Time to get a hood on this thing!
The project began with a donor hood from a scrapped car. Bolted it to the hinges and set the hood down on the engine… and this is where it stopped. We’re going to need to get out the grinder!
Cut a big ol’ hole and now it closes.
That’s it! Hood’s done.
Ok, perhaps not quite. With the hood cut to clear we can see how much of the engine sits proud of the NA hood line:
Made a template for the contour needed in the hood:
Time to get the actual hood. I’ve had this one sitting in my garage waiting for this project. It’s a dry carbon piece with integrated headlight lids. Not the prettiest finish on it since it was a function-only part and I got it second-hand but it’s going to be covered in matching livery with the rest of the car when all is done. Transferred the template over to the carbon hood:
The “cut once, measure twice” point… or was it the other way around?
After many, many times of cutting, test fitting, cutting a bit more, etc. (also cut a slot for the tow hook):
Then installed the Aerocatch latches:
And it’s done! I’ll be adding louvers and a radiator exit duct later, but this gets the hood fitting the car and suitable for driving:
There will be more going on on the hood when it’s done too, so it’ll look less out of place than your typical blank hood with just a hole cut for something to stick through. With the big radiator exit duct just forward of where the intake manifold sticks through, and with the hood wrapped in matching tricolor livery I think it will look great. At least, I have it envisioned in my head and I like what I’m seeing…