Old Country
Well-Known Member
Hello all - I'm new to this, so I take a shot at adding my opinion on my new AAR fiberglass hood. I'm rebuilding or finishing the build of a sweet 72 Duster 'H' code 4 spd rig. Has a new 408 Stroker, Eddy Heads, Cam-Motion solid cam... with aaaall sorts of other goodies including a six-pack with the old Direct Connection (Ford style) mechanical carbs (not vacuum secondaries). "I KNOW" a 4 bbl with an airgap would probably be a better setup, but the six-pack is, well a Six-Pack, got have it, thus why the new hood with the appropriate scoop.
This site tells no lies apparently, as AAR was the most recommended manutacturer, which is why I went that way and I'm sure glad I did (Thanks!). I purchased the six-pack scoop style 'bolt-on' hood, and it's really well built, nicely finished...pretty impressive. Total cost to my door was $625, which included $45 charge for the shipping box. A buddy is a trucker so shipping was...FREE !!...:cheers:....but it trashed the box. The box spent 10 days strapped to a low-boy open trailer un-covered... in the rain, snow, road splash, oily grime...etc.. clear from Florida to Vancouver Washington.... looong ways. The box was toast, soaked, covered with wet, sandy gravel road grime and was on the verge of falling apart, but "my precious hood was just fine". Inside I found my brand new and expensive hood was dripping wet, filthy, plus sand had gotten in there with it, apparently blasted thru the box hand-holds. This was hugely wrong and NO I was not happy, but what can a guy say to free shipping...DOH! Thanks to the way AAR packages their hoods by bracing all four corners (large bags with some of that expanding foam stuff) the hood could not move and those fragile & critical corners were just fine. With the exception of one small scratch on the scoop from a piece of gravel, the hood was untouched.
Evaluation: The top is covered in a shiney white primer coat, scoop opennings pre-cut. The underside is flat back, with the texture of the glass-matt visible, but smooth to the touch. The under-support structure is strong, very solid, well attached and not painted. This contains the metal parts for the hinges and the hood latch. The only flaw in the hood that I see must have happened during the molding process..ie: A pinky fingernail size air pocket right on the front lip about 12" in from the left side, maybe .150" deep. They primered right over it like it was suppose to be there...go figure...:dontknow:. This will easily be corrected with a lil dab of body filler and sanded level & smooth before roughing, re-priming and painting...or whatever ya do (I'm not a body guy).
The hood is VASTLY lighter than the metal hood, even though it's very well build. I now see why the hood hinge springs need changing, as the stock ones would probably crack this in no time trying to shut it. I guess I'll plug both AAR and the springs too (Thx Dennis!), that's ok, right? The old springs were "at least" double the width of the new lighter ones. I have already changed to the low tension hood springs for a bolt-on style fiberglass hood. They fit '67 - '76 A-body cars and cost $50, which includes shipping to anywhere in the USA. I think he's still a member here and goes by "Atomic Dog",...I think, ha... Anyway, they're good springs, and got to me in TWO days from Virginia. If interested, contact him via E-mail at [email protected]
Well ok, there's my first post here, sorry I took so much space. Not sure if there'll be more posts, but hope this one helps all who wonder about these AAR hoods and those Happy Springs.
Your's truly, Old Country ~ :wave:
This site tells no lies apparently, as AAR was the most recommended manutacturer, which is why I went that way and I'm sure glad I did (Thanks!). I purchased the six-pack scoop style 'bolt-on' hood, and it's really well built, nicely finished...pretty impressive. Total cost to my door was $625, which included $45 charge for the shipping box. A buddy is a trucker so shipping was...FREE !!...:cheers:....but it trashed the box. The box spent 10 days strapped to a low-boy open trailer un-covered... in the rain, snow, road splash, oily grime...etc.. clear from Florida to Vancouver Washington.... looong ways. The box was toast, soaked, covered with wet, sandy gravel road grime and was on the verge of falling apart, but "my precious hood was just fine". Inside I found my brand new and expensive hood was dripping wet, filthy, plus sand had gotten in there with it, apparently blasted thru the box hand-holds. This was hugely wrong and NO I was not happy, but what can a guy say to free shipping...DOH! Thanks to the way AAR packages their hoods by bracing all four corners (large bags with some of that expanding foam stuff) the hood could not move and those fragile & critical corners were just fine. With the exception of one small scratch on the scoop from a piece of gravel, the hood was untouched.
Evaluation: The top is covered in a shiney white primer coat, scoop opennings pre-cut. The underside is flat back, with the texture of the glass-matt visible, but smooth to the touch. The under-support structure is strong, very solid, well attached and not painted. This contains the metal parts for the hinges and the hood latch. The only flaw in the hood that I see must have happened during the molding process..ie: A pinky fingernail size air pocket right on the front lip about 12" in from the left side, maybe .150" deep. They primered right over it like it was suppose to be there...go figure...:dontknow:. This will easily be corrected with a lil dab of body filler and sanded level & smooth before roughing, re-priming and painting...or whatever ya do (I'm not a body guy).
The hood is VASTLY lighter than the metal hood, even though it's very well build. I now see why the hood hinge springs need changing, as the stock ones would probably crack this in no time trying to shut it. I guess I'll plug both AAR and the springs too (Thx Dennis!), that's ok, right? The old springs were "at least" double the width of the new lighter ones. I have already changed to the low tension hood springs for a bolt-on style fiberglass hood. They fit '67 - '76 A-body cars and cost $50, which includes shipping to anywhere in the USA. I think he's still a member here and goes by "Atomic Dog",...I think, ha... Anyway, they're good springs, and got to me in TWO days from Virginia. If interested, contact him via E-mail at [email protected]
Well ok, there's my first post here, sorry I took so much space. Not sure if there'll be more posts, but hope this one helps all who wonder about these AAR hoods and those Happy Springs.
Your's truly, Old Country ~ :wave:
