Oem style fiberglass hood vs stock steel hood

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 6:06 pm

So I've been thinking bout picking up a fiberglass hood with hood pins for my '89 fullsize in the near future in search of less weight, and to bypass my annoying sticky hood latch. My question is, is it worth the cash? Anyone know the actual weight difference between a stock hood and a fiberglass one for an old Bronc like mine? If the difference in weight is not large enough to offset the cost of a fiberglass hood, I might just drill through my oem hood and put pins in it and junk the hood latch.

RyanDS650X · Post by **RyanDS650X** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 7:55 pm

If you plan on going fast then a glass hood is a great investment. The hinges at the firewall will tear out after so much abuse with the steel hood.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:59 pm

Well going fast is the plan, but I'm a long way from it right now, my Bronc's more of a stockish trail rig right now. Just trying to drop some weight for better response, etc. I know a fiberglass hood isn't exactly the best first step towards a go fast rig(I have other things in the works as well), but after having a hood latch fail on my old 2nd gen Ram and fly while getting on the freeway, I'm kinda paranoid about the sticky/not always so tight hood latch on my Bronc, which is why I'm going with hood pins soon either way, just figured I'd look into a fiberglass replacement since my factory one isn't exactly perfect and will get replaced eventually anyway with something else, be it fiberglass or steel.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Fri Nov 06, 2015 12:26 pm

Just a personal experience note: hood pins are more easily forgotten to be installed than properly closing a stock hood latch. Even then, with the stock latch there is typically the outer, safety latch. I've had hoods fly up with both, but only the pinned hood was really my fault. Stock hood latch time the latch was broken from an accident & not caught. Didn't show itself until an opportune time (freeway at 65+ mph). Luckily the hood pic fiasco was only about 20 mph. Still effed up the cowl though.

Back on the real point - glass hoods are nice for a major weight savings on my 70's trucks, but the 2 pin hoods I've dealt with on the 80's/90's stuff aren't nearly as different weight wise from stock. They (fiber) are lighter, but not by a a very noticeable amount unless you go to a race weight, 4 pin style hood.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:21 pm

Well that about settles it, thanks for the advice Ryan and ChaseTruck. I'm just gonna go ahead and add a pair of hood pins to my stock hood and then see if it's feasible to leave in the latch or not, just as an extra safety precaution. Now another question, if I were to completely remove the hood latch, what hood pins would you recommend to safely hold down my hood? I was comparing kits from pepboys, summit, and wild horses 4x4, etc. Obviously the pricier ones have their perks on paper but nothing beats real world experience, so who uses what?

FUFIMI · Post by **FUFIMI** » Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:34 pm

Autofab

http://autofab.com/c-335608-fabrication ... -kits.html

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:47 am

FUFIMI are you running the kit with the mounts already setup? My welding skills are very limited and I'm out of practice but I have a couple buddies who help me out on that end and my dad was a welder in the Navy so if I have to make mounts for the posts it's not a big issue, $100 just seems like a lot for hood pins.. But obviously this is something I don't wanna be too cheap on. Anyone have any other input/experiences?

FUFIMI · Post by **FUFIMI** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:10 pm

Never ran them, I bought some and never got around to using them so I sold them. They are just cool because they bolt on, but if you have somebody that can weld some mounts just run the autofab hood pins (not the kit) and you will be a happy camper.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 8:39 pm

I'll second the Autofab pins. Only ones I've ever run. Way better than the cheap, all metal ones from Summit, etc.

As for the pin mounts - I think a few guys here have them. Maybe someone will see this & chime in.

I personally have made my own, custom hood pins mounts typically, but as you said - Autofab's can be bolted on, and are therefore easier for many.

zachwabbit · Post by **zachwabbit** » Sun Nov 08, 2015 9:30 pm

I appreciate the input! Have you guys ever had issues with the urethane fading or cracking due to uv exposure? My Bronco sits outside 99.9% of the time, that .1% of the time when it's covered, it's just in my barn sometimes when I work on it.

ChaseTruck754 · Post by **ChaseTruck754** » Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:09 am

The poly mounts can change color a little, although I wouldn't call it fading. Plus they can get a little harder over time, but both the color change & getting a little harder take years of sitting in the sun full time. Never had one of these things crack, even the ones that are super old.