fiberglass hood fit?
 

Well I ordered a L-88 hood from a place called fiberconcepts. supposedly they are using the original molds from the "motion camaro" from back in the day. It has arrived and is at the body shop. Went there today and granted they haven't had much time to tweak it but the fit still isn't great. This is the reason I didn't use the L-88 hood I had. It seems to be maybe alittle better than my old one, and I will know more when they have a chance to mess with it. My question is what should my expectations be on how well it should fit. I know from help on here and the guy I ordered it from even told me it won't fit exact, but how well should it fit, what should I look for. I have a metal cowl hood as well that I could use, but really wanted the l-88 look. any help or suggustions would be greatly appreciated. thanks

I'd say they warned you it would need some tweaking, so you should expect some tweaking. Not like they said it would be perfect.

There isn't a glass hood out there that fits without tweaking. Thats why Harwood sends theres oversized so they can be trimmed to fit.

bb427, I do realize it may need some tweaking, the question I was trying to pose is HOW MUCH tweaking. It seems to need a little more than tweaking. I know that all of them are going to need adjustment and some work. 77nomad, if Harwood made an l-88 hood I might call them but I didn't see one on their website. I wish the one I got was oversized, the problem mine has it seems too small, there is about an inch of space between the front of the hood and the front clip of the car when it is closed. don't know of any " tweaking" that would fix this.

That's what duct tape is for.
Really though, if you set the hood in place, not bolted to the hinges, can you get it to fit better? If it does, then you may need to egg out the holes on the hinges to allow it to slide forward.

thanks camaro69, is it common to have to do such modifications on these fiberglass hoods

I guess I am trying to figure out if I got a bad one and send it back or if these kind of modifications are pretty normal on fiberglass hoods. Once again I know some adjustment and tweaking will have to be done, just not sure how much. Thanks

Fiberglass is sure not like metal. Even with a proper form and good lay up the hoods will rarely come out the same twice. I'm sure some from the same maker may fit better, just like some from a different maker. There are companies that have a rep for building mostly good fiberglass, like Harwood. I really don't know anything about Fibderconcepts, so not sure if the next hood would be any better, or worse.
Were it my purchase I would be calling them and asking them this question. They may tell you to send it back if you tell them how far off it is.

Sometimes, yes. Heck, even with metal panels you may have to fight, drill, file, and grind to get them to fit right. If the hood fits well around the fender and front nose when just dropping it down (unbolted), then make it work at the hinges.

I have seen some hideous hoods at the track. The body guys I know all say the usually have to lay glass to get them to fit right. I agree you may have to elongate some holes and even add something to keep it level with the fenders. There was a guy over on Nasty that just had to glass 6 aluminum strips across his to make it keep its shape in the middle.

In the end call em I guess and see if they'll refund you or exchange it. I would bet you'll pay shipping. I hope not, some places still have great customer service. Good luck.