Hello, I hope I am not repeating any old discussion, but has anyone successfully made a fiberglass hood for a 68 Firebird work with the factory hood hinges and hood latch? I can get a good deal on a brand new fiberglass replacement hood for 75.00, but it was "made to be used with hood pins", according to the seller. I do not want to use hood pins, at all, since this is my street/strip car. Any thoughts?

You would have to use much lighter tension, or no springs at all on the hinges. Otherwise the fiberglass will crack and possibly break. I don't know if anyone has made a reinforced fiberglass hood.

I have figured that I can live without the springs or lightening them up a lot, but that would require a bar or some kind of struts to hold up the hood, but is it really worth it?? I have to think about it. Thanks a lot, Jeff

you can attach a thin steel rod with a bolt at body, to hold hood open......you want to rod to be at the body so you take it up to the hood (cant fall down in other words)I had that on my Fiberglass Austin Healey replica

found a pic but rod is so thin and lines up w edge so its hard to see..its on the pass side

No way could u make factory springs work.
No big deal use'n the small springs made for f-glass hoods.
Unless its the chrome you dont like.

Unfortunately you have to get a hood designed for a hood latch....otherwise it will be blank (as in nothing there at all other than flat fiberglass) where the latch goes. Great deal on the hood though!!!

Are you a specialist in doing body work on fg? Or id your time allotment for the bodywork on the hood negligable to the 50 hours of bodywork you need to do on the hood? are you doing the bodywork or paying someone? Last question-once the body work is perfect, have you seen what fg does in the hot sun after running your car all day?

Buy a steel hood, they are a good deal for the money. My 69 TA replica has a FG hood and I would have given a lot to have steel when I did the car.

A kid I know has a glass hood that was fine. Runs hinges w/o springs. Has to prop it open at shows. One hot day in the sun with the hood propped it actually bent from it's own weight. Imagine his surprise at the end of the day when he closed it.

You can install a latch receiver in a glass hood. First you need to get one,then cut open the hole, insert the modified piece in place and pop rivit it in. Pretty easy really. Hood manufacturers do it all the time.

I would spend the few hundred extra to buy a nice steel hood, then all of these issues become moot. You are really opening up an expensive can of worms. You could spend $1,000-2,000 on bodywork to get that hood the way you want it. Then it will behave oddly when you get the car done and you will always be subject to cracks, blistering from the heat, and fear that your hinges will break it.