63 to 67 reproduction hoods ?

[SloRvette]

Does anyone have any first hand experience with either ZIP's or Eckler's hoods ? How was the fit and finish ? Are there any issues in putting a '65 or '67 big block hood onto a '64 ?

Thanks for any help

 

[Rob]

^^^Anyone?

 

[Stingray6974]

SloRvette,
I don't have first hand experience on aftermarket hoods. I've heard that Ecklers has the best fit and finish. I currently have a '66 hood on my 64. Bolts right on. I have acquired a Grand Sport hood made By D&D. In its raw form it doesn't come close to fitting. I've added it to my long list of future projects.

Mike

 

[JohnZ]

Mike - It'll take some work to make it fit; the Grand Sport body (and hood opening) was dimensionally different than the production car (the only production part that was used on the Grand Sport was the windshield), and the D&D body is correct to the originals. The appearance of the hood is worth the effort, though - here's the D&D I built:

 

[Stingray6974]

Hi John,
Every time I see your car it gets my blood flowing. That's the hood I have. The person I got it from has had the fins chrome plated. Since it is still in two pieces I'm toying with the idea of finding a damaged 65-67 hood, removing the outer skin, and moulding in the GS. This way I can still use the latches.

Mike

P.S. Where did you get the door rear view mirror? I have the short one on mine and all I can see is the air scoop.

 

[JohnZ]

From Paragon - it's the '63-'E67 Bowtie mirror, #1109; wasn't all that great for visibility either, but then again, most things in the mirror were getting smaller, not larger

 

[Mac]

questions for JohnZ

Are the vents on the GS hood functional? For heat dissipation or fresh air induction? How well does this hood work aerodynamically?

 

[JohnZ]

Hi, Mac - welcome aboard! :cool

The original first-design "Nassau" hood just had two forward-facing cool air scoops - shot below taken at Nassau in '63 at their first outing after being re-bodied for "fat" tires.

Nassau showed an enormous front-end aerodynamic lift problem, and the second-design ("Sebring") hood was developed to vent underhood air pressure and to break up boundary layer airflow over the hood in an attempt to kill some of the lift, but it was only partially successful - the problem was never really cured. After the cars were sold to privateers, many of them added lower "chin" spoilers, but that didn't cure it either - all that power and the airfoil body shape generated a lot of lift over 100mph, and front spoilers weren't enough to overcome it, but the "Sebring" hood sure looked neat

 

[Mac]

interesting picture

Thanks John! Everyone here has made us newbys feel very welcome.

It makes sense that if you're venting air into the engine compartment, it has to exit somewhere. Unless you plan to direct it, the air is bound to cause problems. Couldn't they have used that air to generate downforce or were they not thinking in those terms?

I take it (comparing the two pictures you've posted) your GS had the Nassau hood? I like the look but I don't know if it would translate well onto a C3!

 

[Lucy64]

I have a 67 big block hood on my 64. I bought the car 3 years ago and the hood was on the car, and I love the look. I don't know where the previous owner bought the hood but the only problems I have had was with the adjustment of the hood latch adjustment. I took a few adjustments before I could get the drivers side latch to not pop open. All is fine now and it looks great. I just bought the stinger paint stencil last week and I am having a black stinger painted on next month. This should look really good on my Ferrari red 64 with black interior and soft top.

 

[Tom Bryant]

I have a 67 big block hood on my 64. I just bought the stinger paint stencil last week and I am having a black stinger painted on next month. This should look really good on my Ferrari red 64 with black interior and soft top.

Post a picture when it's done. The black stinger will look great.

Tom

 

[cdr63corv]

Hi saw your post and had to join. Purchased a hood from ecklers 2 years ago it was a nice product fit well etc. The only bad thing was it came raw fiberglass and had to be gell coated. Witch the paint guy wasnt to familiar with. Had a hard time finding that, have heard some say it doesnt have to be done and others say it does guess you decide:J

 

[vigman]

John..here's a question for you.

Is the GS front light setup available as a kit?

Where would a person get one?


Vig!

 

[Tom Bryant]

cdr63corv

Welcome to the Corvette Action Center. Also thanks for your input on this topic. Many have asked here how well the Eckler hoods fit so it's nice to get a positive report.

I guess I've never bought into the gel coating idea. GM didn't do it that way. It seems to me that most quality new press moulded parts are smooth enough that a sanding before priming should be enough. If you have worked on an older body you notice that where resin accumulated to a greater thickness during the moulding process, like on corners and edges, that is where the fine cracks in the surface are found. These areas are also prone to chipping off small pieces of thick resin if struck by something. I know how hard that stuff is to sand and get smooth and time is money when you are paying someone else to do it. Any time that I have had stray strands of fiberglass on the surface I'd just brush on some resin to seal them in.

Unless a part is exceptionally rough on the surface it can usually be sanded and then coated with epoxy primer and built up ftom there with the paint system of your choice with excellent results. I think that gel coating is just asking for fine surface cracks over time if the car has to sit out in sun and then cold conditions or if the body is flexed to a greater than normal degree for some reason. Corvette bodies can flex to a great degree without damage to the glass or the modern paint systems however the thicker the resin gets the less flexible it is. Thick resin doesn't like to expand and contract with temperature changes either.

I'm sure that many cars have been gel coated and had no problems but I'm just going by what I have seen on cars I have stripped and painted. It would all depend on how thick it was applied. I've never used the spray gel coats and probably never will.

Tom