68 ss hood louvers

[z-villejw]

Greetings, I'am working on putting a new Goodmark ss hood on my 68 rsss 03c bb coupe. I sold the orginal ss hood years ago to put a ZL2 hood on the car, now I'am wanting to switch back. The problem is trying to find a decent set of louvers. I bought a set from Rick's that were made by CHQ & the chrome was thin on them, you could see the copper thru the chrome at the base of the stacks, They did fit the hood nice. Bought another set from Camaro Central that had nice chrome on them but had some some defects in them in the louvers & did not fit the holes in hood at all. Hears my delima, I do have a set of orginals that are pitted and thought about having them restored & chromed. Has anybody found any good repo's?  I checked into having the CHQ's rechromed but was only about $100 cheaper than having the orignals restored.

What has  everybody else done. Thanks JW

[gro51]

I still have the original slightly pitted ones on my '68.  I was thinking of having them re-chromed someday...

[jerry1313]

i have brand new pair of original equipment hood louvers in their original boxes but i'm away for the holidays until jan 7th so i cannot confirm the part numbers. also i am not sure of their value but i will post the parts numbers on my return to confirm what i have. does anyone have a thought on value? thks

[z-villejw]

Drop me a email when you get back in town. Thanks JW

[william]

i have brand new pair of original equipment hood louvers in their original boxes but i'm away for the holidays until jan 7th so i cannot confirm the part numbers. also i am not sure of their value but i will post the parts numbers on my return to confirm what i have. does anyone have a thought on value? thks

If we are talking about the 68-69 'stack' type SS hood grilles be aware that originally right side and left side were different. In the '80s when you ordered them GM sent two of one side as that was all that was available. If you have true NOS L & R that's interesting.

They can be re-chromed but in my experience die castings do not rechrome well. I would send them to one of the chrome shops in Hemmings that specializes in rechroming this type of part.

[Jerry@CHP]

I can tell you for a fact, they do not chrome well.  Buy a new set of the repros.  You will spend hundreds of dollars and not happy with the results.

Jerry

[z-villejw]

I'am aware of the the changes & talked to Advance Plating about rechroming my orignals. Any body had theirs done there?

Jerry, Do you have any sugestions on where to buy some good repros? Anybody know how many people ars repopping them?

Merry Christmas All,  JW

[Jerry@CHP]

Call Rick's First Gen, they usually handle the best reproductions available.  800-359-7717

Good luck,

Jerry

[Pex68]

Do not bother getting the originals re-chromed, first hand experience.  D&R repops (hugger) were the nicest I found (I bought them all!) but still not up to show standard in my opion so I ended up buying a really really nice original RH and re-finishing the paint to mach a NOS LH (909)  Even the NOS ones aren't perfect so guess it all depends on what your after but nothing fits like GM.  Of course you could always get 2 909's, cut off the drain & 2 center studs go that route too.  Good Luck & happy New Year!

[Mark's 68 L78 RS SS]

Last year I sold a really good set of originals to Camaro Specialties.  Not sure if they still have them.

[z-villejw]

Thanks for the replys. I will give Camaro Specialties a call. I also have a couple other leads on some NOS ones.
Chris, What was the problem with getting them rechromed? Did they lose all the detail. Who did the work.

Thanks, John

[Pex68]

I had Pauls Chrome do them (very bad experience with a lot of the stuff I sent) and when they came back they were all wavy, squares in center were not square any more, looked like they were plastic and you put them in the oven.  Called them on it and they told me they well that's just how they come out!  They actually had me send them back, bought a set of repops, and re-chromed them and sent those back...and they still looked like crap, and still would not refund any of my money.  You don't want to get me started with my experience with them!!!!

[z-villejw]

Thanks Chris, For sharing your bad experence with us. Thats what I'am finding out is they have to grind on them so much that it deforms them. Today I was able to track down a set of NOS ones from a Friend of a Friend right here in my local area. After I looked at them real close the quality of the orignals arn't that great. There is acually silver paint on the outside of the stacks.

Thanks for everybodys input, John

[Pex68]

John, the silver paint is supposed to be there, the one quick tell tail between original & reproduction.  If you don't end up taking them & your friend of a friend is still looking to sell, send me a PM & let me know what he's asking, it's alway good to have spares! 
Thanks, & good luck with the car.
Chris.

[bcmiller]

Just thought I would pass this along.  Also before I do that I have one question.  Is there supposed to be a gasket that goes between the "stack" type ouver and the hood, and if so what is it made and who makes them?  Sorry, one BIG question with multiple parts.

I have a 68 and my father does too.  He ordered a new Goodmark SS hood and the quality is excellent.  Also ordered the Goodmark "stack" type louvers.  They look excellent.  Here is the problem.  The louvers are flat but it looked like the hood has a slight convex curve to it (center part where the louvers go is a bit higher than the front or back).  They don't fit the greatest, and no gaskets were included.  They came with the louver, grill and backing plate.  So should they fit better if we can find the gasket that goes between the hood and the louver?

I am asking this because he wants his to fit better and I might just do the same thing on my SS.  Mine has a cowl hood now.  His had a flat hood.

Thank You.