Adding a Fiberglass Mustang Hood can increase cold air flow, decrease heat and drastically change the look of your Mustang. Fiberglass hoods for Mustangs have been around since the 1960's and have evolved over time while getting stronger, lighter, more functional and stylish.
Some of us old school Gearheads remember the Mustang fiberglass hoods from the original Mustangs; the GT350 and GT500KR were outfitted with fiberglass hoods. Back in the day fiberglass hoods were used as a weight savings measure. It was not uncommon for OEM from the 60's to weigh in access of 100 lbs, these hoods were thick gauge steel, lined with a felt-like material and help up by massive springs.
Fiberglass was first developed in 1932 by the Owens company which later became Owens Corning. Initially used in the aviation industry to replace molded wood. Fiberglass caught on in the 1950's in the production of boats and sports cars. Saving weight was the advantage with fiberglass and owning a fiberglass hoods became the desire of many drag racing enthusiasts. The formula was simple decrease weight and go faster.
One of the issues of early fiberglass hoods were the Hood Spring Mechanism they were too strong and caused the hoods to bow. The OEM Hood Spring Mechanism were designed to work with the heavier steel hoods not the lightweight fiberglass hoods. Sometimes mixing aftermarket parts with OEM designs does not make a winning combination.
Let's fast-forward to 2012, there are many Mustang Hoods on the market today in many different styles from cowl, retro look to Super Snake. One thing that has not changed is that all composite hoods require proper prepping before paint and proper prepping means blocking sanding. Don't be fooled by a paint shop that tells you they can paint a fiberglass hood for $400... ..RUN LIKE HELL. I recently visited a local Mustang Speed Shop here in San Diego and one of their customers had his 2007 GT500 there being serviced, the Shelby was outfitted with a Venom Hood by Trufiber, whoever did the painting did a HORRIBLE job, the hood had more orange peel than a grapefruit and was not properly block sanded or wet sanded. My guess is the hood was painted for under $500 and it showed.
