LUVTruck.com

I just ordred a replacement hood for the LUV. The old hood suffered damage when my friend drove the truck to the store without installing the hood pins. It flipped up over the truck and landed hard enough to screw it up for good. The latch is bent upward but i dont know if the replacement hood will require it.
It takes 3 to 5 weeks to get one at a cost of 500 bucks to get it to Ga. If anyone has any experience with fitting a UP22 (hinge type) hood, i would surely like to hear from them. Thanks!

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

I purchased the L-88 hood from UP.22. The hood bolted right up to the hinges, but I had to install hood pins to latch it down. Be preparded when the hood arrives. When I got my hood the craftmenship is very poor. I did not want to pay the shipping to send it back, plus I could not find another hood anywhere. But the good news is you can fix all the bad spots. Once everything was fixed I'm happy with it now. I just think they could do a better job of building there parts for the money you pay.

I heard that the fit and finish of their hoods were substandard at best, but apparently they're the only game in town when it comes to replacement hoods with cowl induction.
With the time frame im dealing with and the logistics involved with trying to iron out all the freak problems that have come up, i'd like to get a clearer picture of what i have to deal with.
I need to fit the stock hinges somehow to a hacked up radiator support with a new aluminum radiator.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

i bought a up hood and was not inpressed for the money.

I did a little work on it but it was a long delivery process and so so product.

I am not a maker of fiberglass parts, but I have used a number of dune buggy and baja buggy stuff. In their case the cheapest is usually the worst. That doesn't mean the most expensive is the best either. Usually the "hand laid" stuff is the best. The rest is "sprayed" with a chopper gun. Not as good. The molds make a big difference and so does the person doing it. You can get some fine stuff. Great dune buggy bodies, and look at the bass boats too.

If they are the only game in town, there is not a lot you can do. Unless you make your own... When carbon fiber stuff was coming out, some people would get good fiberglass parts and pull a mold from that and then make carbon fiber parts. The other thing someone do is use a sorry hood and fix it and build a mold or build a mold and fix it. IE bondo in the mold to make if perfect.

It makes me wonder who did the molds, or did they buy someones wore out molds. It is not real hard to do. Time is what you need most.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

CT, was that the molded color of the hood or did you paint it?

At this point, my hood just lays on top of the engine bay and will not latch down at the rear. If i could get anything to sit flat over it and fully cover the engine, i'd be really happy.
I need to move the truck this weekend to a new location. I'll have to run the truck without the hood and haul the hood in my 1500 truck.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

that is what color i painted it, from ups it's the raw fiberglass color.

This is what i got... It has some gouges from being mishandled and some mold release errors. Some refinishing is in order and i think i can adapt the stock hood latch to the new hood. I need to fit a grill to the cowl opening so i dont get a bunch of crap in the engine well.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

The pictures are kinda fuzzy, but it looks like they did a much better job on your hood then mine. I'm happy for you. Parts just cost to much today, to get crap.

The camera is a freebie internet deal. The pics totally wash out the imperfections of the hood. I need to find some good quality filler to fix up the hood the first time out.
I was thinking about using Duraliner on the underside to help hide the rough appearence but quickly decided against it. If their comes a day that i need to re-resin the hood, I think the Duraliner would be a real pain in the butt.
I'm Back in Texas for the 4th and i left the hood in Ga. It would have been cool if i could have brought it with me so i could have worked it but i didn't what Dad involved.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

The Duraliner is a good idea. I also did not the rough texture on the bottom side of the hood. I took a chance and used undercoating on mine. It smooth out the surface, and I think it looks better.

The hood fitted and painted....

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Looks great.

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Three Amigos

With all the crap that's happened this last year, I'm glad to finally have the LUV put back together, running right and one basic color. I painted the hood in my cargo trailer just before new years. The paint job is far from perfect but it wont be much to clean up when i'll need to repaint the front fenders.
I got a small issue with the hood though. The rear corner, drivers side flutters a little when I'm going down the Hwy. The fiberglass buildup where the cushion rides has a step. The cushions on the adjusters are worn so that doesn't help matters.
I still need to fit a grill or louvers into the cowl opening. At night, the headlights kinda glow thru the hood. It's not annoying, it just makes the setup look cheap.

_________________
Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.