I have a 68. I'm looking at two SS hoods this weekend that a guy has. He doesn't know if they're 68 or 69.

I searched for measurements and found a vauge answer or two, but would like to sure when I plunk my $ down. Anyone know measurements or the best methos for ID'ing the differences?

The hood hinge bolt holes are farther apart fore-aft than on a '68. Each hood needs the same year hinges. I just went through this with our '69 el Camino. I think that the '68 hinges are about 12" C-C while the '69s are about 14" C-C roughly.

I think both 68 & 69 hinges are being repopped now, so pick whichever hood looks best, then get the right hinges!

Interesting thought... I have a 68 SS, with the original hood, but it was wrecked at some point and the front pass coner is all wavy from a crappy fix.

I also have an original 69 SS hood (not a repop). I'm tossed on weather i should have my exisiting hood fixed (since it is the original hood, and easily identifiable as a true 68 hood, or just use the good 69 hood.

guess i have a while before i get around to painting before i have to decide...

I had a 68 hood on my 69 and I remember there was a difference with the hood safety latch not fiting. I had to enlarge the 68 hole to fit the 69 latch. But, that was a long time ago and I can't remember exactly what I did. But, I know I had a problem and fixed it with a die grinder.

I think both 68 & 69 hinges are being repopped now, so pick whichever hood looks best, then get the right hinges!

Interesting thought... I have a 68 SS, with the original hood, but it was wrecked at some point and the front pass coner is all wavy from a crappy fix.

I also have an original 69 SS hood (not a repop). I'm tossed on weather i should have my exisiting hood fixed (since it is the original hood, and easily identifiable as a true 68 hood, or just use the good 69 hood.

guess i have a while before i get around to painting before i have to decide...
The hood is physically the same. But the only version being repopped now is utilizing 69 hinges. When my car was wiped by a drunk 2 years ago, the body shop could only locate a 68 in the condition I was willing to accept for rebuilding the car. We used 68 GTO hinges since the garbage being reproduced for chevelles wasn't worth the powder to blow them up. Understandably the hinges are the same, but some suppliers market them only for Pontiacs, and they are much nicer and are Grey Phosphated when they are produced.

Ok, Here is the story. One can put a 69 hood on a 68 if( IF ) he has the 69 hinges. A 69 hood willl NOT fit if you use the 68 hinges. You must have this combination. At least is what I did and I still have it. I didn't want to cut up a SS hood. I put a four inch scoop on a 68 ss. I didn't have a maching number car to begin with. but I have a nice car.

Also, if I remember correctly (and I think I do), you can put a 68 hood on 69 hinges, IF you don't mind drilling holes in the 69 hinges for the 68 hood.

68 & 69 hoods are the same. The difference is in the hinges. The top part of the 68 hinge is shorter so the holes are closer together. Which ever your hood is drilled for, You need the corresponding hinge.

68 & 69 hoods are the same. The difference is in the hinges. The top part of the 68 hinge is shorter so the holes are closer together. Which ever your hood is drilled for, You need the corresponding hinge.


Scott, no offense, but 68-69 hoods are not the same.
Their outer appearance may be the same, but you'll need 68 hinges for 68 hoods and 69 hinges for 69 hoods.
And for what it's worth, the hoods are not drilled. The holes are stamped and there are nuts inside the holes for the bolts.

Also interesting to note, 68 hoods will open further.
If you open both hoods while on their respective cars and measure how far they open(I go from tip of header panel to tip of the center of the hood)you'll find the 68 hood opens quite a bit further.
I like this feature and that's why I'm using 68 hinges and a 68 hood on the 69 I'm currently working on.

There were actually 2 different 68 hood hinges, and then the 69 version. The early 68 hood had 12 & 3/4" between the bolt holes. The later version had 12 & 1/4 between the bolt holes. The 69 had 14 &1/4" between the bolt holes. The two 68 style had smaller latch cut outs too.

I was using hinges on a '68 SS hood and they had stickers that said that they were a Chevy II application. The hinges on our '72 Lemans look exactly the same as the ones on our '69 SS Chevelle.

Somehwere on this site is a thread about hood hinge interchangeability.

There are a lot of hinges that will work on 1968 Chevelle hoods.
For instance all 1968-1979 Nova hinges are the same. And there are several others.

Great info, Im having issues with this 68 stuff as I read this.....

check Hollands interchange manual, they list many other cars, that will work with the 68 Chevelle hood, but only 69 hinges will work on a 69 SS hood. You could use 70-72 Chevelle hinges on the 69 if you cut the ears off the back of the hinges.