L88 Hood On Order!

[Hijinx]

Well, I decided that I have been spending a bunch of money on my '73 that makes it better (motor, suspension, etc...) but you cant see. I decided I needed to make a statement, and what better way than with an L-88 hood! Once here I plan to go with my idea of a big blue stripe (matching the interior) down the middle (hood and rear deck). Has anyone seen a pic of a C3 with this type of paint scheme? I would love to see a pictue of one painted the way I want to paint mine.

I ordered the hood from Vanacor's for $425, plus $20 boxing and around $35 shipping (to my office, would have been $55+ to the house). Not a bad price for that hood. I'll let everyone know what the quality is like when I get it.

Kinda giddy. Just had to tell someone....Dont tell my wife!

 

[69MyWay]

Cool! Is it coming with the air chamber inside?

 

[Hijinx]

The air box? No. I can get it for an extra $90. I was thinking about using the space for whatever I plan later with the 383 build. I am still not sure if I plan to do EFI or what. I want something that is not run of the mill, but still streetable. Just didnt want to spend the extra bucks on something I may not use. Probably a bone up on my part.

 

[inferno-vette]

Hijinx good that you order from vanacor because I have been looking for an L88 hood and they were my choice, but since you're gonna get it first I'll wait to hear if it is a good product or not.
Paul

 

[tacoed]

PAINT JOB STRIPE

BRO CHECK OUT THE VETTE BRAKE AND PRODUCTS "NEW " CATALOG, OR LOOK AT THE ADS IN HOT ROD AND VETTE MAGIZINE. THEY HAVE A GOOD PICTURE OF WHAT YOU WANT TO DO BUT FOR THE BEST PICTURES LOOK IN THE BOOK {CORVETTE} BY RANDY LEFFINGWELL. PAGES 134,135,136 & 139 IT SHOW'S TWO DIFFERNT (BALDWIN MOTION PHASE 3 ) VETTES WITH THIS PAINT SCHEME. THE L88 HOOD IS THE WAY TO GO IT JUST HAS A GREAT LOOK TO IT RAT OR MOUSE THE HOOD IS A GREAT ADD ON.

 

[1979toy]

KEWL!
I'm ordering an L-88 hood from J.C.Whitney this morning myself. I'm going to use the airbox arrangement.
I see that you've got a 2 day head start on me. Keep us informed on how the installation and alignment goes.

 

[Paranoid]

Here's what I call my Baldwin Motion shot!

 

[Hijinx]

Painting Hood

Guys,
Do I need to fit the hood prior to painting? Seems like I read that some trimming or shaving might have to be done. I do not know fiberglass. Help?

 

[1979toy]

I'm expecting to have to mount the hood and possibly do some fitting before painting. Should not be too much fitting required, but some would be normal to account for production tolerances and the possibility of replacement parts not being perfectly fit in the past.
I ordered my air cleaner hardware from Paragon. They have a kit that has everything needed to make the cowl induction operational if you have the air box in the hood.
Have not ordered a new hood seal yet.

 

[69MyWay]

Go ahead and fit it up, and do whatever it takes to make it fit as close as possible. I would suggest you also long block the entire hood with say,,,,,220 wet dry, and graduate up to 400 wet. You might even spray some flat black paint all over it with a light coat first. This way you will be able to observe the low spots that you need to remove while long blocking. This will make the difference between a so so looking job, and a 100% professional finish.

 

[Hijinx]

Well, got the hood last night. Everything looks great. Quality is top notch. The gel coat is almost perfect. I really liked that the corners of the hood (part nearest the windshield) had boards bolted to it to keep the tips from getting banged up. I will do a test install it this weekend and let you guys know how well it fit.

 

[1979toy]

Still no hood for me. (sniff, sniff) My L-88 intake from Paragon Reproductions arrived yesterday. Great company to do business. They packed the items properly and sent the UPS tracking number.
I have some issues to deal with in the installation of the air cleaner. The base hits the HEI unit. If I jack up the air cleaner base enough to clear the HEI I may be too high for the airbox. I'll get something worked out.

 

[SwaveDave]

I got my L88 hood and air chamber from Ecklers . Paid a bit more, but it fit almost perfectly. Had to shave a bit off of the sides. I HIGHLY recommend the air chamber especially if you live in a cool climate ; i got mine sealed very well to the carb base using a rubber seal . There is most definetly a better throttle response when the outsides temps are cooler ; i took it out last winter for a spin when the outside temp was 30 degrees...cold air makes a difference.

With the hood, there is alot of room for a high rise intake and carb spacer . I managed to squeeze a K and N 3.5 " thick air filter into the air chamber with a 1/2" seal to hold it in place ; took some doing though.

Dave

 

[Hijinx]

Really glad I did not get the air box on mine. Have a '88 IROC TPI setup coming in the mail. Should have ample clearance for it and I have to set up some type of cool air setup much further forward.

I wont get a chance to fit the hood till Sunday. I'll post how it fits then.

 

[jsimpson]

You've got ample clearance for TPI with the stock 350 hood. I have no clearance problems...but it would be nice to figure a way to get cool air to the TPI through that hood somehow!

 

[Hijinx]

Looking around on the web lately about TPI, I found this. It gives an example of what this person did to get cool air to his '82 Vette with TPI.

http://home.att.net/~ncarboni/NCtpi.html

Its actually a pretty good write up. Check it out.

 

[jsimpson]

Eliminating the engine driven fan is a possibility, but I'm still trying to avoid it!

 

[Hijinx]

BAAAADDD AS..........

OK, bolted her up last night. Well, actually bolted everything on until I got the passenger side latch stuck and have not been able to get it back open yet.

Anyhow, about the fit. Actually very close. I have some adjustment to do, but its very minor. It took me and a friend all of 10 minutes to get it aligned enough to get it to close properly and get stuck.

Only complaint so far is the hood latch hardware alignment. On both sides only one side, two bolts lined up properly. On the passenger side, I was able to get it to where I could just get all 4 to bite and go in (may be why its stuck, probably more the cable is to loose to pull the mechanism). On the driver side I could only get 3 bolts in. I will have to open the hole up some to get the last one in.

All in all it worked out pretty well. It looks totally bad ass! Especially, having a all white Vette with this, although temporarly, black hood with killer cowl.

 

[Hijinx]

OH, I try to get a picture taken and find some way to post it.

 

[1979toy]

Hope that you resolve the latch problem soon.
Keep us informed.