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Apparently the hood has been available from Fiber Concepts for several years, very under the radar. Somebody on TGO ordered and received one in the early 20-teens, I believe.
During the pandemic FC had a finished one listed on ebay. I contacted them about it, and they said they'll keep making it if people order it.
Then when the $600 stimulus checks were announced late in 2020, the one on ebay sold, so I missed out.
One thing to note, it does appear to be Rob, formerly of Show Cars in Canada, but I don't think he operates Fiber Concepts, which is in Pennsylvania. But there seems to be an affiliation of some sort.
Edit: The ISMA hood is what I was talking about.
Last edited by LAFireboyd; 11-04-2021 at 10:57 AM.
IIRC, the guy from several years ago said the quality of the ISMA hood's construction was good and so was the fit, with the exception of one side having a little bit more of a gap between hood and fender than the other side. But overall he seemed pleased.
I'm not the person who purchased the ISMA hood on ebay last year, sadly. But the photos were of the real thing, and I think it looked good. Fiber Concepts was the seller, and I just happened to save the pictures. Here are a few.
I'd have bought it the first day I saw it, had it not been for the pandemic, no employment, and no sign of employment on the horizon. But when the stimulus was announced, I was gonna get it, but someone else apparently had the same idea and beat me to it. I'd have jumped in my truck and taken a road trip to PA to pick it up, visiting my family along the way, in Indy. Ya gotta stop when you're that close, ya know?
Here's an interesting "coincidence," not long after the hood sold, I found a Firebird convertible for sale online, and it had on ISMA hood! Looked like a fresh paint job too, the whole car. I couldn't determine if the ad was current though.
Cool, thanks. I actually found them the other day. Only thing is I can't zoom in to see any detail but I got a general idea from your pictures. Got it bookmarked though. My stock hood was cut to make way for my Stealth Ram and it feels less rigid and I don't like the way it looks.
Apparently the hood has been available from Fiber Concepts for several years, very under the radar. Somebody on TGO ordered and received one in the early 20-teens, I believe.
During the pandemic FC had a finished one listed on ebay. I contacted them about it, and they said they'll keep making it if people order it.
Then when the $600 stimulus checks were announced late in 2020, the one on ebay sold, so I missed out.
One thing to note, it does appear to be Rob, formerly of Show Cars in Canada, but I don't think he operates Fiber Concepts, which is in Pennsylvania. But there seems to be an affiliation of some sort.
Edit: The ISMA hood is what I was talking about.
Last edited by Johnny Gun; 11-04-2021 at 06:44 PM.
Apparently the hood has been available from Fiber Concepts for several years, very under the radar. Somebody on TGO ordered and received one in the early 20-teens, I believe.
During the pandemic FC had a finished one listed on ebay. I contacted them about it, and they said they'll keep making it if people order it.
Then when the $600 stimulus checks were announced late in 2020, the one on ebay sold, so I missed out.
One thing to note, it does appear to be Rob, formerly of Show Cars in Canada, but I don't think he operates Fiber Concepts, which is in Pennsylvania. But there seems to be an affiliation of some sort.
Edit: The ISMA hood is what I was talking about.
I looked into this hood years back. I like it, and these guys are somewhat local to me. Only thing I don't like about the hood is where the cowl ends. I wish it was finished off more like a traditional cowl hood where it extends over the cowl area a bit. Honestly the only reason I never bought one.
IIRC, the guy from several years ago said the quality of the ISMA hood's construction was good and so was the fit, with the exception of one side having a little bit more of a gap between hood and fender than the other side. But overall he seemed pleased.
I'm not the person who purchased the ISMA hood on ebay last year, sadly. But the photos were of the real thing, and I think it looked good. Fiber Concepts was the seller, and I just happened to save the pictures. Here are a few.
I'd have bought it the first day I saw it, had it not been for the pandemic, no employment, and no sign of employment on the horizon. But when the stimulus was announced, I was gonna get it, but someone else apparently had the same idea and beat me to it. I'd have jumped in my truck and taken a road trip to PA to pick it up, visiting my family along the way, in Indy. Ya gotta stop when you're that close, ya know?
Here's an interesting "coincidence," not long after the hood sold, I found a Firebird convertible for sale online, and it had on ISMA hood! Looked like a fresh paint job too, the whole car. I couldn't determine if the ad was current though.
This is a nice looking hood, and not at all unlike what I was contemplating having fabricated. I'm glad you saved these photos, as that single postage stamp sized picture on their website is pretty unconvincing.
I've got an early Trans Am hood with the screened opening that maybe I'll sell to help fund this. Bought it a few years ago and never did anything with it. Just been sitting in my house taking up space.
Here's another pic of the ISMA hood with a little more visible detail. 9 pics were in the ad. I saved these on 9/11/2020. Someone bought the hood in Nov/Dec, 2020.
And here's the TA convertible with an ISMA hood, possibly the very one in the ad. I saved these pics on 2/22/2021. It might be an old ad, I don't know. You know how things can randomly pop up on the internet. But I suspect it was current, because there aren't many street cars with this hood, maybe, like, 4 or 5 ever seen, and none this fresh-looking for a decade or two. And it showed up soon after the sale of the hood in the ebay ad. Car and pics are kinda dark, so details aren't easy to see, but it looks like a very nice fit.
Maybe someone here knows the car? Maybe someone here knows the owner? Maybe the owner is a member of TGO? Maybe someone is familiar with the dealership logo in the upper right corner of the pics?
I guess I should probably update the Firebird hood threads to include these pics.
I kept it all on the DL at the time because I wanted it, of course.
Last edited by LAFireboyd; 11-05-2021 at 07:14 PM.
Reason: Spelling, grammar, structure.
That dealer logo is Gateway Motors. They have 18 locations across the country. Often a high on price (IMO), but obviously they have some overhead to feed. For the customer who wants to shop for a classic car the same way they do a new fishing rod, it's a good way to go.
A little disappointing (again IMO) that it has hood pins. I'd prefer to keep the stock latch if possible. Hinges too, with softer struts.
Originally Posted by QwkTrip
I've got an early Trans Am hood with the screened opening that maybe I'll sell to help fund this. Bought it a few years ago and never did anything with it. Just been sitting in my house taking up space.
Do you mean the turbo hood with the offset scoop? That's what I had planned on building from. I was going to hie a local custom/fab shop to make a mirror image of the scoop on the driver side for the passenger side. The result would have been similar to this.
I would like to preserve my T/A hood vents. It appears the front ones would not be an option with the IMSA hood.
The website says it weighs 45 pounds. How's that compare to the factory steel piece?
I agree. I don't like the hood pins either. The hood is built to bolt on, so unless there were attachment circumstances unknown to us, and none were apparent in any of the car's engine bay pics, then the pins shouldn't have been necessary. But fitment looks excellent.
A little more research revealed that the car is a 1985 Trans Am LG4/5-speed with approximately 85,000 miles. It's the two-seat convertible conversion that was available early-to-mid generation. It was listed by Barrett-Jackson and Gateway Motors in early 2021. So the timeline suggests a very good chance that the hood on the car is the same white one in the other pics, which was listed/sold on ebay near the end of 2020.
Cars and Concepts IMSA 2 inch on my first thirdgen. this WAS the perfect hood, and i'd have one if they still made them. they sold out to someone....???
11-03-2021, 08:19 AM
