Originally Posted by jonnyangel04
Fireamx- from a stand point of someone who works with glass everyday this can not be further from the truth. I would take metal any day of the week over fiberglass for such a projects. You can weld it, you can manipulate it, you can always bring it back to orginal if you work with it long enough it can be cut, it can be grinded, you can add to it (lead), and no real dry or prep time.
Fiberglass gives the impression that it is easier to work with because most people think they know what they are doing. 90% of people think they are doing fiberglass right because hey how hard can it be you have resin, a hardening agent, and you have cloth? Real fiberglass as in not the stuff you bought at home depot (which is great for some projects) is very difficult to work with because of all the variables how much hardener to add (temp), How much time do I have with which amount of hardener, which cloth to use, which way to lay the cloth, how many layers do i need to be structurally sound etc. These are variables before you even start. Once you start you have variables like which wet up method to use, layering layers in a very small window of tack time so that you are actually fusing not just layering, getting all the air out between layers, material heat shrink etc.
Without going into every single detail (just the basics above) if you have a fiberglass hood (done by a professional) make a wrong cut you might as well throw it out. Patching it is a possibility but on material alone to do it the right way will cost someone $300 who has never worked with fiberglass before. Once they even start trying to patch it again for the guy who thinks he knows what he is doing you might as well throw it out.
So as far as that goes stock fiberglass hood is useless and I know AAR is very credible but $650 for a stock hood in fiberglass is astronomical. We had wet carbon fiber hoods priced out at $600. CF is 4 times as much as much in cost as far as cloth, resin, vacuum materials, sanding, prepping, finishing materials, and man hours go.
On a project like this fiberglass would only be good for one only one of two ways. 1) the hood is completed and Mopar allows someone to make a mold of it so it can be made out of fiberglass or carbon fiber (ie. No one would have to touch it just pull it out of the box and paint).. 2) a fiberglass shop takes a mold of a stock hood modify it in the shop then takes a female gel coat mold of the hood then makes the modified hood out of fiberglass.
Me and Cliff talked about doing a hood because his car is already at the shop there is just no money to fund such a project. A profit usually isnt made unless something like 10- 15 orders can be filled so the initial $6000 up front is a must. We had been working on something to look like the new SL style hood but waiting for the side skirts to be done, one project at a time.
All this aside Mopar if definitely looks like you know what you are doing, and I can not wait to see the finished product I know it will turn out well.
Since NOBODY is building after market "steel" hoods like you can get from ASIA for nearly any other car on the planet, I figure Glass is the next best media to work with.
Living in Akron Ohio my whole life, I've attended enough Soap Box Derby races to see first hand what can be created using fiberglass by the hands of teenagers, with the help of their parents. So I think starting with a well built Fiberglass hood would be the easiest method for most novices to take the plunge into custom hood modifications.
Metal fabrication may be a piece of cake for you, it's not for most people. As of right now, it's my understanding a new steel hood for the Crossfire goes for about $800, so the glass hood offered by AAR is just as competitive.
If anybody out there with the skill to work with steel wants to, fine. Go with a brand new hood from Chrysler, or wait until you come across a salvaged hood to use.
But in the mean time, those of you who would actually like to get a project started soon, and maybe even have it completed by next summer, I still insist AAR is our best bet.
This isn't only my unprofessional opinion, it's the opinion of the custom shop that actually did the work on my all steel hood. And if you had the opportunity to see some of the fantastic work that they have done over many years of being in business, you would have no problem trusting their judgement.
If we are able to convince AAR to build a stock hood, I plan on buying one, and then turn it over to the same shop that built my custom hood. I will then supply them with all the necessary additional parts it takes to complete the new project I have in mind.
I think there are probably more than a few "Corvette" body shops out there capable of handling most fiberglass related custom projects we could come up with.