L-88 Hoods
 

I have a 73 454 and plan on adding a L-88 hood for clearance of the manifold and carb setup that I want to run. I see a lot of photos of 73-82's with L-88 hoods. Would some of these people comment on where they got them and are they satisfyied with the quality. Did they have the brackets molded in for the hood hardware? Were they smooth or rough on the underside? I see them ranging from $425 - $650. Need advice. Many thanks.
Jim Parks
Schaumburg, Ill

Re: L-88 Hoods (bigvette1)
 

Tried one - but decided to build my own..

:seeya :cheers: :seeya

Re: L-88 Hoods (bigvette1)
 

Bought mine from Ecklers. Very good quality although you might be able to save some bucks. I heard JC Whitney actually had a good quality one for less money. Mine came with rough texture underneath. I went with the long style because I wanted to remove the never worked piece of junk windshield wiper door for a cleaner look. I have pics on my website if you want to take a look. Hope this helps.

:cheers:

Re: L-88 Hoods (shawn_cake)
 

I bought one from J.C. Witney almost 10 years ago, it sucked and I sent it back. I bought another one from Ecklers two months ago and it is a pretty good hood. It did require a little fitting before we painted it. :chevy

Re: L-88 Hoods (bigvette1)
 

bigvette1, what setup are you going with that requires the L-88? I am also changing my setup on my 350. I was going to use a 454 Big Block hood in the hope it would give me the needed clearance. Are you selling your big block hood?

Re: L-88 Hoods (ScubaJKD)
 

Same here. Had a short L88 hood on before and hated the hassle of the wiper door, so I went to the long one. Nothing necessitated the big hood other than the look. The car had the short one when I bought it. Now I'm thinking of a healthy 383 going in there, so the height may be useful.

Re: L-88 Hoods (bigvette1)
 

I got a used one, not original, no clue of maker, no air box, which is what I was looking or. While I do beleive the material quality was fair, the fit isnt all that great. I have heard the same from different makers

Also, the front hinges (near the nose) when the bolts are tightened down, the pivot point of the hinge just tigtens down enough on the underhood glass, to make it pucker, therefore, cracking the new paint. I solved it with small shims between the front hood latches and the hood itself. Man, was I pissed. Too late for the cracks

The fit is a little off, no matter what front/rear adjustements that I make. Gaps all the way around seem a little too wide as well.

Lotsa folks have aftermarket hoods here, and I havent heard of too much trouble.

But mine pretty much sucks, fit wise

Re: L-88 Hoods (bigvette1)
 

Try Vanacors. I got a very nice LT-1 hood from them last year. Topside was great, bottom is rough but I covered it with insulation so it doesn't matter.
I have had three different hoods on my 71 and they all required some work in different areas to achieve uniform gaps. I read somewhere that the engine bay "hole" is not at all uniform from the factory and that each vette had to have some work done to the hood or opening before it was originally painted.

Re: L-88 Hoods (bigvette1)
 

I got mine from jc whittney. I'm not too happy. Sloppy mold.:nono:

good luck

Re: L-88 Hoods (andre77)
 

Go with Eckler's. Even though they are high, I've read here that they own the original L88 molds from GM. My car came with a '91 vintage Eckler's hood and I just bought the airbox and it fits the hood perfectly. My hood fits my car perfectly also as in my sig pic and looks like it was there from day-1. Good luck! :cheers:

Re: L-88 Hoods (Mr.Gearhead)
 

The setup is a 454 with the Edelbrock 7161 intake and the Holley Avenger 770-cfm. I will not be selling the stock hood as I will keep it in the garage for selling the car later.

Try Michigan Corvette Recyclers attention Barry Patten.
Address is http://www.michigancorvette.com/
They seem to have most items you need.