Help?!

[derecka4]

Bought this Hood, FINALLY, so excited! I put it on because i was gonna drop it off at the paint shop tomorrow and behold... it doesn't fit. Not even close. Can this be made to fit??? Anyone, please...

[alpinewil81]

Welcome to the world of aftermarket body parts... those look like the gaps my Danko grille had. I wish I could tell you there was an easy way to make it work, but it will likely take a lot of time and money... or just a realignment another direction which leaves a gap at top, bottom, or one side...

What brand is that piece?

[derecka4]

I bought it on Ebay from a company out of Cinci called Liberty Fiberglass, it was really cheap... as you can see. So its not a "brand" i don't think, they just hand make em i believe.

[blkdoutsrt8]

Is the hood sitting higher than the fenders and bumper? I was going to recommend adjusting the rubber stops under the hood. They look like over sized screws. I had to adjust my carbon fiber hood that way and then it fit flush. If its just huge gaps then im sorry because like alpinewil81 said it will prob take alot of time and money to get it perfect. But i do like the placement of the hood scoop.

[derecka4]

In the first couple of pics the hood isnt closed down, it doesnt sit higher than the fenders the lines are actually really good, its just got big gaps, its just too small really

[DartBoy01]

To me, it doesn't really look that bad in the pictures. I'm sure it's worse in person though.

As far as the gaps though, If your lucky and the shop you take it to knows what they're doing they might
be able to push the front fascia in a little to close that gap and make it look alright.

[alpinewil81]

Jul 3, 2012 7:59:41 GMT -7 DartBoy01 said:

To me, it doesn't really look that bad in the pictures. I'm sure it's worse in person though.

As far as the gaps though, If your lucky and the shop you take it to knows what they're doing they might
be able to push the front fascia in a little to close that gap and make it look alright.

Harrison... what is it, a 1980 GMC where you can just push and pull metal around . Just playing.

Problem with the urethane facia on the Charger, even if you try to pull, slot, and adjust the facia you'll have an odd gap where it meets fenders unless you take them with it... and you can't.

One thought would be for the shop to relocate the hood forward on its mounts, close the gap, and maybe simply reshape the two corners at the fender/windsheild gap. Without seeing the mounts and what is reinforced there, I don't know. It appears the hood follows all lines well, just the gaping space at the facia is off by about 3/8".

[Deleted]

That a bummer with the gaps. It does look a little small.

[derecka4]

Think im just gonna buy one from Trufiber, anyone had any experience with this company? Are their hoods good quality and fit?

[gomango]

I have a vfn hood which is a good brand and it still had some fitment issues that my bodyshop had to fix. From the research I have done, with all fiberglass there are going to be a chance that something is not going to be perfect. You can have two hoods from the same company, and both will have a different fit, it just depends on how the fiberglass sets. With my hood the gaps were off a little so he bent the hinges to make it look even, and I have a sag by the scoop where he had to fill to make it level. With all the time he put into it it still was not perfect. He showed me a fiberglass hood for a corvett that was expensive and it still had issues. Like was said above, aftermarket parts don't fit as well as OEM Parts. I would take it to a body shop that deals with fiberglass and find out how much it would cost to make it fit better before buying another hood. That hood you have looks nice and a good shop should be able to get it to fit better. Good luck

[EddyRican]

I agree with Kenn (gomango) I have a carbon by design hood which was not cheap, it's carbon fiber overlaid on fiber glass and there are some gaps, at springfest I saw the same hood on other cars with no gaps, it's kind of the luck of the draw.

[derecka4]

My OEM hood has little fitment issues lol, it dips below both fenders on the side, so i dont think ill be that picky cuz that doesnt bother me too much. But to fix this hood it isnt just bending a hinge or pulling in the front fascia (which is something i will not do) it needs about 1/2" of fiberglass laid on her to make her big enough. If anybody here wants to do it ill sell ya the hood for 100 bucks. But I think im gonna buy one from Trufiber, with them if there is issues they warranty it and replace it. Should have done that to begin with

[derecka4]

So now the REAL question begins: There are two hoods from TruFiber that I am considering, one is a big 3" Ram Air and the other is pretty much the same as the one i have now. I'm thinking about going BIG, let me know what you guys think.

[alpinewil81]

Here's my $0.02. The 3" ram air hood looks great, if it has the two tone like the green one shows. It flows better and doesn't appear as "huge" as the solid color. The red, being the shadow lines in the creases, looks huge and gaudy. Silver may not have that same appeal? But a two tone look on your car would definitely be one to consider with that large 3" hood.

Otherwise, the wider mouth, smaller gap, like what you currently are working with looks sharp and clean.

Here's a thought. Have you taken it to a decent body shop that may be able to make simple mods to fit the hood correctly??? Reason I ask, like you've heard already, welcome to the world of aftermarket fitment. It doesn't matter what brand and quality, it never fits exactly like an OEM part. It would stink to see you buy another hood but still have to pay some coin to get it fitted correctly.... it may be worth having a shop see what their opinion is. Like I mentioned earlier, it may be simply realigning the rear hinge and then reshaping the corners... not a lot of work for the right shop I'm sure.

You saw my grille right? That's what happens with fitment. Moshe at Danko felt I should have just shimmed the bracket to compensate for the gaps. Fine, if I wanted a second rate fit and finish. I've never had fiberglass in the past 15 years truly just 'bolt on" without at least some little headache. I've heard both sides though, some fit great and find no problems, others with the same part have absolute hell... I just was lucky enough to have some friends who always worked in or owned body shops to help me through the rough times.

Keep us up to date man!

[Deleted]

Like the NBA" go BIG or go home" motto. Besides its a charger with muscle!