Viper jr

I bought one of the vented hood that Long and Huy were selling. After about a grand in bodywork and paint, it looks pretty good.
I took some pictures of my hood now that the bodywork is done and I put the pins on.

I'm pretty proud of how the hoodpin mounting came out - I took a drill bit the size of the indentation thats on the hood bumper and drilled down into it - much like drilling out a rivet. The rubber top came off in one piece and all I had to do was remove the attaching plastic that was at the bottom. The hole that they were attached to is perfect size for the hood pin to fit through. I then bored out the inside of the rubber stop so that one of the nuts that holds the hood pin in place would fit inside of it, and put the rubber stop over it like a cap. Now when the hood is down, it rests on the bumps that it used to instead of getting scratched up or jumping around. The hood pins weren't necessary, just insurance.


I had the vent holes cut to match each other (they weren't quite symettrical) and wire mesh installed to keep idiots out.


When I got the hood it was sorely in need of structural support - main reason was because the beams or whatever they would be called under the hood were not physically attached to the topside of the hood. I basically filled them with epoxy which basically welded the top to the bottom - the hood is now rock-solid.


Underhood temps dropped about 20 degrees thanks to the vents.
Water does drop onto my lower intake filter, but as I and others have said here: https://www.rx7club.com/vforums/show...threadid=21945 , that we believe it's a non-issue.

JaySpec7

WOW, looks nice!!!!

FG right? I have the FG version and it's not really that strong.. did you reinforce anything for the middle section? I can push it in with very little effort.. i'm worried about that.. the existing reinforcement also isn't sticking to the hood.. is that where you epoxied it?

Anyway.. looks really nice.. i can't wait for mine to be painted!!

Viper jr

Yup, the epoxy is in between the hood topside and those reinforcements that weren't attached. If I push down right in the middle of the hood, I still have about a 1/4" of up and down bounce there; at speed it doesn't move or vibrate a bit - just don't let any fat chicks jump on the hood

If I could do it over, I would have had the reinforcements epoxied down flush to the hood - instead of them just being filled up with epoxy, to make it look better.

AARotary

Looks really good. I was worried too if I should use hood pins or not because my hood also comes with the stock latch and this should holds it down. I guess i don't have to use the pins then.

mako

iTrader: (5)

I am going to run my hood with out the hood pins. i cross my fingers that the latch will hold up. I am adding a few rivits around the latch area just to make sure. I just don't like hood pins that much. The hood i got was the cf version and it seems to be pretty sturdy. does anyone know if its ok to use wax on the carbon fiber hoods?

mpetersrx7

Viperjr,
WOW that looks awesome. Do you have any more pics from the front with hood down? More pics more pics.

Hyperite

I don't know, since you'd pretty much be using it on the resin. I'd like to find out though, and will probably just end up trying it.


Viper Jr, where did you get the wire meshing? I've been looking a lot of places and can't find anything that looks that good. Right now i just have some screen-door mesh clipped on and i hate it.
~Tom

Viper jr

Luckily my body shop happened to have some laying around. If you have a local shop that deals with motorsports, they should have some.

1FAST7

Does anyone know if the stock latch holds it up? and when u get the hood pins, is the stock latch working as well? Because im thinking people could just use the hood pins and open up the hood??? thanks

1FAST7

Viper jr

If you're asking about my particular hood, the answer is yes the stock latch is still working - you can see the ring for it on the bottom picture I put up. If you wanted to remove the latch and just use hood pins for securing it, that's your option.

rx7even

Viper Jr,

If you dont mind me asking, how much did all the body work end up costing you. I took it to my shop today, and the guy told me to do all the work on the hood (reinforcement, get the edges perfect, ect) and to paint it, it would be a minimum of $500. That doesnt include blending it into the fenders, thats JUST the work and the paint. I'm going to check some other places, but did yours come out anywhere close to that?

Viper jr

Double it and you're close My bill came in just under 1000 but I also had the headlight covers done at the same time.

rx7even

I've spent SO much money on this hood already. I'm $5 away from selling it! It's being so mean to my bank account. It looks sweet though.

JaySpec7

Viper JR,

Did you use the backing plates for the screws? I think i'm goin to rivet instead of using the screws when it's painted...

Viper jr

My hood pins didn't come with any backing plates. I ended up using the screws that were provided and screwed them down directly into the fiberglass - they bit into it very well.

I had bought some small diameter stainless steel allen head screws and nuts, but even at an inch long they weren't long enough to go all the way through the hood.

Viper jr

These didn't come out that great:

http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/temp/image001.jpg
http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/temp/side shot.jpg

Hyperite

Hey, where did you get the pins and how much did they cost? Huy/Long are apparently having problems obtaining them, so i might just go off on my own and get 'em.
~Tom

Viper jr

I bought 'em at the NOPI Nats for 20 bucks. Bought 'em from some place called Island Motorsports - www.islandmotorsports.com is their site.

Not sure what material the Sparco pins are made from but these appear to be copies and are aluminum.

If anybody wants the kind that have a cotter pin going through them, I bought some from Summit along with extra pins and will make a great deal on them.

Hyperite

If you explain what a cotter pin is and post a pic....i might be interested....but i really do like the look of the ones you have on your hood.
~Tom

Taz

iTrader: (1)

Baker Precision - momo's $25 sparco's $31
http://www.bakerprecision.com/hoodpin.htm

Viper jr

Tom,

These are the ones I have sitting in my garage collecting dust:


I liked the ones I put on over these because I figured some @$$hole would steal the pins (which is why I bought extras)

Hyperite

Ohhh, cotter pin just means pin I like the ones you have and I think I will probably just get those.
~Tom