New Member thanks to a recent find

[paulk68]

Hello from CT, Brand new member after finding this site while researching a recent purchase. I stumbled on this hood after a craigslist post looking for a gm cowl hood to buy. Guy told me it was taken off a 69 camaro pace car and stored since the 70's. I was wondering what you guys thought does this look like original paint/ over spray? I just read that there may be a marking on the rear driver side which I will look for when I go home. Any info would be great
Thank you,
Paul
   

[x77-69z28]

The underside of the hood should be black, so it has at least been repainted. Original production line hoods have a date code stamped at the rear left corner of the hood. Should be 1 through 52

[Petes L48]

Sounds like you've already read the section on this site on sheet metal date code stamping.  They can be hard to spot, sometimes the repaint is very thick, or the stamp may have been struck light or half way off of the corner, etc.  FWIW, it may not be as apparent as the pictures in the CRG write-up and may require removal of the paint.  Use a stripper or paint thinner if you have to remove the paint, not a wire brush or abrasive blaster.     
 

[ko-lek-tor]

If there is no date or it is not visible, we can at least tell you if it is a GM hood. Take a close up of one of the 3 in. discs on the front underside corners that go against the rubber stops. Then take a picture of where the date should be, showing a side picture close up of the tapered side rear corner. This will rule out an aftermarket piece.

[paulk68]

Thank you all so much, Good news is the rear corners are clipped just like the photos I have seen on this site, and the front bump stops have the 3 spot welds in a triangle pattern I am going to get some paint stipper and put in on the area where a stamp would be and see if it is hidden up the paint. I will report back. I have never been into the numbers matching stuff as my camaro was a plaine 6cly 3 speed car but it is very cool to find this stuff it is becoming alot of fun to search for this kind of stuff.

[68camaroz28]

Let me be the first to welcome you aboard Paul. Yes, it can be fun finding things.

[paulk68]

Thank you for the welcome, so I cleaned the area to look for marks and got nothing,oh well still happy that it is a GM hood by the looks of these other indicators and for 300 bucks I am happy to be adding it to my project.

[ko-lek-tor]

A formal welcome. 3 things: a) a fun, nice & neat feeling finding treasure. b) finding at a reasonable or bargain price is a thrill. c) having the knowledge to know what you found is treasure is priceless.

[TangoBravo]

These kind of finds always beg the question-why was it taken off?!

[paulk68]

These kind of finds always beg the question-why was it taken off?!

I was told to make way for a fiberglass hood to shave some front end weight as the car was drag raced. But who really knows

[KurtS]

Many GM cowl hoods were sold in the 70's and 80's. Some of those service hoods will have date stamps on them, btw.