[Snomongoose]

Just checking with the community to get a review of the hood.

Carbon Fiber Clear Coat hood I wanted to know the quality?

Are these hood ridged enough that you won't need hood pins?

 

[Mitch808]

Most do not install those.

many do add a new clear as a precaution. Many don’t too.

be warned on shipping, don’t accept it if you see external box damage. Kaminari will address it for you if it’s damaged but that means another 1-2month wait. It’s been pretty common for their shipments for the past year

 

[FlomaxSS]

It is very good practice to use hood pins with any fiberglass or carbon fiber hood.
and potentially extremely dangerous to not use them.
"Do you feel lucky?"-Clint

 

[Mitch808]

It is very good practice to use hood pins with any fiberglass or carbon fiber hood.
and potentially extremely dangerous to not use them.
"Do you feel lucky?"-Clint

Lots run the aerocatch latching system. But I'm more partial to the quik-latch with its tiny pop button, and easier install.

 

[FlomaxSS]

Lots run the aerocatch latching system. But I'm more partial to the quik-latch with its tiny pop button, and easier install.

Aesthetically speaking, the quik-latch is the best option, but it has seen several failures at speed before. Not sure if that's due to bad installation, design defects or not making sure latch is fully seated.
Aerocatch is obnoxiously large, heavy and not aesthetically pleasing in any way, but I've yet to hear of a failure.

I use the factory latch to lock the hood, but use old-school hairpin-style cotter pin system at each of my front corners. IMO it's the most fail-proof set-up and looks much better than aerocatch.

 

[Mitch808]

In the mid 2000's a school buddy of mine just closed on selling his gorgeous '97 supra on eBay. He let someone drive it just around the block and they forgot the cotter pins and the hood flew up and back smashing the windshield and upper frame of the windshield. That really sucked on timing!

 

[Brown7233]

Just checking with the community to get a review of the hood.

Carbon Fiber Clear Coat hood I wanted to know the quality?

Are these hood ridged enough that you won't need hood pins?

Kam

Most do not install those.

many do add a new clear as a precaution. Many don’t too.

be warned on shipping, don’t accept it if you see external box damage. Kaminari will address it for you if it’s damaged but that means another 1-2month wait. It’s been pretty common for their shipments for the past year

I purchased, painted and installed a fiberglass hood from Kaminari without issues. However Before accepting your hood Make Sure You INSPECT it before signing the release form. Can’t remember the shipper name but I my box was damaged when it arrived(inspected before signing). I didn’t use any pins but I didn’t race my truck either. However pins are the safest way to ensure the hood doesn’t fly up into the windshield

 

[Snomongoose]

Love the look but I'm not going to drill for hood pins or latches on a $1600 hood.

 

[Duckbutter]

That's the one I'll get soon. I don't like the idea of drilling for pins either. But, I absolutely hate the idea of it flying up on me on the highway. So I'll drill for pins. I have a preference for the cotter style as well. Something about the nostalgia of it. Not knocking any of the other pins. Never used them to be honest. I've put pins on every aftermarket hood I've installed fwiw.

 

[Mitch808]

Love the look but I'm not going to drill for hood pins or latches on a $1600 hood.

You’d think for $1600 they could include $50 of provisions of some sort of additional latching…. Inflation sucks. Thanks Obama. 😛

 

[FlomaxSS]

I agree with you 100% on this Mitch, except for the Obumma part. This new-age inflation is 100% Biden's fault!
This hood is made only for gmt360's, not like its a universal piece that would necessitate any need to leave holes up to customers. I personally think it's stupid and complacent (at best) to sell any product without inclusive mandatory safety provisions. I had to spend a shit-ton of time to get everything lined up correctly before I drilled into the expensive cf hood. Then I had to custom make the attachments for the pins into body supports.
And this is coming from a fabrication background... I couldn't imagine someone with only hobbyist experience trying to do this.
VIS racing, the manufacturer of my stock-style hood, says right on their website that hood pins are required! Well why weren't there the same provisions made for hood pins as there were for the hood hinges and factory latch?????
All manufacturer's of our fiberglass and cf hoods need to step it up and start making these ready-to-install by someone with minimal experience, have the pin holes already drilled out and include ALL latching hardware.
This is like pulling a Biden: acknowledging and reciting the problem, then providing no action for the solution!

 

[Mitch808]

As an aside, Amerihood is an option too. Lower cost fiberglass and needing more prep. So it's a wash in cost.

There is one more brand, has 2-4" bulge or whatever it's called. So a direct competitor to kaminari. I can't think of the name though. I only know how to buy them, from a guy on facebook. If I find the name I'll post it here

 

[Snomongoose]

Always glad to have other people's options here.

 

[FlomaxSS]

Always glad to have other people's options here.

Well, NONE of the manufacturers have any provisions for pins so if you're unwilling to do it yourself, they will ALL be safety-compromised. When and if that hood does fly up while at speed and someone gets seriously hurt, you won't be able to blame it on manufacturer... Says right on their website to use hood pins. They won't be the one being held legally responsible for the accident. The person who will get sued is the one who thought they were too good for manufacturer recommendations and car builder consensus.

 

[Snomongoose]

Well, NONE of the manufacturers have any provisions for pins so if you're unwilling to do it yourself, they will ALL be safety-compromised. When and if that hood does fly up while at speed and someone gets seriously hurt, you won't be able to blame it on manufacturer... Says right on their website to use hood pins. They won't be the one being held legally responsible for the accident. The person who will get sued is the one who thought they were too good for manufacturer recommendations and car builder consensus.

In thanking you and Mitch for your options I decided not to spend the money on something that I feel would look unappealing and you go on a rant. Interesting

 

[Mitch808]

I do have these painted onto my hood. It's subtle and sometimes you can't even see it and then the light hits it just right. Of course a vinyl wrap is substantially cheaper too.

 

[Snomongoose]

Having paint work done anyway so that's an option of the late 60s early 70s SS stripes.

Just would to need to figure a color. The gray looks great!

 

[FlomaxSS]

In thanking you and Mitch for your options I decided not to spend the money on something that I feel would look unappealing and you go on a rant. Interesting

Not a rant, but apologies if perceived as such. You brought up great points that will be very useful to future readers (and hopefully the hood manufacturers). Perhaps I'm a bit overzealous about the safety issue of hood pins. It's because there are still people that disregard minimum safety recommendations (It won't happen to me, mentality). I was trying to push the point by illustrating the worst case scenario.
Thank you for starting this thread and for recognizing the importance of safety and the lives of others.

 

[Snomongoose]

If we wanted light weight cars, then we chose the wrong vehicle all together.

The perception of the cowl induction hood made of carbon fiber interests me but without the required frame work of safety and no provisions provided by the manufacturer is a huge turn off to me.

Mitch did give a good option of the old style SS stripes to make the vehicle you own without losing safety aspect.

I want to replace the hood due to rust on the underside frame where water collected somehow before spring in the Northeast.

 

[FlomaxSS]

If we wanted light weight cars, then we chose the wrong vehicle all together.
-That's why every TBSS owner's second vehicle should be a corvette . A modified TBSS has sleeper appeal, they can be made lighter and/or more aerodynamic and/or much more powerful. Many have found it more satisfying to beat a 6-figure sports car with a black brick than a black bullet.

The perception of the cowl induction hood made of carbon fiber interests me but without the required frame work of safety and no provisions provided by the manufacturer is a huge turn off to me.
-It's probably preventing many would-be cf kaminari admirers from pulling the trigger. The VIS hood is stock-style but going for just a grand now if that helps ease the pain of hood pin installation. Or using this site, find a local member who has done the hood-pin install to help you. Where are you located?
-I agree 100%, The burden of safety provisions should be on the manufacturer... Don't make it any harder for your customers to be as safe as you, yourself (the manufacturer) are recommending for your own product, right?

Mitch did give a good option of the old style SS stripes to make the vehicle you own without losing safety aspect.
-I don't like stripes but the way Mitch had it done looks great.. like ghost stripes almost. I don't think any decals would pull off this look as well as the painted option.

I want to replace the hood due to rust on the underside frame where water collected somehow before spring in the Northeast.
-CF or FG will prevent that rust from ever hurting your TBSS again

Best of luck whichever way you go, it always comes down to picking the lesser of all evils.