ok i love the look of the L88 hood on the 68-69s. several years ago i had a 68 427 390hp auto car..it had this hood on it, british green car..i had known about this car since the mid 70s and it always had this hood on it..i just assumed it was like my 69 i had at the same time, just a empty shell aftermarket one..well when i finally got a chance to buy the car, low and behold it was a original air duct L88 hood. well it seemed to be original too the car, color was right and spots were it would have not been able to hide a color change were still green..the tank sticker on this car said 427 390hp, but i could not make out much more on the paper other then vin and other misc stuff. could a 390hp car had this hood installed at the factory? i have recently found a couple L88 hoods, and i am thinking of buying one. does anyone have a picture of this hood on there car showing fitment and good pictures of the duct? i want to make sure i get a oem unit..is there suppose to be a filter screen in the duct? if so, was the screen installed in the duct first then the duct glued too the hood? sorry for all the stupid questions! this is just something i have had bouncing around in my melon for awhile....thanks troy

 

No. The original owner of the car would have needed a COPO for that.

 

so are you saying it would have been possible if he had knowledge of the COPO? it always made me wonder when i sold that 68, if it was possible for it to be original to the car somehow..my guess is that it was done early in the cars life then. and it was a over the counter piece..i would still like to know how the screen gets into the insert?! thanks guys...troy

 

It could have been dealer installed as they sold those hoods over the counter at dealers.

Mike

 

Back then it was easier to make demands at the dealerships
My dad did so with a 70 firebird that if its still around would have purists arguing,

People mistakenly or perhaps on purpose will try to call dealer modifications "factory" to make the car seem more special and rare,
But a new 68/69 getting a hood swap at the dealership is pretty rare and cool....

Btw,
A real factory L88 hood was press molded, had the air box and a little cheesy Z brace in the rear of the scoop to keep it from sagging,
My aftermarket L88 is close but no cigar...it was 125.00 not 1250.00 craigslist

 

There is a GM L88 hood for sale at Carlisle. Asking $3000 for it. I'm sure he is going back home with it tomorrow.

 

i agree batts, it would be rare...i just love those hoods..i am still thinking about grabing one..

 

Who can say? Some one might walk by today and have one of those I-can't-live-without-it moments.

 

Sounds like a "i cant live without it moment, ( so i pay too much for it )" person is the same as "a fool and his money.."

I see guys even on this forum who arent sure which end of a screwdriver to hold but junp to yell, "look at me and how much i spent"

Not really something to brag about, :shrug

 

dont beat yourself up guys for having a cool hobby, yaa it does cost some cash at times... every now and then my wife says"really" another project?! i just ask nicely, how much can you get out of that new dress you just bought, if you sell it next week or next month? she smiles and shrugs her shoulders and says you win...i love learning things about the cars. i buy books i study the AIMs and i ask questions hoping someone will have the answers. enjoy your hobbys..troy

 

so, back too one of my original questions!?
how do you get the foam and screen in the l88 hood insert?
the round area to the left of the air cleaner opening, maybe about the size of a pop can? looks to be above the valve cover or master on the driver side? some hoods i seen had it cut out? and some did not? what is it for?
can someone fill me in here? thanks all troy

 

I knew a guy who installed a new GM L-88 hood on his 69 350/350 car, right after buying it. GM parts were pretty cheap back then, and good quality cams, intakes and other performance parts were readily available through Chevy dealers.

Companies like Ecklers were making L-88 hoods by 1970, though unlike the factory hoods, that all came with the inner air duct, the aftermarket ones were available with or without the ducting. A freind of mine inherited a 68, that his father bought new. It has an Ecklers L-88 hood on it, that his father installed in 1971.

As far as the filter and foam, the foam was atached to the air cleaner base, and the filter goes in through the large round opening in the underside of the duct. Nothing really hoods the filter in place, that I'm aware of.

 

Usually there is a wing nut holding top on air filter. Here they use hood latches...

 

Someone posted on here the L88 air cleaner, hood air box set up proved to cost hp on a dyno test

 

i am not gonna disagree with a loss hp on a dyno. you need to understand how the hood is designed. it is meant to gather the air that rolls at the base of the windshield at high speed and direct it too the motor. so on a dyno there is no way to recreate that force unless it was in a wind tunnel type dyno? if that even exist. troy

 

GB, in the AIM, it has a large metal mesh screen that is wrapped in a foam filter element that stays inserted in the hood plenum. that is what im trying to figure out how to install, and keep in place.. im sure the 67 l88 set up is the same. the 67 base and small screen are..i have never physically touched a set up but i have seen them at shows.. it just seems that the insert would be tough to get into place on the hood...i am hoping someone will chime in here too clear this up...JMTC...troy

 

I dont recall where the tread is but the point was the air fliter set up with that fire screen etc was restrictive,

I have had L88 and cowl type scoops on many cars and seen drops run back and jump in driving but i wouldnt look at it like forced induction, i would love some documents from tests on this one..

I believe gm wanted to feed the L88 cool air hense calling it a "cold air box"

 

true, cool air was there plan... i bet your right though that foam prob dont flow like a good filter element? i still would like too see a close up of the screen install and element, it is still one of the best looking hoods gm made..troy

 

Hands down the L88 scoop has been on more vehicles than i bet all other scoops combined,

Even the low LT-1 bb 68 to 72 hood is stunning, if you dont need the space,

I wanted something different on my 69 but nothing looks as good to me as the tried and true L88,

Not sure if i will seal the air cleaner to the hood,
Something very down to racy business look about the L88 air clearner set up to me.

 

I ran a Hemi on the dyno one time and tried a shaker scoop to see the effects. As noted above, the dyno numbers were skewed. While the shaker should be under the boundary layer of air, The car ran very well before and after despite the dyno telling me different. I stopped chasing numbers with carbs and scoops after a few of those sessions. Only way to tell would be an A-B-A test at the racetrack.

The theory behind the design should work and even if it didn't, theres no better looking hood than an L88 on a C3!!