Fiberglass hoods

Ron,

front hood, rear hood or both?

cowboy from hell

Front hood only.
Sorry.
Ron

quote:

Originally posted by r mccall:
How many of you have 'glass hoods on your Panteras?
Can you post a picture and answer a few questions?
Who made it?
How is the fit?
Cost?
Somebody has collected this information on a website...
Anyway, Long and Newman hood

Thanks,
Ron

Larry Stock is reproducing the Newman & Long front bonnet in carbon fiber, he had one mounted on his Pantera at the Concorso Italiano. It seems to have an issue of bowing in the middle, which all fiberglass/cf Pantera front bonnets I've seen seem to have to one degree or another. Larry is trying to find a fix for this.

He also has a cf rear bonnet, very light, one strut can hold the bonnet open. This would be a good way to shed some weight off a Pantera in the right places (vertically high & to the rear).

cowboy from hell

quote:

It seems to have an issue of bowing in the middle, which all fiberglass/cf Pantera front bonnets I've seen seem to have to one degree or another. Larry is trying to find a fix for this.
cowboy from hell

Maybe I'm not retentive enough...but bowing?

Hey Guys! I was crusing around the net about Long & Newman when I happened upon your messages... Every now and then I run into some Pantera guys that have parts we use to make and am always amazed how well some of them were holding up.

The problem with the polyester/fiberglass hoods is that the shape starts out curved and naturally wants to keep curving inward. I always wondered if a carbon fiber/epoxy Pantera hood would hold its shape better. Carbon fiber can get pricey though... Epoxy can hold its shape very well and of course the lightweightness of the hood is awesome.

I don't have access to the Pantera molds anymore, but it would be interesting to check out.

-Tony Newman

How about something with a honeycomb core for rigidity? Seems like you would gain stiffness and lose weight at the same time.

Blaine

I have a Long & Newman front hood on our '72 and the fit is fine. IMHO the problem is not bowing but LACK of bowing. When the hood is latched, the center pulls down but due to the trunk weather stripping, the ends do not, so the thing flattens near the windshield. The L & N hood has a structural-foam-filled 'spider' underneath for increased rigidity. Also, those pretty little hood vents are mostly cosmetic: they are far too small to exhaust much hot air from the radiator. But the fiberglas is easy to alter while an uncut steel hood is ever more valuable.

quote:

The problem with the polyester/fiberglass hoods is that the shape starts out curved and naturally wants to keep curving inward. I always wondered if a carbon fiber/epoxy Pantera hood would hold its shape better. Carbon fiber can get pricey though... Epoxy can hold its shape very well and of course the lightweightness of the hood is awesome.

I don't have access to the Pantera molds anymore, but it would be interesting to check out.

I thought the truckload of molds that Larry Stock purchased were Long & Newman? He is now making CF hoods and decklids and they are apparently selling faster than his guy can churn them out.