Thread: 1971 Camaro RS

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I did not know the cowl hoods were fiberglass.,and I'm really surprised that there molded that poorly.They can say they want you to trim them to fit for your benefit, but the steel hoods don't seem to be a problem.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Here are a couple other pics I took of it. I really need to adjust and fit the hood. It's too wide. I could probably oblong the holes in the fenders to get them out some more but I'd rather trim the hood. Harwood told me they make them a little wide so you can fit them to your car. I was worried I'd cut through the seam or something.

It isn't a stock hood Seth.

Originally Posted by 34_40

It isn't a stock hood Seth.

I was trying to state that I was wondering why they don't just make the hood the same width as the factory steel one. I seems crazy that GM made millions of the steel hoods that fit and now you have to cut up new fiberglass ones to make them fit? The cars didn't get wider. It would just be a matter of using a tape measure on the company's part, seems weird to me.

And to me! Sounds like the mold has "grown" and they don't want to correct it. ( just my opinion)
So they say upfront it's bigger to fit a "wider" (pun intended) selection of cars, so you have extra body work to do to accommodate everyone. And Harwood has a good reputation, at least they did..

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

I did not know the cowl hoods were fiberglass.,and I'm really surprised that there molded that poorly.They can say they want you to trim them to fit for your benefit, but the steel hoods don't seem to be a problem.

It's not an unusual problem with 'glass parts, my guess would be that the mold for this hood was a bit oversize and no one bothered to correct it. I don't recall too many 'glass parts I've had over the years that fit out of the box! After a mold is used so many times it must be replaced with a new mold, sometimes these molds are made off the existing mold rather then the part the original mold was made off of resulting in some variances in the size.

Speaking of original GM parts..... These cars didn't have really nice gaps from the factory to begin with. Anyhow on the fiberglass stuff not fitting. I'm sure the mold had a lot to do with it. This particular hood had a stress crack in the scoop from when they jerked it out of the mold. It was a scratch and dent deal. So I knew it may need some work. I used to use unlimited products back in the day on my old Camaro and Nova. That stuff fit horribly. I've heard they are much better these days though.

Yesterday I drove it to work. It did just fine. I may have put it on our new hoist and walked under it just to check it over. I did find the tail shaft seal is weeping. I guess I will put that on my to do list. Haha I did put the LED head lights I removed from the orange truck in it so I could drive it home.

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Harwood builds race car stuff . none of it fits well or holds up. never intended to be street or show quality.

I got curious about the manufacturer - Here's what they say;

Welcome to eHarwood

For nearly 40 years Harwood has been the leader in new product design and innovation for the racing and street performance industry. Every part manufactured by Harwood is built exclusively in our 6 acre facility by experienced composite technicians who take pride in their work and appreciate seeing the final results of their efforts on a customer's car.

Harwood's Street and Race Car Products have set the highest standards for aftermarket fiberglass and race car components. With multiple N.H.R.A. Best Engineering Awards, Composite Industry Awards and countless honors for product development, our technicians work hard to stay on the forefront of leading technologies.

Every Harwood part is hand-laid by skilled technicians using only the highest quality composites available. Molds are constantly renewed to ensure quality fit and finish. Harwood's sales staff and new product design team work closely with customers, race teams, and other manufacturers to ensure every new product works as well as it looks. Each new part is tested and proven on the street and/or track prior to production.

From new product design, construction, to the final boxed part ready to ship, Harwood takes no shortcuts. Each part is inspected several times prior to shipping. We are committed to providing the quality products you have come to expect from Harwood, "The Most Respected Name in Fiberglass."

They wouldn't tell an untruth!! Would they?

Originally Posted by shine

Harwood builds race car stuff . none of it fits well or holds up. never intended to be street or show quality.

Like any other fiberglass manufacturer these days, they make parts for both. The bottom of this hood is way nicer than most "race only" glass parts.

A page without pics? We can't have that.

This weekend I drove the car as much as I had time to. The kids request I take them to school everyday. I also took them to their soccer games on Sunday. We were going to take it to dinner but rain came through so I went and put it up. Here are some pics of when I had it on the hoist.

Last Thursday when I was driving home I heard a big wap on the windshield but I didn't see WTF had hit it. Well Sunday I realized the scoop insert in the scoop opening had flew out. I need to get another now. Thinking back, I don't think I removed the protective film from the 2 sided tape seeing how I was going to remove it to paint the hood. It sure had me leary after that big noise. Haha

It was nice to drive it to a parts store and get parts and they actually weren't for it.

It's looking less and less like the Camaro that left my shed a year and halfish ago, it looks good! I gotta ask, is there a reason why the mufflers are not installed the same way ?

Spend a buck and get the exhaust to the rear of the car. It will sound so much better and perhaps not give you headaches while driving.
Yep, needs to be done.

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

It's looking less and less like the Camaro that left my shed a year and halfish ago, it looks good! I gotta ask, is there a reason why the mufflers are not installed the same way ?

When I built the exhaust last year I didn't even think about the orientation of the mufflers. I was just trying to get it running. I actually am cutting the exhaust apart to replace the flex joints since I scraped them at good guys. I'm going to raise the mufflers up and add tail pipes. I have tail pipes for it, just haven't taken the time to get them put on.

Originally Posted by Scooting

Spend a buck and get the exhaust to the rear of the car. It will sound so much better and perhaps not give you headaches while driving.
Yep, needs to be done.

Yes sir. I'm working on that.

Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

A page without pics? We can't have that.

Last Thursday when I was driving home I heard a big wap on the windshield but I didn't see WTF had hit it. Thinking back, I don't think I removed the protective film from the 2 sided tape seeing how I was going to remove it to paint the hood. . Haha

It was nice to drive it to a parts store and get parts and they actually weren't for it.

Darn right! No pics? Never happened! Forgetting to attach parts is a sure sign of old age!

Glad you can use the car more than work on it. Now... about that 40!?!?!? None of us are getting any younger!

Originally Posted by 34_40

Darn right! No pics? Never happened! Forgetting to attach parts is a sure sign of old age!

Glad you can use the car more than work on it. Now... about that 40!?!?!? None of us are getting any younger!

All I have left from it is an open storage area............................

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