66-7 hood support

[Ian S.]

Did 66-7 327 hoods ever have the raised pad on both sides underneath for the hood support mount? I know that some a/c cars with driver side support had a slot cut for the support at some point but I was wondering if they ever made the hood in production with provisions for either side later in 66.

Thanks,

Ian

[Joe L.]

Re: 66-7 hood support

Ian-----

I don't know if any PRODUCTION hoods had this "dual pad" feature. However, SERVICE hoods did.

[Ian S.]

Re: 66-7 hood support

Is the frame work the same for a big block as it is for a small block? I am just wondering if GM would use the same frame and just attach a different skin or how they did things. Wouldn't they have to change the mold for a service piece and add a pad etc..

I always wondered how the service/NOS body panels were made. Did GM run off panels from the original dies for a certain amount of time and then just use up what stock they made from those runs for years until they ran out or what? The machines pictured in the Noland Adams book look huge, were these scrapped after GM was done with them?

[Wayne W.]

Re: 66-7 hood support

The frame for the BB is different than the SB. GM would typically supply parts until the supply ran out, then they tended to consolidate parts to fit all. Some times this would mean that the part was actually changed from production for service and offered as a fit all, or the later years production part was changed to to fit earlier years and offered as a service part.

[Joe L.]

Re: 66-7 hood support

Ian------

I believe that the hood frame section was the same for big block and small block hoods, but I'm not 100% sure.

They would have to alter the molds for the dual-pad SERVICE piece. However, in SERVICE, parts consolidation is more desirable than parts proliferation. This is especially true for large pieces like hood panels. As time goes on after a model year, parts consolidation becomes an even bigger factor. The last small block SERVICE hood available from GM was applicable to all model years from 1963-67.

These hoods and other body panels were produced in "parts runs" for many years after the cars were out of production. GMSPO would order a certain number of parts and put them in inventory. When these ran out, they would order another run. At some point, and for a variety of reasons (wear on the tooling, need to refurbish the tooling, slow selling parts, etc.) they made the decision that no more would be ordered and when the last GMSPO warehouse inventory was depleted the "discontinued" sign went up.

The machines (presses) pictured in Noland Adams' books and elsewhere were not specific machines designed for Corvettes only. By the looks of them, they were already long in the tooth when they are shown producing mid-year Corvette body panels. The molds and dies that were used in the machines were Corvette-specific, of course. The machines, themselves, were likely used for production of other Corvette year model body panels well after the mid-year period ended. The molds and dies were then changed to accomodate the new pieces that needed to be manufactured. The same machines may also have been used to produce panels for other applications, either coincidently with Corvette panel production or subsequently.

It's possible that the same machines are still in use today for some application. I doubt it as production technology, material technology and other factors have changed so dramatically that these presses may have been rendered utterly obsolete by now. Or, they may have simply worn out and were scrapped. However, it's also possible that they've been refurbished and are working away in some foreign land (like China).

[Wayne W.]

Re: 66-7 hood support

Believe me joe, there is a difference in the framework of a BB hood vs. a SB hood. The largest being, the BB does not have the cross brace.