Even before the engine in the Valiant had been changed to the E85 guzzling, tunnel-rammed stroker, I didn't think it was a big deal to run the Valiant without a hood. Let's face it, a tunnel ram with twin Holley carburetors looks cool, but the men with shiny badges and loaded pistols informed that I needed to put the hood back on the car. But, there was no way that I was going to cut the factory steel hood-what if I needed to put it back on someday (famous last words)? That left me with two options: I could either get another steel hood and cut the opening in it, but to do that, the opening would need to be a lot larger than just around the tunnel ram, because when the hood is hinged open, the hole would need to be larger to clear the tunnel ram as it went up and slightly forward during normal operation. My other option would be to use a fiberglass hood, and make it a lift-off style. This worked for me, but companies that make a hood for a '67 Valiant are few and far between. We were happy when we found out that VFN Fiberglass had what we needed, and for only $399. Even though we would be using hood pins to attach our hood, we got the bolt on style hood, which has more reinforcement around the perimeter, and incorporates the factory hood latch.
The next hurdle to overcome was how to mount the hood. We weren't going to use the factory hood hinges, so we needed to figure out how to mount the hood pins. By securing the hood via pins, you better make sure that the pins are securely mounted, or you will see it (the hood) leave your car at a high rate of speed sometime. Another consideration to overcome-whether using a pin on or hinge style hood, is the required hole for the protruding tunnel ram or whatever.
Neither of these situations is hard to overcome, if you take your time and think before you cut or drill anything.
1 The first thing you need...
1 The first thing you need to do is remove the hood and hood hinges if you’re making it a lift-off style. After unbolting the hood, you need to access the hood hinges to remove them. So, on an A-Body, remove the inner splash shield behind the front tire, and rip the hinge off. Actually, after the splash shield is removed, the hinge comes off by removing the snap clips holding it to the body.
2 Now we need to locate where...
2 Now we need to locate where the pins will be located. Since this is a “street weight” hood, it has bracing on the underside of the hood to give it support, so not as many pins will be required to retain/support it.
3 To pin the front of our...
3 To pin the front of our hood, we drilled out the threads for the hood bumpers to give us a good position.
4 The rear of the hood is...
4 The rear of the hood is going to be supported/retained by way of these simple, flat pieces of aluminum that hold the pin. Remember, every body style of car will require a different way of mounting, but basically, make sure you have enough attachment points to keep the hood on the car.
5 With the pin locations...
5 With the pin locations figured out, now it’s time to cut the hole. I measured out 8 points around the perimeter of the hood location, and then attached string to each location for a visual. This allows you to make sure your hole is large enough (or too large), before you start cutting. Once you’re comfortable with the hole size and location, you can transfer your measurements to the actual hood.
6 We placed painters tape...
6 We placed painters tape around where the opening will be before we started cutting. This not only makes the cut line easier to see, it helps keep small pieces of the hood from chipping away as you cut. As far as cutting, you can either use a fine-blade jig saw, or a cut off wheel.
7 After cutting the hole,...
7 After cutting the hole, make sure it fits.
8 In case you’re wondering...
8 In case you’re wondering how to locate the pins to drill the holes, simply place a dab of grease on the pins, and set the hood in place. The grease marks let you know where to drill. If you think you’ll have a hard time centering the hood to let the grease mark it, use the big hole you just cut.
9 Once you get the holes...
9 Once you get the holes drilled and you’re happy with the fitment, you need to cover the hood with some paint.
10 Before any paint can be...
10 Before any paint can be applied, the hood will need sanded. We lucked out, as our VFN hood needed no bodywork, just scuffed and shot.
11 Also, before you paint,...
11 Also, before you paint, be sure to clean the areas being painted with a good cleaner or at least enamel reducer.
12 We always liked the looks...
12 We always liked the looks of a flat-black hood on a car, so we went to our local Auto Zone, and bought some Rustoleum automotive primer. It cost us $20, doesn’t require reducer, and it sprayed nicely. Anyone can use it.
13 While the hood pins used...
13 While the hood pins used on the vintage Mopars are cool, we deviated a little by using these simple pins from Moroso. We simply located to clips over the pins, and riveted them into place.
14 In order to make the hood...
14 In order to make the hood “align” properly, a spacer is required on the pins to keep the hood level with the tops of the fenders. Fuel line that is cut to length works great.
15 Installed and completed,...
15 Installed and completed, maybe it’s a good thing I listened to “The Man” this time, it does look good.