Hood on a '65

[BarryK]

Hi all

My '65 is a SB (327/365) with the original SB hood. Personally I love the looks of the '67 Stinger hood. I was considering finding a Stinger and putting it on my car
I know the purists here are cringing at that - not only a non-original hood on a fully restored car but a wrong hood for the engine AND wrong for the year! LOL
I don't plan on having having the car into NCRS judging so i'm not worried about that aspect of it - I just wanted to do it because I love the look of the stinger hood. I'd still keep the original hood in storage in case I ever want to sell the car.
I have two questions regarding this:

1. From what I can see, A Stinger should fit on my car but can somebody just confirm this for me? I want to make sure there weren't any minor fender, cowl, nose, etc body changes that would not allow the Stinger to really work on my car.

2. My car has a lacquer paint job. Very few paint shops (if any) around me will still shoot in lacquer and even fewer of them would I feel comfortable having them do it even if they are able/willing as i'm told it's a more difficult process and unless the painter does a lot of lacquer shooting it just won't be very good (I don't paint so I can only go by what i'm told by others who know more than me - which is almost everyone!). If I had to get the Stinger hood painted in Base/Clear, will there be a problem with getting the colors and finish to match correctly to the rest of the car? Obviously, I wouldn't want there to be differences that could be seen because of two different types of finishes on the car.
The existing paint job on the car has a few minor blemishes, but overall is in excellent condition - i'd say a 8.5 out of a 10 scale. The deductions are for mostly a few small rock chips I touched up and one or two very ,very small stress cracks. Other than that the finish is great, bright, clean, very smooth and shiney. It's been very well taken care of and detailed before I got the car so hence my concern about making sure the paint job on the hood would match correctly.

thanks for your help!

 

[JohnZ]

Personally, I'd hate to see you make that change, since your car is so original and is in such great shape, but I'm a purist.... :cry

A '67 BB hood will fit, but they had the hood support on the left side; you'd have to either do some surgery on the right side of the BB hood inner panel to add a tapping plate for your existing hood support, or drill holes and add a reinforcement on the left side inner fender and move your existing hood support over to the left side. Unless you find an original GM stinger hood, a reproduction hood will probably require a fair amount of work to get it to fit properly (gaps and flush fits on all four sides).

There's no way the new hood will match the existing lacquer paint if you have it shot in BC/CC; it would be tough enough to match in lacquer, unless you have some of the lacquer it was shot with last time.

If you do it, you'll get two kinds of comments when you show it - "Hey, that's a cool hood", and "Hey - did you know you've got the wrong hood?".

 

[bossvette]

I have heard a rumor that there was some small block cars with big block hoods made due to a lack of small block hoods; is that correct or an urban legend?

 

[67HEAVEN]

I have heard a rumor that there was some small block cars with big block hoods made due to a lack of small block hoods; is that correct or an urban legend?

Seems to be true (over a three day period), but that wasn't in 1965.... ... and they didn't get the stripe nor numerals.

 

[Rowdy1]

It's Possible But........

As JohnZ said, the chances of matching the paint are not good. The rest of the fitting can be done by someone that knows how to work with fiberglass and has experience and patience. One thing for sure is to buy another hood and store your original especially if everything is in such nice condition as is.
My 62 was not original when I bought it and unlike many (absolutely NO offense intended) I'm not a purist or looking for originality. When I put the new engine in I had no choice but to go with a bigger hood for clearance and I had all intentions of putting the L88 scoop I bought on my hood. The day before I was going to cut my original, I was at a local cruise night hoodless and a guy waked up to me and asked me where mine was. I explained what I was doing and he said he had a hood already done even painted white for sale for $200. Needless to say, my original hood is stored in my basement and I sent the scoop back for a refund.
John is 110% correct about the comments you'll get too, I know because I get them

 

[BarryK]

John

I do feel in some large degree the same as you about changing the hood from a purist point of view - it's why I wanted a numbers matching and correct car when i was shopping. It's just something about the look of the Stinger that really draws to me it though..........
I wasn't aware of the change in the hood support. I wouldn't want to change the mounting in the car itself so would have to tap the hood.
I have heard the same about what you say about the fit of the repro hoods so I would try to find a real stinger (if i could find one that wouldn't break the bank)

The car's paint job was done before I got her so I don't have the paint. I know matching would be difficult because of that but if you say a BC/CC would make it even worst than this whole idea might be shot to hell. I do NOT want people to look at the car and say "nice car - hey, your paint doesn't match". Besides, if it didn't match i'd see it everytime I looked at the car and would hate it no matter how much i liked the hood.
thanks for the info!

Barry

 

[BarryK]

Boss

I heard that also but they wouldn't have been Stingers in '65. they would have been the "Bulge" hood. or was it in '67 that they temporaily ran out of the regular SB hood?

 

[67HEAVEN]

Boss

I heard that also but they wouldn't have been Stingers in '65. they would have been the "Bulge" hood. or was it in '67 that they temporaily ran out of the regular SB hood?

In '67. And, if you go with the stinger, will you paint the stripe? If so, you'll have to paint the nose too....not just the hood.

 

[BarryK]

Rowdy

IF i did this i would definatly keep my original hood in storage!
It sounds like the match matching is going to be my main problem and I kinda figured it would be so I'm not too surprised.
I may have to hold off on the idea for a number of years and if the car ever needs a new paint job do it than so I could get the Stinger hood and the orginal hood both painted at the same time as the car. that way everything matches including the original in case i went to put it back on.
Like you and John both say, I'm sure comments would be made about it being the wrong hood for the car, but hey, it's my car and it's not a judging competetion car.
Oh well, if the paint matching is going to be that much of an issue i'll probably just leave it as is..........but d**m, those stingers just look so awesome.
Maybe it's time I started to save again so I can upgrade in a few years to a '67 BB and not worry about this. LOL Geez, does it ever end, I just had this car a month!!!!

 

[bossvette]

try here for laquer
http://www.houseofkolor.com/hok/index.jsp

 

[BarryK]

67 Heaven

Damn, I forgot the stripe extended down onto the nose!
Oh forget it - this will never work


well, thanks to all you guys you saved me a lot of money, hassle and heartache.

Guess i DO need to save up for a '67 BB to upgrade to in a few years

 

[BarryK]

John

as a purist you will be happy to know the idea is now benched!
LOL

Barry

 

[tigernut]

A quality paint shop should be able to match the paint on the new hood to the rest of the car. It might cost you a bit more though.

I have a "stinger" hood on my small block 66 and wouldn't have it any other way.

Doug

 

[67HEAVEN]

..........but d**m, those stingers just look so awesome.

Yeah, they're okay.

 

[BarryK]

Tigernut

now you are just making my life more difficult!
LOL

Barry

 

[BarryK]

67Heaven

you did that on purpose!!
D**M you, D**M you to H**L!! LOL
What a beautiful shot. I am envious and jealous of all those car owners and those wonderful cars!

Barry

 

[Rowdy1]

For Now.......

BarryK, you said a couple things that made sense to me. It's your car, your going to keep the original and "if" you find the one you want, have them painted together with the car, and last but NOT least, "Does it ever end".....NO!!!!!:nono If I were you, as much as you seem to want to make this change, I'd be looking for that hood seriously NOW. Then you can make the changes to it and swap it out when you're ready

Best Of Luck In Your Search

 

[BarryK]

Rowdy

I thought about that, thanks for confirming what I already had in mind at this point. The prices on a real stinger I think are going to keep increasing in the future so if i can find one now even if i don't use it for a while I'll be better off. If it turns out I never use it i'm sure I could at least get my money back out of it

Barry

 

[c5vetter]

Barry,

keep checking eBay, as I have seen several auctions in the last few weeks on Stinger hoods

 

[maxphunn]

Barry, I know exactly how you feel. If I owned my '66 back in the old days, there are two things I would have added to it, a '67 BB hood and Rally wheels.
This winter I got around to putting the Rallys and redlines on my silver convertible and I think they look great. If I ever see a deal on a BB hood, I will pick it up even if it just hangs on the wall in the garage...those stingers are like
art to me.