sx455raidercelticfan

hi, i just found a 70 OAI hood for a good price but some1 took the screen off, its a real 70 OAI, and looks great its not wavy at all and only has 1 lil crack that i can see but its been painted a few times so i dont know if its been repaired, it only has a little surface rust starting on the frame by the nose of the hood, it looks great 2 me but i dont know what 2 look 4

do you think ill be able 2 find a used screen?? and if not does any1 make aftermarket screens??

its been painted a few times so the paint is real thick, should OAI's be stripped down 2 fiberglass or just sanded down and painted?? if they can be stripped can they be soda blasted??

is there anything special i should check twice b4 i buy it?? this is only my 2nd OAI so i really dont know what 2 look 4!! i would hate 2 buy it and find a major problem later but i want 2 buy it fast b4 some1 else gets 2 it, thanks again every1

2blu442

I'm not sure who makes them but I've seen repop screens on ebay. It sounds to me like your looking at the right things, that the metal frame isn't rusty, that its not bent, tweaked or lots of lumps in the fiberglass. Someone with more experience than me will have to comment on what to do before painting. If the price is right I'd go for it. Factory hoods are not very common to find and often quite expensive when you do find them. My 2 cents worth!
John

svnt442

I have to ask this. Are you 100% sure it's an original hood and not a Thorntons repop? They use a metal frame like the originals and don't come with a screen. Are the weld marks on the frame from where the screen would have been? That is a good indicator that it's original.

sx455raidercelticfan

it really looked like a 40 year old original hood, i didnt see any weld marks but i did see holes for screws in the 4 corners where the screen would of went where would the weld marks be??

D Appeldorn

Can't see how it looks.

But if you sand down the paint and it looks ok just respray it.
if it have a weather worn look under it or cracks rework it with fiberglas and bondo

you could ask a bodyschop what they would do

the last methode you gonna strengthen your hood as new, just the same methode as they do on the tubyware chebby's

that what i would do with it

2blu442

The factory screen wasn't held on by screws but small tac welds. I've got an original hood on my 1970 and sometime in it's past a previous owner removed the screen. I'm guessing it was to clean leaves and debris out of the hood. If you have the money and the price is right, I'd not waste too much time deciding. Even the Thorton repops aren't cheap. John

My442

There is a company in Penn. that makes exact copies of the screen.

ASC&P...they are usually in Hemmings.

ELECMAN

The parts place sells the replacement screen for under the hood did mine last year check out there website its called a hood screen $39 bucks

sx455raidercelticfan

thanks i should of bought it the 1st day i seen it, now the guys says hes busy im sosposed 2 go back wednesday 2 buy it!! im going 2 be pissed if i dont get it!!!!! ill never find another1 for $700

stevengerard

thats a great price and you can soda blast it, mine looked pretty crazy after the blasting, white and dark grey. The shop used a new special primer (supposedly) that is for old fiberglass that "treats" it. All I know is it does look great now that its done

ROCKET VAPOR

Are there any other ways or methods to tell the difference between a Thornton hood and a original 1970 Oldsmobile ram-air hood, other that the spot welds for the underhood screen???

BlackGold

I heard that the back lip, back by the cowl, on the Thornton hoods is too thick for the stainless trim to fit over. Of course, if someone already modified it, that wouldn't help. I've also heard that some holes on the underside are different than the originals, but I couldn't tell you which ones.

sx455raidercelticfan

well i drove 3.5 hours and spent $65 on gas 2day and ended up with nothing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ive tried 2 go pick up the hood and 255 carb for 3 days and the guy kept saying he was busy untill wed at 5, i left at 4 and it ended up taking a little over 2 hours 2 get there in traffic, as i was pulling up i could see them tieing the hood down on a pick up truck, sure enough the carb and hood were sold 1200 for both the guy who bought them was happy as can be!! he said he got thee at 4 and waited for him 2 get home at 530, IM SO SICK i cant believe i missed out on the steal of a life time, i should of bought the hood this weekend, DAM THIS SUCKS

stevengerard

if there is one thing I have learned about this hobby is that if one can be patient there will always be another deal. It blows I know, but whether its a cigarette lighter or a set of F-heads eventually one shows up at a decent price while another shows up at twice what they are going for.

Bobac455

I have a screen that I removed from my all metal hood that was on the car when I bought it. Mine was held on by several sheet metal screws. How important is it to have this screen installed? If it is just to make it look original, then I will give it to you for the price of shipping. If it is necessary to keep dirt out, I'd like to know. I run an air filter without any ram air connections.

stevengerard

I think it was made to keep out marbles, the screening is too big to keep out dirt and the hood scoop is too short in height to let a bird in. Maybe it was designed to keep a bluegill out of the carb.

sx455raidercelticfan

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!! but i missed the hood by a hour!!!!!

BlackGold

Believe it or not, the screen on the OAI hoods had nothing to do with keeping out debris. It is an EMI shield that keeps the ignition system from interfering with the radio.

Bobac455

Who would have guessed that?? I'm suitably impressed.

BlackGold

No need to guess -- it's stated in the Chassis Service Manual. As I recall, the manual devotes an entire page to a figure showing various items on the car which are used for RFI supression.

Amazing what you can learn by reading the instruction book!

kjr442

Just a question, I am wondering if the fact that a steel hood is steel,then it did not need a RFI suppression/debris screen and was the steel under structure on a ram air not good enough or was the screen just for debris and also as added a bonus worked as a RFI suppression device.

BlackGold

The size of the holes in perforated metal (or a screen) determines the wavelength/frequency of radio waves that will either pass through or be blocked (shorted to "ground," actually). So no, the steel frame of an OAI hood would not block the RFI; it's holes are much too large and would allow far too much interference through, especially the higher frequencies.

Believe it or not, all those ventilation holes in your consumer electronics (PCs, etc) are engineered to halp the unit pass FCC tests. They aren't random or just a pretty pattern.

kjr442

OK,and I am not trying to come off like a smart A, but I have another question. Is it only the non steel hoods that need the steel screening? I am just asking to learn, and right now it sounds like you have all the answers. Thanks.

Bobac455

I'm going to guess that it all depends on what radio you are installing and what distributor you have. If it is the original model radio and you have your original distributor with points, you will need RF supression. My car has MSD electronic ignition and a Custom Auto Sound radio and I get no interference at all without using the screen.

BlackGold

I won't argue whether you will or wont hear interference on your radio. There's way too many factors involved, and you can bet that newer radios are inherently less prone to interference.

The steel hoods don't need a screen, because they are already the perfect shield. When the interfering waves hit the steel, they are immediately shorted to ground, that is, the car's body. With a fiberglass hood without a screen, the waves go right through the fiberglass (except where they hit the steel frame). The screen looks just like solid steel to the waves, at least for the frequencies we're concerned about.

nelsontj

Those with aftermarket steel framed OAI hoods - how did you install the screen?...tack weld, screws,...?

I came across an interesting OAI hood experience someone had. The body shop I go to has a 1972 Cutlass Supreme, with an all fiberglass OAI hood (no steel frame) where the pin on one of the locks came loose (driver's side). Once the air grabbed it, the hood flew over the roof and hit the trunk, putting a crease in it before landing in the road behind the car.

sx455raidercelticfan

the same thing happend 2 my friends car, he paid me 5k 2 do the body work and paint the car real cobalt kandy blue and with in a week the hood flew off but it didnt hit the car he was going so fast it flew over the car and slid on the ground, the bolts ripped out the fiber glass he didnt have hood pins

kjr442

Bobac455

My OAI steel hood had the screen fastened with very short sheet metal screws requiring holes to be drilled in the underside of the hood frame. This is the way it was when I bought the car. I don't know how the factory did it or if they even manufactured the OAI hood in steel. I've heard that all 442's came from the factory with fiberglass OAI hoods but then I'm no expert.

svnt442

The factory OAI hood has a steel skeleton with a fiberglass skin.

kaz442

FYI, I just hauled a Thorton hood for somebody and it had the screen tac welded in place.
JKaz