FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => Non-FE Discussion Forum => Topic started by: cjshaker on April 25, 2018, 02:13:20 PM
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Anybody have suggestions where the best source for Mustang fiberglass parts would be? Specifically, the hood. Looking for the heavy duty stuff intended for street use, not the lightweight race stuff.
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My racing buddy needed a new fiberglass hood for his '67 Mustang a few years ago, the race car / custom shop doing some of the work for him, including painting the new hood, recommended he get a GlassTek hood. He said their experience with fiberglass body parts was that GlassTek had the best quality with the least amount of finishing work needed. My friend did order his hood from GlassTek, and initially they sent the wrong hood ( one for a Fox body ), but when he called them they immediately took care of the issue and he did finally get the right part. There may be a wait for your part, but if I remember it was around 6 weeks. Something to ask. When he did get the correct hood it looked nice and the race shop said it fit excellent and needed very little finishing. Since then I have seen other people recommend GlassTek products too. I just wish they had more stuff for Fords, but they do have a selection for Mustangs.
www.glasstek.com
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Kevin, thanks for that. I had checked out their website previously and was discouraged by the fact that they have no pictures of their products, or at least to the products I'm interested in. It's nice to at least see a view of what you'll be paying hundreds of dollars for. Even a Google searched tuned up nothing for the '69 Mustang. They do seem to have a very good reputation from all that I've read though. Sometimes that's enough.
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I don't know of any source but what is your goal with
the fiberglass hood? Fit and function, light weight?
If fit and function, i recommend using a stock steel
inner structure that you adjust to the car
and glass a fiberglass skin on that
Today after 50 years if you take 10 mustangs and
try to fit the same hood on them most likely the hood
will fit different on everyone of them. No problem with a steelhood
you can bend and straighten here and there
but on a glasshood naaa... not that easy
And if you use springs on the hinges and have it in the sun it will bend eventualy
If light wheigt just a skinn with one layer glass one layer firette matt and use dzus fasteners
One of my closest friends have a fiberglass company so i have been involved in that quite a bit
http://rpglasfiber.com
Here is his own Mustang -69 with a hood with 68 shelby scoop
(https://s19.postimg.cc/vqpsaubvn/4847583.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
Im actualy is in progress to teaching his son to do sheetmetalwork, This week we straithened a
-62 mercury hood they was going to fit a bubble scoop to
A real talented kid, He have converted two old hydraulic woodsplitters to tube benders ;D and make
A arms for snowmobiles a big seller over the whole country
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I've noticed that in the last several years fiberglass car parts have increased in price quite a bit.
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I have a brand new 65 Shelby style hood here for the 66 428 Fastback I am doing.I haven't totally unwrapped it yet but the bottom sure looks nice.It is also a steel framed hood..It came from Dynacorn...didn't know they were building such things...Might be worth a look..
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My hood came from Maier Racing. It is sturdy, but needed a fair amount of work to make it fit correctly. The area for the hinges had to be built up. The holes for the hinges had to be re-drilled and tapped for a proper fit. With the front lined up, the back had to be lengthened to close the gap at the cowl. The body shop guy had me buy an old rusted hood so he could cut the plate for the latch out of it and glassed that into the hood. The factory latch mechanism and release works very well.
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I checked Dynacorn and they don't have anything like that for the '69. Although I was amazed at the stuff you can buy from them now.
John, thanks for the feedback on the Maier stuff. The only ones I came across that were stock form were the Maier and Glasstek. Glasstek seems to have pretty high praise from everything I saw. Even though the Maier is $180 more and seemed to require more work for proper fitment, they have a much better selection on styles, especially for your year.
Heo, I just need a hood I can cut a hole in, and even though I have a spare, I don't want to cut up an original hood. It has to hold up to some street driving, so racing weight isn't my biggest concern. The steel Dynacorn looks to be the cheapest option, and they have a decent reputation for fit, but I'm considering fiberglass to save some weight, at the addition of cost.
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If you want a sturdy hood in fiberglass and keep the
hinges and latch mecanism the wheightsaving is not
that big.
I would go a dynacorn steel hood if a hole in the hood
is the main reason
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The Mustang has a pretty big hood, and I can eliminate the latch since I have hood pins. So if I eliminate the springs, the latch, the hood scoop, and along with a few pounds of steel, it should pretty much offset the added weight of the intake, and maybe even shed a few pounds more. My car is a bit heavy with the added sound deadener, and the SOG block adds an extra 50lbs on the nose, so every bit helps.
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i don't remember the exact nr now but with a sturdy fiberglass hood minus springs and latch
i think you save about 8-10 kg about 18-22 LBS and about the double with a dzus mounted
one Glass one firette layer hood
If you put the battery in the trunk its like setting the engine back 4-6 inches something on a mustang
A battery wheight 40-50 LBS hanging in front of front axle changed to hanging behind rear axle that
make a change
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Moving the battery is also on the list.
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Then you have compensated for the extra block wheight
and added some rear wheight. And lost half of the Mustang
trunk"space" :)
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Doug, Crites does make some fiberglass parts for mustangs, real good quality on my fairlane hoods just took 8 monthes to get it. Maybe the mustang stuff is quicker. Good luck Dan
http://www.critesperformanceparts.com/
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Dan, thanks for that. I wasn't aware that Crites made Mustang stuff, and I also wasn't aware that they were located in Ohio. That's only about 2 1/2 hours from me. Might be worth a trip down to check them out and talk with them. They're $85 cheaper than Glasstek, and I could pick it up and save shipping.
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I could pick it up and save shipping.
You would also likely save on destruction :P Don't know about you but I get an uneasy feeling when I need something that large shipped undamaged. That includes windshields and quarter panels by the way-
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Len, if I went with Crites, that would be my main reasoning for picking it up, because I'd likely have as much in fuel as what it would cost to ship. But I also like the idea of being able to visit the place beforehand, just to check it out.
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Its always nice to see the parts before you buy. And dont
have two holes from a forklift through the hood ;)
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Agreed on checking the place out Doug, I purchased a fan shroud for my '64 through Crites, good quality piece and ready to ship when I ordered. It's a whole 'nother thing when you are looking at something as large as a hood though. FYI they were easy to deal with, no complaints.
Heo, we might add "folded in half" to that list of possible surprises ;D
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:o ;D
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I got a Crites Teardrop hood for my '65 Mustang and it was pretty decent quality. I did have a couple of issues with it though. The top surface of the teardrop was pretty flimsy and I needed to reinforce it underneath to keep it from sagging in the middle. Also the rear crown of the hood did not match the crown(arc) of the cowl on the car. The hood was higher in the middle by about 3/8". I never did figure out a good way to flatten it out so I left it. It's not real noticeable(except to me!) and since my car is mainly going to be a race car I decided not to worry about it too much. On a side note I bought a used Maier Racing tear drop hood locally and the quality compared to the Crites unit was night and day. I ultimately declared the Maier hood unusable and ordered a Crites hood.
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I think i have said it before, but when you buy
fiberglass parts try to get hem fresh from the
mold. And dont buy them two years before you
need them and store them leaned against a wall
or flat on a table, they change shape of that.
Buy them when you are ready to mount them
on the car
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Thanks for the feedback, Alan. I'd still like to check out the Crites business, but as of now I'm kinda leaning towards the Glasstek stuff. I haven't seen one bad word about their products.
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My Crites hood fit pretty well with no work done to it. Just cut a hole in the hood, sprayed it satin black, and bolted it on. It sat around for a few years before we got around to putting it on but it didn't warp.
(https://i.imgur.com/fplmScr.jpg)
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Earl, thanks for that picture! That is the first actual picture I've come across showing the exact product on the same car I'm using it on. Yours looks to have good gaps and a good fender contour. Looks like I may be giving Crites a try after all.
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One part that is a little off is the front passenger side corner. I think you can see it in this photo. It's not enough that it bothers me.
(https://i.imgur.com/6WYgFGf.jpg)
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Not unusual, even when using factory parts. I noticed that the center peak isn't a perfect match for the nose trim either. I have that same issue and I used an NOS hood AND NOS nose trim piece. Minor issues, all things considered. Thanks again for the input.
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And I took the hood springs off and decided not to mess with a rod to prop the hood open. I just use a steel cable on each hinge to hold the hood open.
(https://i.imgur.com/ryuxjGO.jpg)
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I purchased a 67 shelby hood with the big scoop from Cobra performance in CT. Fits great, excellent quality,no problems.
Larry in Denver
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Brother Lon put a Crites hood on his '67 Mustang. The fit was OK, and we put it on with four pins, so we saved the weight of the latch in the front and the hinges and springs in the back. What's not to like? (He had a pair of worn-out original 'clip-clop' electric fuel pumps and arranged an even trade for the hood.)
KS