Need a cowl hood for my 83 elky. Metal or fiberglass? Worried about cracking by hinges on the fiberglass, but like the weight. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

I'm doing a metal 2" cowl myself. I've heard of too many horror stories with fit and cracking of the fiberglas ones.

If your worried about the fiberglass hoods cracking, why not go with a metal cowl induction hood. Original Parts Group...about $499.00 minus your discount.

Every fiberglass hood I've seen is wavy and not smooth. The steel cowl hood is the way to go. They are also available at Honest Charley's. You should be able to get a discount from them as well, if you mention your membership.

Go Steel.

You'll never be completely satisfied with the glass hood. I've got a brand new Harwood fiberglass lift off cowl hood. After I bought it I decided it was a mistake. I'd like to sell it because I'm buying a metal hood.

:mrgreen:

Thanks guys
I was leaning toward the steel myself. You helped me make up my mind.
Has anyone triedf the Goodmark steel cowl hood. Looks nicely finished on the under side and I like the idea of a 2" cowl instead of 3 or 4 inches.
And I think the price is around $429.00.
Thanks again

Goodmark is the one I'm getting. I've nothing but good things about their stuff. I hope to be ordering mine in about a month or so.

Thanks again,

Hey guys, do they make a 4inch "outlaw" style metal cowl? I had to order a fiberglass scoop with that height to get to where I will be able to close my hood. Im this part of Texas(Lubbock) summers are brutally hot, talking in the 100's over half the summers and smoth into September. I am worried about that the will do toa fiberglass hood. Got the fiberglass scoop because I simply spent all my money on the engine, had non left for an entire hood :oops:

Hey Guys;

Before ordering a Goodmark Cowl Hood, hold off a couple days. I just fired off an e-mail to them to see if they'd be willing to offer us a group discount...

Maybe if they see a growth potential for the 4th gen. aftermarket as well, we could be instrumental in paving the way...

www.carhoods.com shows a 2" steel cowl hood sale priced at $399, I don't know if it is of the same quality as the Goodmark hood.

Thanks Mike.....Looks like the same hood with the same parts number and is thirty dollars less, Will help pay for part of shipping.
Thanks again,
Mike

Great, glad I could help, but why not wait a couple of days and see what 87SS can come up with, he's pretty darn good at getting us discounts!

Im lookin to upgrade my 3r gen to a cowl induction hood
If possible add my name to the list for discounts

Roger

Hey Guys;Before ordering a Goodmark Cowl Hood, hold off a couple days. I just fired off an e-mail to them to see if they'd be willing to offer us a group discount...

I'll take one for a 5th gen. :D

I've been putting it off for long enough. This is a really good reason to buy in a group. I'm always motivated by saving a few bucks on something I need anyway.

:mrgreen:

Hang in there everyone...still waiting to here back from the Goodmark folks.... :D

I have a goodmark on my 87 monteSS. great fit/quality

Cowl hoods do really set off the looks of a 5th Gen Elky don't they! I was wondering if anyone has actually made the Goodmark hood functional cowl induction on a 5th Gen by installing the parts off a 70SS. NPD sells all the parts necessary, I am considering this and wondering if it feasible. I'm wondering if the aircleaner, gasket and flange will line up with the position of the hood and motor. I'd like to install the flapper valve also if that's possible, but that would be more for looks.

John Christensen (johncgg), an ECC member, has made a functional cowl induction on his 5th Gen.

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~johncgg/john/cowl.htm

:mrgreen:

Ernie, this is another reason the Goodmark hood is a better choice, all the custom modification is not needed, it's already setup like a 70 SS cowl induction hood the way the frame for the hood is manufactured.

ok, here's what i have in progress to make my goodmark hood fuctional for pennies.



17" GM air cleaner base. (b-body caddy is one example) free
air cleaner spacer from a tbi chevy truck (88+) free
"factory" replacement cowl to hood seal $11.00


remove "air horn" from base & fill all unwanted holes (weld) prime & paint or i may use my powder coater.
cut tbi spacer to aprox. 2 1/4" tall
install seal
add a 14x3 air cleaner and top

done

Sounds like a good low buck project you've come up with, got any pics to go along with this?

Im in for a Fifth gen

no pics yet just finished gathering everything up.


but i'll let you know how it turns out

Original Parts Group...about $499.00 minus your discount.

Does he work for OPG? Or...? I'm kinda confused as to the "minus your discount" part. Just curious.

I do not work for OPG or any other supplier for Elky parts. If you had read all the posts you would have found that I also listed www.carhoods.com also as a source for the cowl hood and at a much cheaper price! I like anyone else look to save a buck or two when I'm looking to start a project and try to do a little research before hand. If I can pass that info on to my fellow members I feel I'm doing my part as an El Camino enthusiast and an ECC member! :cool:

Original Parts Group...about $499.00 minus your discount.

Does he work for OPG? Or...? I'm kinda confused as to the "minus your discount" part. Just curious.

OPG was suppose to be giving ECC members a discount on all purchases. From another thread it seems OPG is not doing that. I believe that was the discount he was referencing.

Yep it was! Thanks Poltergeist, I neglected to point that out. I hope that OPG does get their act together. At almost 1000 members ECC is a pretty large group to ignore. I was planning on purchasing well over $1000 in parts in the next 3 months from OPG. If ECC members all made purchases like that in a years time frame that's $1,000,000 in sales that OPG would do. If OPG doesn't want to offer ECC members a discount, then I wouldn't hesitate to take my business elsewhere! Their loss not mine. I hope they read this and take note!

OPG was suppose to be giving ECC members a discount on all purchases. From another thread it seems OPG is not doing that. I believe that was the discount he was referencing.

Ah, that's what I was thinking. So they aren't honoring any more discounts? What if we all called them at the same time every day for a week? That might change their minds. ;-) ;-)

AHHH yes, :D good idea Electrodynamic! But here we are in the cyberworld. Why not utilize the tools we have been given to the best of our ability. Here is the homepage addy for OPGI, why don't we all e-mail them with a friendly lil comment indicating that ECC does in fact exist and with a membership of almost 1000 Elky owners. Remember be polite, we want them to know we want to do business with them, www.originalpartsgroup.com/homef.asp This will bring up their homepage and then click on to "contact us" left side of page.

...why don't we all e-mail them with a friendly lil comment indicating that ECC does in fact exist and with a membership of almost 1000 Elky owners. Remember be polite...
http://elcaminocentral.com/users/elcamino/eusa_naughty.gif Polite or not, I don't think it's a good idea to send 1000 e-mails to Goodmark while Peter is trying to correct the matter. Let the site administrators handle it for now.

:mrgreen:

http://elcaminocentral.com/users/elcamino/eusa_naughty.gif Polite or not, I don't think it's a good idea to send 1000 e-mails to Goodmark while Peter is trying to correct the matter. Let the site administrators handle it for now.

:mrgreen:

Thanks Ernie! Hopefully the issue with OPG has been resolved with the submission of the members list. As far as GoodMark goes, still no word, But I do have two other contacts that may provide some assistance on that front...Hang in there, I'll keep everyone posted. :cool:

Who made any suggestion as to e-mailing Goodmark, my suggestion was OPGI! From what I've read in the forums on ECC, 1. OPGI offered ECC members a discount and then denied it. 2. Some ECC members ordered OPGIs' catalog and then never received it, even after ordering it twice or after they paid for it. This is just poor business practice on OPGI's part. I would definately like to see the situation corrected. I'm sitting here with a pocket full of money waiting to order parts from them. It's probably not OPGI's fault, it's probably one or two employees that they have working for them that don't give a rats butt about OPGI or their customers! But I'll be patient and wait. :)

Just fired off another e-mail to Goodmark this morning. This time to a real live person that works there rather than the "info" address. Let's see what comes of this one! :cool:

Just fired off another e-mail to Goodmark this morning. This time to a real live person that works there rather than the "info" address. Let's see what comes of this one! :cool:

:) Hey,Put me down for a steel cowl hood for my 82 Elky. Elkysrock

Hey Pete, (87SS) have you been talking to some guy by the name of Michael Lantz from OPGI about a discount? This guy e-mailed me for some reason and wanted me to call him but didn't leave his number, I'm not even sure he's with OPGI.

I was reading through the thread here and read about the problem with OPG discount and was wondering if anything else has been heard about this? Are they now honoring it? Thnaks for any replies i'm planing on ordering some thing from them

camino81

To the best of my knowledge that issue has been resolved with the submission of our members list. But be aware that currently I only update them once a month. I planned on sending a new list out tomorrow to the vendors that have agreed to give us discounts....

Thanks

so, whats the deal with the cowl hoods? is a group buy happening? would they drop ship too all different locatiosn with it?

one other question i had about it, does the cowl hood line up with the monte carlo/camaro/malibu front end. I planned on putting that on my car sometime in the future, and can't justify spending 400 now for osmethin that i'll need to replace down the road anyways.

thanks guys, as always you guys rock!

hey guys, sorry for the double post...thought this was interesting, got it off maliburacing.com

I'VE GOT A HARDWOOD 4" OUTLAW BOLTON. I HESITATED BECAUSE OF PRICE. GOT THROUGH SUMMIT FOR ABOUT $425 PLUS TRUCK FREIGHT OF $60. BOLTED IT ON AND COULDN'T BE ANY HAPPIER. FITS GOOD, FINISH IS STRAIGHT, A REAL QAULITY HOOD. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! I UNDERSTAND BEING ON A BUDGET, IVE BEEN PIECING THIS CAR TOGETHER FOR 6 YEARS.


have you looked into getting a summit discount? (hope you can't cause i just spent 500$ at summit, and if we get a discount i'll be :evil: )

I'd get a Goodmark...wish they made one for the 73-77's

Who knows if we get enough 4th gen people together possibly we can convince them it is worth the time and money to start producing the parts for the 73 ~77 Chevy specifically the Elky but in general Chevy.

Maybe if we got everyone on Doc's site and CT and here to petition them it could be worth it to them and us. I'd like to see some panels and hoods from Goodmark, they generally use GM molds and specs.

Tell me who to lobby and it shall be done...

Who knows if we get enough 4th gen people together possibly we can convince them it is worth the time and money to start producing the parts for the 73 ~77 Chevy specifically the Elky but in general Chevy.

Maybe if we got everyone on Doc's site and CT and here to petition them it could be worth it to them and us. I'd like to see some panels and hoods from Goodmark, they generally use GM molds and specs. Pete I dropped Goodmark a line asking about any 4th gen plans in the near future...Got a note back....Sorry no plans at this time. :-(

Just fired off another e-mail to Goodmark this morning.... Let's see what comes of this one!

Peter, did anything ever come of the e-mail? Is there going to be a "Group Buy" for Goodmark cowl hoods?

:mrgreen:

Ernie;

No, they never even responded...so I guess they won't deal with us as a group.

But, Stephen at Dixie Monte Carlo Depot has the Goodmark hood for $389- $19 (ECC/NECOA Discount), I don't know if you'll be able to beat that deal.

Seems to me with all these people wanting a cowl hood for their Elky. Someone must have a GOOD deal on a stock one pretty quick. Hopefully close to the Houston area i will pick it up.

So if the cowl hood is not functional, the scoop is just there for looks?

So if the cowl hood is not functional, the scoop is just there for looks? This is what everyone is after, it is functional. http://www.dixiemontecarlodepot.com/p/DM10026_l.jpg

85-ss-elky I have a stock one i'll give you if you want to pay shipping from indiana.

I just Bought a 2" steel cowl hood from GoodMark and I am very pleased with mine. I have had it about one month now. You can check out my 86 elcamino that I am restoring at http://members.cardomain.com/elmino

HMMM how much would shipping on a hood cost from Indiana to Texas? If i was local would come get it!

So my brother is the original owner of an '81 Z28 with the Cowl Induction that engages when you stomp on it (you know, the louver rotates up to let the air in).

When you add the 2" cowl hood, what's the next part of the package? Is there a louver that opens to allow the air in and what mod's do you need to do to the air-cleaner?

I'm looking to order my hood in the spring. It was great to hear that glass is not the way to go. I'll be dropping in regulary to keep posted on costs, and discounts for ECC members.

Sneaky Pete ...

Your brothers 81 Z28 did not come from the factory with the flapper door stock. If I am correct Chevy quit making this option in 72. However if you use a Goodmark steel hood, you should be able to fit the flapper door to the hood because the steel hoods have the inner bracing whereas the fiberglass hoods do not. Most of the parts are available from National Parts Depot (NPD), order their catalog for Chevelles/El Caminos. Year One more than likely also carries the pieces. Some custom fabricating/fitting by you will be required to do this project, but it shouldn't be anything major. Take your time and plan everything out first before you make that cut in the hood. I also plan doing this project at a later date and have already been planning it out somewhat. It would be nice if you could do a post here with pics if you do this project . I'm sure us older guys who remember the real flapper valve cowl induction hoods have thought about doing this to our 5th gens also. It was very intimidating to have a 70 SS 454 Chevelle pull up along side of you with the true cowl induction hood and rev his motor while you watch that valve open and close, kinda like a mean old junk yard dog growling and showing his teeth at you and you ain't got no where to run! Good luck and take your time to do it right the first time...those hoods ain't cheap! 8)

This is a great site and you guys sure know a lot of stuff, but... you couldn't be more wrong on this "flapper" thing.

I just got off the phone with my brother who ordered the car and he says that all Z28's with 350's had those. His only options that he added were the interior noise/insulation package and A/C. The decals, paint scheme, Engine / Auto / Posi combo was all stock. As was the "flapper" Cowl Induction. He didn't take the power windows and locks, no T-tops, no optional wheels.

The Cowl stopped working years ago and my brother has parked the car recently untill he decides what to do with it. But when it worked, it looked really cool and the car sounded great. I always thought the car was too heavy and underpowered.

So, anyone wannna take another stab at how to added the "flapper" to the 2" Cowl.

... Sneaky Pete

You know as hard as it is to find good quality parts for the 4th generation El Caminos and the 2nd generation GMC Sprints you'd think that they would be way more collectable, well I would anyway. I would also think because of their apparent rarity in the automotive aftermarket industry they would be worth their weight in gold when in original condition and in pristine shape. But none of that is actually the case.

I understand the economics of the situation for the aftermarket people. Popularity, and numbers that gets attention. I would hope that one day soon we'll be able to get parts that are impossible to find right now but I don't count on it. I am just thankful that we can get what we have now available. Window felts, Rubber seals and gaskets some door parts and some other essential items that keep us rolling. The body is a biggy and it is a last hurdle, in my opinion and we can get some of that now but not a lot. I'd like to see bumpers, Bed trim and body trim as well as front fenders, hoods and the smuggler's box lids, some floor pans would be really great too.

The 70's were just not known for producing vehicles with any appreciable power or outstanding characteristics. We owners know that is a "minor adjustment to make" and with some creative diligence that can be overcome. Power plants are power plants and are pretty generic in nature. With today's technology and advances very acceptable replacement parts can be purchased to overcome the limitations built into the original power plant and drive train for pretty much any vehicles. So that is not an issue anymore.

We only have 19 (nineteen) 4th generation member registered in the 4th generation owners group. Out of over 1600 members only 19 of us own 4th generation El Camino or 2nd generation Sprints. That is why we can't get any parts people's attention. We're a rare breed indeed. It just means we have more tenacity than some to deal with problems and create solutions.

I just read that long posting that followed my last little bit, and I'm sorry but I don't get the drift of what that response was trying to say and how it was related to my question.

I'm trying to get info on how to get a functional Cowl Induction working on my '80 SS 305, like the Cowl Induction on the '81 Z28's.

What I really need to find out is if people are making this mod when they bolt on the 2" Cowls or if there is another mod to get the air in, or are people just doing this for show? I would like to get a functioning Cowl Induction, like the '70 454SS or the '81 Z28 for my 305.

And what is the linkage or system that makes it open? On my brother's Z, I know that it seemed to be related to a combination of RPM, throttle pressure, and who knows what. It was not mechanical or linear (meaning you push the gas - it opens).

Maybe the easy thing to do is just take the top off a junked Z motor and transplant the air-cleaner and bits and graft the working "flapper" onto the new 2" Cowl Hood. Maybe I should just take the whole engine out of my brother's Z and put that in my 80SS!

So I hope you didn't think I was being critical, because I wasn't. And my car is a 5th gen 80SS. I don't get what all that 70-ish stuff was about.

I hope that more owners of the 70 cars will join the clubs and strengthen your market appeal for the aftermarket suppliers. Other than that let's just all keep sharing the info and ideas on how to get the most fun out of these really cool cars.

...Sneaky Pete

I just read that long posting that followed my last little bit, and I'm sorry but I don't get the drift of what that response was trying to say and how it was related to my question.
http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sprachlos/speechless-smiley-019.gif I'm really not sure what Pete was trying to say either.

Check out this link for John Christensens site. John is also a member of ECC. He modified his fiberglass hood and air cleaner to be true cowl induction. I'm not sure if this is what you had in mind.

http://home.earthlink.net/~johncgg/john/cowl.htm

:mrgreen:

bolt on? i am very well pleased with the quality and fit with my harwood 4 inch. great finnish on undersides . rember if all things in life was free and easy we would all have nice things . and to get a group buy on goodmark i bet if everone here sent you the cash and you drive to there plant then they might give you a %10 discount if you were luckey. and if you can gather up $1,000,000 then you could make a power buy. like everone here is gonna choke up $1000. hahahahhahahah

The original flapper valve that is mounted on top of the hood (not at the back) that was available as an option on the 70-72 SS Chevelles is the true cowl induction hood with the flapper valve(door). The raised hood that does not have the valve (door) is also a cowl induction hood, this is what most of us are accustomed to seeing. These are functional cowl induction hoods provided you use an air cleaner and gasket to marry up with the hole in the hood. As you increase speed, air pressure builds up on the surface of your windshield forcing air into the cowl opening which if you have the right air cleaner, forces air into the carb, the faster you go the higher the air pressure. If you do not have the correct air cleaner the hood does not act as true cowl induction and the air that enters through the radiator into your engine compartment will exit out through the cowl opening...works great for melting ice and snow on your windshield in the winter, but it won't increase performance. Some guys modify fiberglass hoods to work by fabricating some type of custom box that connects to the air cleaner. With Goodmark hoods this is not necessary because of the way the inner hood bracing is designed, but you have to have the correct air cleaner to go along with it. Realistically the flapper valve is pretty much for looks and only slightly increases the amount of pressurized air induced into the carb. The opening in the back of the hood at the base of the windshield is what it's all about. The valve(door) is operated by vaccuum, electrical, and mechanical linkage. And as I stated most of these parts are available from NPD. And sneakerpete your probably right...I couldn't be more wrong on the subject of cowl induction! :)

... '81 Z28 with the Cowl Induction...
Technically speaking, it was not cowl induction. The 80-81 Z28 had a functional solenoid operated air-intake hood scoop. The hood is punched with two oval shaped holes directly over the air cleaner assembly. The Z28 hood scoop was bolted over these two holes.

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/1293/80zscoop.jpg

:mrgreen:

So thanks lots to "the-elcamino-factory" for the info on the cowl induction and how it's supposed to work. And thanks to the next thread, I now know that my brother's 81 Z28 had a functional solenoid operated hood scoop. There are obviously some talented, knowledgeable and dedicated people in this club.

So here's a couple of questions left after sifting this all out. When you had the flapper cowl induction working on the 70 SS, are you saying that the flapper was more for show and the real work was done at the back at the windshield (like a 2 stage system), or was the flapper the whole story? And are you also saying that for the set-up with just the raised cowl hood and appropriate air-cleaner that the cowl induction is engaged all the time (winter, rain, etc.)?

And lets get this last bit out of the way. What is the difference between hood scoops, ram-air and cowl induction, and the pro's and con's of each of these?

And to "the-elcamino-factory", you obviously know about cowl induction. All I was saying about the 81Z was that the flapper was stock. If I'm reading between the lines correctly, the Z did not have cowl induction at all, just a trick hood scoop.

... Sneaky Pete (I'm learnin' lots - Thanks!!)

We are actually talking about 2 hoods here. 1. The raised cowl induction hood with the opening in the back (you can now buy these for many vehicles). 2 The same raised cowl induction hood with the opening at the back but with the optional flapper valve on the top of the raised hood that was produced for some 1970-72 SS Chevelles/El Caminos. The flapper valve opens and closes based on your foot operating the gas pedal (it's really a lot more technical than that but I'm keeping it simple) Hit the gas it opens, let off the gas it closes. It does help with large CFM carbs when you punch the car from a dead stop, it allows the carb to suck cold air almost directly into it (after it passes thru the air filter. The cowl induction hood available from Goodmark and other sources for various vehicles including 5th gen Elkys does not come with the flapper valve...but could probably be installed on it (probably not a good idea if it's a fiberglass hood). The flapper valve is not needed to make a cowl induction hood functional...what is needed is an air cleaner setup that allows air to be sucked in from the opening in the back of the hood. Most front facing hood scoops really do very little for forcing air into your carb...they allow cold air to be sucked in based on what the needs of the engine are, but most hood scoopes are in a low pressure area of the hood therefore they suck air in rather than forcing air in. This is why you see Prostocks with those big hoodscoopes on them. The opening on those scoopes is out of the low pressure area of the of hood. The low pressure area of a hood is created by air hitting the front of your car at the front edge of your hood, and then skimming almost over the roof of your car. The high and low pressures of each vehicle is different due to it's design. This is why there is wind tunnel testing done on vehicles. The best induction system for a street car is probably the one you don't see...it uses ducting that allows air to be forced in, the opening may be mounted in the grill or underneath the bumper because this area of a car becomes a high air pressure area the faster the vehicle goes, of course there's more dirt that gets picked up too. A cowl induction hood works because not all the air that hits the front of the hood, passes completely over the roof of the car. The high pressure air hits the middle to top of the windshield and then disperses on the surface of the windshield and then around the sides of the car ...it is this area that the cowl hood with the opening in the back takes advantage of. Wind tunnel testing is very expensive. Next time it's lightly raining take your car out on the highway (turn off the wipers) and watch the way beads of water react on your hood and on your windshield ( it's even more noticeable if you have RainX on your windshield. Remember each car is different!!! Aerodynamics...I hope I didn't confuse anyone.

so are we having a group buy on steel hoods or what?

Just wanted to let everyone know about my misfortunes with fiberglass a cowl induction hood. I bought the cowl induction hood from Unlimited Products in Hesparia, CA. The worse mistake I've ever made. It doesn't fit. It's supposed to come ready to paint after some light sanding, but there's all kinds of pits in it that would require filling. Customer service for Unlimited Products is probably the worst I've seen anywhere. I've written two letters and called numerous time to get this disaster resolved. So far I keep getting the run around and supposedly this coming Monday the person I need to talk to will be in the office. I check with the BBB in CA, (something I should of done in the first place) and they are rated with an, "Unsatisfactory Record." http://www.bbbsouthland.org/ I definately learned a lesson on this one. My bad.

so are we having a group buy on steel hoods or what? The best deal I could manage was $25 over cost plus shipping directly from Goodmark through a 2nd party. I still think I can work a better deal...

I've tried to talk with Goodmark reps in the past at SEMA, and they were far from friendly, especially when I asked if they had a sponsorship program. Goodmark makes one of the best hoods on the market, and they know it. It's my experience that you'll never get a response from the generic info@businessname.com address because everybody and their mother gets on there and asks for free stuff. You pretty much have to know someone on the inside, who either has the authority to do the deal or is really close with whomever has the authority. I've been given the run around by too many subordinates on the bottom rung of the totem pole who promise me that they can get me a deal. Never waste your time with anyone who doesn't have the power to make the choice.

theelcaminofactory knows his stuff. Not to add fuel to the fire, but weren't cowl induction techniques pioneered by Smokey Yunick? I remember seeing pictures of one of his racecars that had a huge sheetmetal airbox with an opening that ran the entire length of the cowl, yet was designed to fit under the stock hood. Talk about tits, the thing was as cherry as they come.

Anyone ever done a second gen Trans Am style shaker hood on an El? I've always wanted to, and I was curious if anyone had some pictures so I could see what it looked like. If I ever win the powerball I'm going to do an El Camino/Trans Am Super Duty hybrid, kinda like a "What if Pontiac made an El Camino?" You could freak some people out with a fake factory build sheet, a window sticker and the whole nine yards. Ah, the dreams of the young and the penniless.