YOUR NUCKIN FUTZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kuddos, sometimes i wonder. Do i wish to be this nutz. or maybe i am nuttier!

This is MUCH larger than your individual nuttiness

You not control "IT"


"IT" controls you

Nutty professor I is.
You know, like the dude from Back to the Future. LOL.

Under the drill.

Hole in one.
This was the only way I saw fit to make such a cut to start off with. I was afraid the tempered aluminum was going to dull the hole saw, but it cut fairly smooth but with patience and lots of cooling fluid. Aluminum likes to obtain heat and dish it out as well.

All crucial holes done. Loosing weight it was.

Drill bits played a good role in checking crucial alignment before moving forward.

At this stage the block was at a lean 4.55 ounces down from 8.85 ounces. I imagine when all is said and done and the teeth locks are ground in, it will weigh in at 3.90 ounces or a good 1/4 pound plus per side shavings not including the back plates and screws.
Should be about a pound off at the end between both doors. I'll take it.

This stuff is starting to make me wonder about my sanity or lack of. LOL

Sixpack steve.
Yes we should all be this nuts because the world outside is even nuttier both wholesale and retail.

t'was exactly as i thought you would carve that turkey ! i have fabbed 100's of parts over the years using similar methods just to see if i could using old school methods, even having a reasonable equipped machine shop at my disposal. it takes WAY less time making use of modern mills and lathes, but it is MORE satisfying [to me any way] to carve something the old way. you did GOOD son !

Just wanted to add a note here.

Went to Carlisle thinking I would get a fiberglass hood for my Duster from AAR/Stinger who always have a spot there. Didn't buy one.

Their hoods appear to be well made but they are pricey. Not faulting them for charging what they do, I'm sure it is not cheap to make them. If you don't happen to live close to them or pick one up at a show, shipping is around $160 so you're getting up into the $800 range if you decide to go with one of their parts. Seems like benefit to cost ratio might be a little lopsided.

I looked at the cowl hood they had and it just seemed to say 'look at me' a little too much. They don't make anything lower than 4", no one buys them, not even the Chebby guys. For $625, I think I made the right call. Didn't really think I wanted a Six-Pack style hood/scoop either, just too ubiquitous.

They sold the one flat hood they had which would have probably been the one I would have bought. Probably should have called ahead to reserve one but that was a fail on my part. Interestingly enough, the owner said they had more requests for flat hoods than they anticipated. I guess guys want the 'stealth' look these days.

I asked him about hood springs and he said they were working on a source for lightweight ones and may have them within a few weeks.

So thinking beyond buying a 'glass hood, I'd be interested in hearing what the best method might be for lightening a steel hood is and if it's worth doing.

"So thinking beyond buying a 'glass hood, I'd be interested in hearing what the best method might be for lightening a steel hood is and if it's worth doing".

Same thing I'm looking at doing, cutting out most of the steel bracing and making fiberglass channels formed and bonded to the hood, just bought a used hood to experiment on.

I still think you should make two of every part so I can put them though a durability cycle at the track.
Doug

Hope to see what you come up with.

I was thinking about somehow using aluminum strips or something in place of the steel braces. Not sure how that could work.

Again, may not even be worth doing.

There are a few ways to go about this.
Chemical milling is the one way of keeping the hood as is and taking weight off depending on what amount of milling is applied.
Keep in mind that chemical milling if done to the upmost will make the hood weak and distort as the springs try to break its back when opening and closing.
The guy that dips for me is an expert and maybe you guys can have a direct chat with him here in Detroit. He really knows his percentages of dip time and metal removal being that he has done numerous hoods, fenders and doors for many cheaters in the SS market.

I would have to safely say that his procedure will be cheaper than a glass hood, though a glass flat hood from AAR/Stinger will be rather nice being that I have seen their products.
They are top notch. I really stared with contemplation at their 65' B stuff and almost pulled the trigger myself.

The other cheap "do it yourself " way is to completely carefully gut out the inner brace structure just leaving the outer skin along with the what's left of the outer rim braces and making it a pin on/liftoff hood. This procedure of course deletes the under hood hinges and springs all together. There lies a good amount of weight removed. Lift offs can be a pain in the hoots sometimes, but at least you get your exercise in. LOL.
One fact though with this second trick: The hood is only going to keep its shape when lifting off and on with the aid of an installed scoop which in your case would be the double snorkel style which in itself acts as a back brace for rigidity. I performed this trick many moons ago using the very first proto-type A-990 glass Hemi scoop and the hood was about 20 or so pounds lighter before adding in the scoop which in turn brought back the hoods weight by about 10 pounds, but it was now a slightly lighter functioning air hood.

So with that being said, A glass flat hood would shave about 35-40 Lbs depending on the stock hoods factory weight. But a flat hinge hood will be a little heavier than a lift off because of all the hood hinge reinforcements. I've seen some glass hoods to be shy of just 10 Lbs from their steel counterparts.
An Acid hood would shave about 25-28 Lbs pounds at most, again depending on what the percentage of removal is and a pin on steel hood would maybe shave 12-18 Lbs.
Most of the weight on these hoods are the outer skins where most of its mass sits.

It would have been nice if the Feather Duster hoods were interchangeable with other years and Demons, but not much weigh savings, though I would take it if it were the case

Now a days presumedly, aluminum hoods are found on Challengers, Chargers and Mustangs just to name a few. There's half your work right there. Lucky new boomers. LOL

Copied the inner splash shield in Fiberglass. Painted black, clipped in the rubber seals, and installed with aluminum hardware. Saved 1.5 lbs a side.

Also made fender rods from aluminum tubing, swapped to aluminum hood pins and started making Aluminum bumper brackets, those aren't quite finished yet.

Very neat.
Wow, it seems like Fiber glass molding has come a long way in favor of the back door tricks in that it is fairly easy to make such complicated pieces.
Aluminum pins save a good number for what they serve. Some companies have been making them for years, especially the stock car crowd.

I stand corrected as of an hour ago. The Dipper usually shoots for 20% off as far as metal removal so a 15 or so Lbs shavings is expected from the stock weight.

It may not sound like much, but when you factor in the fenders, bumpers, doors and other misc stuff, subtractions adds up.