Just wanted to see what the feel is for the aftermarket Shaker hoods for 1971 Barracudas.
Whom seems to have the highest quality and best fitment?
I have heard good things about AMD but wanted to ask the groups option.

I do have a original flat hood with the conversion kit but i don't think I have the skill level to do it without messing it up and i don`t know anyone in the Houston area that is an expert in doing one of these conversion. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Who's kit do you have?

I bought the kit from Northwest Performance (Ben) in 2015

Buy an AMD

.02

I don't know anything about Northwest Performance or Barracuda hoods for that matter. I can say that I purchased a Challenger shaker hood from AMD a few years ago and it is excellent. I removed my factory rally hood and bolted the AMD hood in with absolutely no fender adjustment. It is an exact fit. The rear of the trim ring contour didn't perfectly match that of the ridge on the center of the rear of the hood. Strange, because the front fits really nice. It could be corrected if someone wanted to spend a few hours on it, but not really a big deal in my opinion.

Don't waste your time with the Shaker hood "kits", purchase a AMD Shaker hood, I've bought/installed several over the last few years with ZERO to minimal issues, your biggest concern will be sourcing the proper components for the Shaker bubble...

Mike

I would just find a real hood but that's just me.

shakerhood.com Bens old company (RIP BEN) just went thou a meager management change FYI

My recommendation to go AMD is due to a few things.

First is cost. Even though you already own a kit, the labor to have it installed could easily surpass the cost of an AMD hood (even though it will also need at least some minimal finish work done to it).

Then there's the finished product; The AMD hood skin is stamped from one piece of steel like the factory hoods, the drop down for the trim ring being clean is important. The NWP kits require hand forming the drop down flange with a flanging tool and then usually requires some artful bondo work to make it look nice.

Then there's the trim rings, AMDs being more accurate to original.

There are other reasons but the above carry the most weight for most.

.02

As opposed to what? An imaginary hood? Do you mean a used ORIGINAL shaker hood? If so, those are basically almost like hen's teeth at this point in time, and waaaay too expensive IMO.
To the OP, if it were me, I would source an AMD shaker hood, and start looking for all the shaker related parts through Year One, Classic Industries, etc. Good luck.

I made a shaker hood years ago, no way now, the labor alone is not worth it. AMD all the way.

I have a real nice hood available that was converted using the Snobar kit. It was on a high end show car until the previous owner paid big $$$ for an original shake hood. I will sell for the same price as an AMD. If you are interested let me know via PM.

Thanks I appreciate all the feedback on the Shaker hood. I have been gathering parts for a several years now to build the car how I would want it and shaker option was one of the requirements or wants.

But I think like a lot of people when you start digging into modifications you have to question time and definitely the money aspect, so I will have a flat hood and a complete conversion kit(brace/shaker ring/ pliers) for sale to someone that wants to take the challenge.

Again, I really appreciated everyones response.