Well, the clearance demon has finally parked his butt under my hood so I gotta get more clearance.

I've read through the numerous threads on this topic. What I know from reading is: 1)Goodmark is the best steel, but wavy at corners and too light; 2) GlassTek and USBody are both good glass hoods but USBody has a "heavy duty" version also.

My application is street. If money was not the barrier, which would you choose for a 10K miles/year car? Also, if the answer is fiberglass, do I (can I?) have to get new hinge/spring assemblies?

As always, thanks very much for your help! This car is way more a Team Chevelle car than it is my car....

Best,

Mike, I just put a 2 inch fiberglass from Glasstek on my 67 last fall. I could have waited for the steel one but was a little leery about fit and finish on the new product, so I ended up with the glass. If you decide to go with the glass, order the lighter hood springs with it. Stock springs may cause too much stress, and crack the hood. Good luck on your decision.

I have a 4" cowl (fiberglass) from Unlimited products. I dont have it bolted on yet but it looks like it is going to fit nice except for the back corners are a little high like some other aftermarket hoods. They also have a 2" I believe. Its just sitting there covering the engine now. If interested I could take a pic and email it this weekend.

There web site is www.up22.com (http://www.up22.com) if you want to check them out.

I too just installed my 2" glasstek...I love it...

My vote is for the goodmark steel unit. I'm having the car painted this winter and will let the body shop align everything, but i've just bolted it on and fit is pretty darn good. Maybe just a little high in the rear corners but I'm assuming this can be adjusted. These can be had on ebay for around $399. I just didn't want a fiberglass hood.

Thanks, guys. Think I'll go glass just for ease of use - the low tension springs coupled with wide open cowl is what I need for clearance. I suppose I could have my stock SS hood reworked at some point. I've seen a couple of nice cowl conversions done by integrating the louver humps and raising the whole center area of the hood to finish with a cowl opening. The last one I saw at a local car show was absolutely perfect - shoulda been - guy said the conversion was over a grand before paint. But...he got one of the best metal guys in TX to do the work.

Best,

Mike H.

We have a 4 inch Glasstec on my son's 65 and we love it. It uses the stock latch and hinges but requires a lighter springs. It has a finished underside with an airbox that the air cleaner sets up into. We bought it to replace an Unlimited hood that we really were not happy with as it cracked and warped in the two years we had it on. If you click on the first link in my signature you can see a bit of the hood.

Stay away from unlimited products, horrible customer service and products.

I had a 4" Glasstek on my 67 and the fit was pretty nice. Did tend to bow a bit from front to rear after 4 years. Pics at my home site (http://www.dalesplace.com/htm/chevelle/chevelle.htm)