Looking to get an OAI Hood for a 1970 442 convertible. Any recommendations on the best place to get a good quality hood?

 

Best reproduction hood would be from Thorntons restorations in PA. Expect tp pay around 2500 if they are producing them right now? The parts place, Tamaraz and glass tek are just a few others with different versions and there are others too pricing varies 400-1500 ish. Some are all fiberglass and some are fiberglass with metal frame which tend to be a little better. How they fit will also vary besides the Thorntons hood.
I see your a new member here. This topic has been discussed numerous times over the years. Do a thread search for OAI hood, fiberglass hood, w-30 hood are just a few options. There might even be some for sale here?

 

I did a lot of research before buying an OAI hood. The consensus I found was, as scrappie said, that the Thornton hood was best. My car's painter said the Thornton hood needed very little prep.

I don't believe Thornton is currently producing the hood. I've read that they will start production again about February 2020 at a price of around $3000.

 

Thanks very much for the advice. Went with the Thortons hood in the end. Any suggestions on the Tongue - plastic vs steel?

 

Get a metal repro or a GOOD original. You're going with a nice Thornton hood so why "cheap it" with a likely-substandard repro plastic piece? If looking at originals you need to make sure they aren't warped or deformed from collision damage, etc. and a lot of sellers don't know what to look for to assess their condition. In that regard the repro metal is probably your best bet.

 

Just spoke with Thornton. They just sold their last two 70 hoods last week. They have the fiberglass tops in stock and are expecting the steel bases to be available in the next two weeks or so. I was told that it would likely be 6 to 8 weeks before they had finished hoods ready to go.

 

Rand, did they quote you a price by chance?

 

I did not ask this time. But a year or so ago I bought what they told me was the last one they had in stock and when they were available again the would be going up from $2499 to $2999. I don't know whether they followed up on that increase or not. I can tell you that, having had my body shop spend something like 40 hours trying to get an original hood repaired and flat that I will never use an original again. My Thornton hood took maybe 5 hours to get it where it needed to be.

 

They are $2999 now plus shipping and worth every penny.

 

I saw a restored W30 years ago at an OCA national event and they used a Thornton's OAI hood. It was an awesome piece. If you can't find an original GM hood, Thornton's is as close as you'll ever get in a repo. Actually it's better than a GM hood IMO because most likely it's made with better materials than the original and you'll probably never find an NOS GM OAI hood (if you couldit would be priced out of this world) so you'd be dealing with a nice older part that would need some minor to major prep or repairs.

Thank goodness when my brother bought my 1972 442 back in the late 70's / early 80's it came with the OAI hood and all the Ram Air stuff for the top of the carb. Thornton's is the way to go in reproduction. But then, I can understand funding and sometimes you have to go for a lesser repro. You just have to decide what your budget for the restoration can handle.

Good luck with your restoration!

OLE442