[Shotimes] Hood question

[James F. Ryan III]

From: "John Miller" <jem@milleredp.com>

> True, though once you start cutting into one you end up amazed by the
> amount of metal in them, Budd was obviously under orders from Ford to make
> sure the thing was as heavy as a steel hood, that it would crush at the
> same rate as a steel hood in a crash, that it would use the same struts
and
> hinges as a steel hood, and the end result came out a lot like a steel
> hood.

Excellent point, John.  Many people desire the Plus hood because they equate
fiberglass/plastic with light weight.  However, after almost 12 years of
owning my '91 Plus I would tell people that it's not light weight - but they
wouldn't believe me.  After I installed my SHO Shop front strut tower brace
and had to eliminate the hood struts, I would still tell people it wasn't
light - but they wouldn't believe me.  Earlier this year Mark Nunnally
weighed both SHO hoods (steel and Plus) and found that the Plus hood was
only 10 lbs lighter than the steel.

So if there's any reason for wanting the Plus hood it is for its rarity.
Each time I drive my '91 I worry about some moron running into me head on -
bye bye Plus hood, police grille, and SHO front bumper - none of which were
produced in great numbers and are not available new anymore.  You got me all
depressed.  :^(

> Of course, the way they made them pretty much guaranteed they'd come apart
> sooner or later - the outer skin has a layer of aluminum foil glued to it,
> then the inner structure was glued to the foil.  One side or the other
> would invariably separate from the foil.  If they'd just bothered to punch
> some holes in the foil, all would have been well...

Like I said earlier, 11 years and counting and no signs of "delamination".
Yay, I'm happy again - not really.


Jim Ryan - Wayne, NJ
91 Plus - all white/mocha
FPS 96 brakes, Carbotech pads, LPM and 80mm MAF w/ K&N and SHO Shop can &
horn, SHO Shop Y-pipe and cat-back w/ Edelbrock mufflers, KONIs with SHO
Shop linear springs, f&r strut tower braces and poly bushings all around,
HiRevs Jr clutch and lightweight flywheel, underdrive pulleys, torque
limiters, Cincy SHO reinforced engine mounts, Bridgestone Potenza RE730
tires (excellent), and police grille.