anubiscougar

Alright, this weekend, i picked up a ws6 style ram air hood for my 88 TA, and.. it like, goes on & all, but, it's to the left a bit(looking at the car from the front), and the front latches fine, but the sides are up...

Do you think i just need to have the company send me a diff hood, or, would this one work, just needs new hood hinges or some working with? cuz... i don't really wanna do pins to keep the sides down, i really don't.

88txiroc

I had to let mine "settle" for a week or so. The side were up like yours, and the ends by the cowl stuck up a bit. After a while, it just seemed to fit better. Got it painted and now it looks great.

I did use hood pins on the front, due to the hood "floating" at high speeds.

Make sure your hood stops are adjusted all the way down. If still there, take the rubber off of them, too. If you have a STB, might want to take that off and see if it helps. Had to sell my STB because the hood would not sit down right with it on.

HTH

anubiscougar

stb?


and the rubber things are completely gone. i took them off to see if it'd help... didn't.. maybe i will just let it set for a bit.. still gotta get the side stuff though.

88txiroc

A Strut Tower Brace.

trans_am_ta_84

aligning hoods are a pain. could be a few things. if you lift the hood up there are them little black rubber things you can screw up and down.. to adjust your hood. that is probably the problem but if you adjust that and it still doesn't look right.. make sure you got a few helpign hands and lossen the bolts back up and make sure the hood is slid to were it has to be. putting a new hood on isn't going to be perfectly aligned in one shot. it's definitely a pain in the ***. good luck


edit.. sorry i didn't read anybody elses posts and didn't see the stops subject already came up.. so give the bolts a few shots. when you losen the bolts up on the side thats up and push down on it make sure that the hood wasn't up too far, i would keep checking them bolts because they oblong the holes for that reason

anubiscougar

still, what's a strut tower brace, i'm guessing a peice on the hood hinge?

See... here's the main problem.. i can live with it being to one of the sides a bit... but it seems as if the hood just isn't being pushed down far enough in the front... i took out all the rubber stoppers... When i press down on the hood, where you'd put hood pins, the hood is almost fine.. espically on the right side(looking straight on at the car), but the left is still off a bit... i don't want to do pins... Maybe the hood was warpped from being in the manufacturer's trailer, from tennessee?

Imma give it a week, like 88 said, and if it's still all screwy by then, well, i'll call the manufacturer, and ask them... Also, my fender is messed up, so imma put on the new one and see if that fixes anything.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

Dont worry, an STB is an aftermarked add-on, and if you dont know about it, then you dont have one. Its a piece which ties both strut towers together.

The hood not sitting right isnt your fault. There has been a recent rash around here with these hoods not fitting, demostrating the exact problem you have. Alot of people claim that no fiberglass hoods fit correctly without work, which is sometimes true. Alot also claim that the age of these cars causes the frames to warp and settle... this is true also. BUT, the hood fitment issue you, as with MANY others discribe, is a manufactures defect, plain and simple, which has yet to be dealt with. The problem is that the hood does not follow the curve of the front end, resulting in the hood almost looking flat, where in reality it should be domed. I will not buy one until the issue is properly addressed by the manufacturer.

anubiscougar

figured it was either the bar that went accross or part of the hinges.


& possibly i shall send the hood back in after about a week, after i get my fender on & see how it all works out then.

thx for the info about the hoods..

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

If you decide to send it back, be careful that they dont do this to you: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=209287

Read it all the way through... Id hate to see you lose some of your money.

anubiscougar

booo...

why do i see hood pins in my future?

nolanr0413

i wish i put hood pins on my car then the hood would look perfect . i also notice that when i take the car over 100 or somthing around there the hood floats, i would like the look of pins or quarter turn fasteners.

Orinackra

Nah, you don't need hood pins. If your hood won't adjust down anymore, just adjust the fenders and the front clip up.

anubiscougar

clip up, you mean the latch..?

LUVmy92

I think he is saying the whole front end of the car , both fenders and bumper cover, by front clip. Thats what I consider the front clip. It might sound like a lot of work but it could be what is making it not fit.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

Why should you adjust the front clip? Its not meant to be adjusted up and down, so why do it? Also, think of this: If you raise the front clip, how the hell is it going to align with the doors? The whole point is that you shouldnt have to rig the hell out of your car to get a damn $600 hoof to fit marginally ok.

Again, read the link I posted, and youll see that Trigger did try to even adjust his front clip with over 1/2" of shims, and it STILL didnt line up!!!

LUVmy92

You people are hell bent to get ASCD arent you? How do you know his car wasnt wrecked and him never know about it but the body shop did a pretty good job but not the best and needs some fine tuning? Also how the hell do you expect an AFTERMARKET product to fit like it rolled out of a GM assembly plant? If that hood says GM I would be pissed but IT DOESNT. Yes there will be some hoods that wont work but its fiberglass NOT steel. Fiberglass thats been shipped on a truck and bounced around. Fiberglass IS known for warping so how do you expect every hood to be perfect.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

So what now, is everybodys car that orders a Ram Air II hood previously wrecked? Give me a friggin break moron, Im getting tired of this BS excuse. Ill make this simple for those of you who have a hart time understanding:

THE HOOD WAS MADE WRONG. THE FIREBIRDS FRONT END IS CURVED, AND THE RAII HOOD IS FLAT. IT DOES NOT FIT.



Now, if you look at the lines Ive drawn, youll see that the red headlight lines intersect perfecly in the center, on the exact same angle. Now, notice the yellow lines which follows the hoods structure... they dont even intersect anywhere, and aside from that, theyre almost perfectly flat. YOU DECIDE.

Orinackra

Why adjust the front clip? Because after 10-15 years, screws come loose, stuff happens, and everything moves around sometimes. If you can't move the hood down anymore, then logically move everything else up. You have to adjust everything to make it look right and line up with the doors. I'm not saying move the thing 3 inches, but a half inch or so isnt too bad.
Besides, its not like each hood is custm made for peoples cars, their made in a mold in bulk, so yeah, theres bound to be some that don't fit perfectly. Why don't you think about that before you start calling people morons.
PS. Here's your car. Hood looks pretty flat to me.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

Really? Coulda fooled me. If ya wanna use my car as an example, at least find the right angle to know what the hell Im talking about.

Les

never noticed but remove the spring up front that causes the hood to pop up way to much pressure for fiberglass hood. Also tried new hood hyd cylinders and these made the sides raise. Yes maybe some have a better eye but a little color and fit it as best as can and the hood seemed to settle in. ASCD hood is just fine for me, lighter nice design but this is personal observation. Looks like another third gen project under way. Les

Orinackra

The point I'm making is that the hood doesn't have a huge curve to it, regardless of what angle you look at. If you look at the maroon car you posted, then at yours, (at least I think) the angles looks pretty similar. The top and the bottom have the same curve. It loks like if he pulled the fender up an 1/8 of an inch, same with the front clip, it will be flush. That, plus it looks like it needs centered.
I'm not trying to start a fight with you over this, I have an RA1 hood, so I couldn't give a crap less how the RA2 fits. I just think its pretty close minded of you to say the hoods dont fit. If they don't, why do some people have them fit extremely well? Like Sonars orange TA, or JA's TA, or Zephers formula, amongst others. It looks like those fit pretty damn well to me. It's not a flaw in the hood. I mean, you can't slap a fender on and expect it to be perfect either. You have to adjust and massage it to where it needs to go.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

First off, the front clip is not meant to be adjusted up and down. Simple as that, its not an option in my book, as I like to do stuff THE RIGHT WAY. It doesent matter if the cars arent curved MUCH, its still the body line of the car and the hood does not follow it.

Dude, you can say all you want and make any excuses you want... the fact of the matter is, no matter what you say, the hoods are not made right. Period. Its blatantly obvious but for some reason people wont believe it. Ive seen hoods made right, like most RAI hoods, and Ive seen hoods made wrong, like most RAII hoods.

If your such the expert, let me ask this: Why is it that all RAI hoods fit almost perfectly with little to no modification, yet no RAII hood fits correctly without extensive modification? Is it because the magic frame warpage fairy goes to each car the night before the RAII hood is intalled and magically warps the frame just enough so the front corners of the hood dont fit?

Orinackra

magic frame warpage fairy hehehe...good one.
Look, I'm saying that some people have the hood and it DOES fit ok. You just don't hear about it. How many people come on here and say "damnit! my ra2 hood fits good. I love it, blah, blah.."
No, you only hear about the bad ones. I'm not the expert, but I've seen some posts about the ra1 not fitting right. I mean, I can make a list of ra2 hoods I've seen on here that fit right. i agree that you shouldnt have to move the front end, but hey, sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Another example, Hawks 5 inch spoiler. I don't think anyone's got it to fit right on their car yet. Does that mean that its made like a piece of ****? No. It means everyones hatch is out of alignment. Now you can't deny that those hatches are ALWAYS out of align, and they're a b!tch to straighten. Same deal.

Orinackra

Is that maroon car TriggerGTA's? i just read his post, and I'll agree that his looks like crap, and wasn't made right. It wapred all over the place, looking at the close ups.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

Yeah thats Triggers car... now ya see what Im sayin. Granted, Ive seen a select few hoods look nice, but the owners never said how much work was needed to get it that way.

The thing Im most pissed off about is the fact that I want one of these damn hoods BAD, but Im not paying for junk, and especially not losing money if I have to send back a defective product. I just wish ASCD would do the right things with these issues, fix the molds or what ever is the problem, and make a good hood again.

trigger GTA

ok i see you have not read the link posted. IF you take the time to read it you will see that the car is not bent.

i have had it for all but 4 year of its life. it had 70 000km on it and i knew the ower of it before.
IF you take the time to read my post you will ALSO see that it sits the same way on my other car 86 trans am with ONLY 26 000km on it.



do you think i make it a habbit of buying bent cars???????? if your not going to take the time to read it dont commet on it!!!!!

trigger GTA

as for the moving it up 1/8 i did + almost and other 1/2 (pics in link)

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=209287

sonars hood did not come from ASCD
zephers hood fit like *** too. he has links in my post also. you can see them there. he has also traded in the RA2 for a 1

trigger GTA

you dont want to use hood pins to hold or pull down the hood into place it WILL crack over time. and not to long at that


who's did yours come from?
do you have better pics of the fitment maybe you can still get it to fit. there is alot of room to make adjustments

Orinackra

Well I guess I stand corrected. Sucks too cause its a nice looking hood too.

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

Ya, the RA II hood I had didn't fit all that great around the headlights. the RA I fits a bit better, but still sits up around the corner of the head lights.

GTA4ME

Did everyone get their hood at ASCD??? Has anyone tried RamAirHood.com (a sponser above)?

LUVmy92

Triger TA: I am SO glad you know what I do and read. I read your post and I did not comment on it because it had enough ccomments. Last time I checked this recent post was NOT started by you so good job hijacking the thread. I was only trying to tell the ORIGINAL poster anubiscougar (not you by the way) that he might have to do some more work to get it to fit. How are we supposed to assume that everyone here who has the money to buy a $600 hood also has the skills to align body parts properly?Or is that a skill that comes with the purchase? I am not trying to attack you and I agree they dont look like they are fitting right (yes I agree with you) but I dont think we should automatically exclude the thought that maybe it still needs adjustment, (NOT your hood, it is F'd). Do you agree with me on that. Im not stating it as "The" solution but it is possible. If after SOME adjustment and still it sucks for ANUBISCOUGAR then he is def. in your boat. I am just giving my opinion but alo trying to help. You and 88 WS6 just seem to be attacking anyone who is trying to help this guy. Now I want to apologise to you and 88 WS6 for any crap I may have spewed out, we need to just help each other but we do have to be a little more open minded.

88 WS6 TransAm GTA

iTrader: (1)

Oh, no need to apologize... I guess I got a little out of line too.

Im just tired of seeing threads like this, and I think something needs to be done about it... what really upsets me is that these threads are being ignored by the one person who can do something about the problem. $600 is alot to shell out for a hood, and for that money, I think we can all agree that we deserve a better quality hood, on that atleast somewhat goes with the curves of the car.

MNformula350

iTrader: (2)

The solution is for people to STOP buying the hoods if they fit that bad, then email the company and tell tehm hey i was gonna buy this hood but i see you have too many fitment issues.
I personally want a ram air 1 but will wait till i have the extra cash for it and cash to have it fit properly to the car, A previous owner did push the front end in a little and i have replaced a few parts but you can see where the pass door and fender meet it's not perfect.

just my .02

Orinackra

I did notice that theres an ascd post on the appearance board that Rex has replied to. Funny that he won't come in this thread and defend his product. or should I say a shame?

LUVmy92

I cant blame him there. It is a personal problem he needs to address with his customers. I wouldnt want to air my dirty laundry in a chat room. However I dont belive he has talked to them according to Trigger and his problem with them. I guess we will see what happens.

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

My friend has the ramairhoods.com one and it too has fitment issues around the headlights.

Both of my hoods are ASCD.

Trans_AM_88

how about ASCD's cowl hoods? are there fitment issues too? or any cowl hood for that matter....i havent heard as many complaints from them as i have Ram air II's

trigger GTA

LUVmy92

i under stood it, as you were implying that this was my car

"How do you know his car wasnt wrecked and him never know about it but the body shop did a pretty good job but not the best and needs some fine tuning?"

after reading it again i can see you could have been talking about mine or anubiscougar.

i do agree that all is not lost for anubiscougar and that with some fine tuning me might get the hood to fit to his liking. thats why is my last post i asked him if he had any other pics of the fitment to see what he could do

anubiscougar

ah, ya, sorry, still didn't do the pix thing.. um..

maybe i will tomorrow, but.. hey, i think i figured it out, i had a friend of mine that works at an auto shop.. and he looked at it, he noticed, the brackets, they didn't let the hood settle right, for the front.. which i noticed as well. i had ralized this before, that they where quite massivly spaced, but never thought much of it.

anyways, since i got in my fender, after i paint it, & put it on, i'm going to mess with the holes on the hood brakcets.. as well as bend them back into place. and then see if that helps.

see.. the holes are just too far down on the hood, and i'm not about to drill into the hood, esp w/ the chance of sending it back if it doesn't work. so i'm going to drill out the hole more on the bracket, going up... so the screw can rest down easier.. wait.. no, drill the hole down on the bracket, sorry... anywyas, goodnight, going to bed. :-D

LUVmy92

Just some miscommunication on my part probably. I should have been a little more clear on some things. It doesnt matter , hopefully there is still hope for Anubis hood.

Trans_AM_88

anyone?