makes me wonder if the hood they used for the mold had a bow to it. You might be able to see it in this picture.

I bought one in 1999 to replace my warped original hood. Nice hood, heavy like the original. It did have some bow in it, but not as bad as my original.

so it looks like it has some slight issues to it, but otherwise well constructed from what I have read. My buddy want a clean look for clone, so the bow will probably be a bit off then. Stock AAR's may not have had a bow like the T/A, so that's something to consider.

How much effort does it take to take the bow out of one of these hoods is?

Years ago, I was able to take alot of the warp out of my original AAR hood.. Making sure the hood is warm, putting some cushings or pads on the hood then a Cylinder head on it for a couple of days to a week, then added more weight if needed. I always left the hood up when it was in the garage that seem to help some too. Also make sure you have the right AAR hood springs.

I have one of those older Year One hoods on my AAR clone. I think they have a different vendor now than they used to have. When I got the hood it had minimal warp and fit decent. I agree about making sure you have the right hood springs. The reproduction hood springs have their labels mixed up. The one sold as an AAR spring is actually a T/A spring and vice versa. The T/A hood is longer and heavier. I used the springs they sold me, and it didn't take long for the hood to warp. Real AAR's and T/A's also had problems with hood warp. The heavier built T/A spring will warp the AAR hood faster than the correct AAR spring would. Don't use any steel hood springs on the fiberglass hood either. I'm considering trying the lighter AAR spring on my T/A hood to see if it warps less that way. So far, the solution to the warping is to either store the car with the hood up or remove the springs and use a prop rod. I removed the springs on my AAR clone. Then I parked the car in the hot florida sun on a summer day and put some weight on the hood. I used a 50 pound bag of sandblasting sand on each side as a weight. It didn't take long for the warp to go away, and it stays gone as long as I don't put the springs back on.

If you're looking for more info on the AAR vs. T/A hood springs, I have a long thread on that subject somewhere here on moparts with lots of info and pictures.

If you're looking for the hood mounted windsheild squirters, First Place Auto Products makes the best ones.

Tav

I left my original springs off, and just use a prop rod to keep it from warping.

thanks for the info guys, will pass it along to my buddy.

I dug up that old AAR vs. T/A hood spring thread in case you need it. Here's a link https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...part=1&vc=1

The 'Cuda springs are made from slightly smaller diameter wire than the T/A springs.

Tav