1967-69 Camaro Hoods - CRG Research Report

1967-69 Camaro Hoods and Associated Parts

Primary Authors - Troy Criscillis, Ed Bertrand, and Bryon Miller

Reviewed by the CRG
Last Edit: 03-Nov-2024
Previous Edits:
Original Release: 03-Nov-2024

Introduction

There were three types of hoods used on first generation Camaros: the standard flat hood, the SS hood, and the ZL2 Special Ducted hood (also known as cowl induction or cowl hood). This report will break down the hoods by type and visual differences, showing the revisions that took place over the 3 years. It will also discuss the different SS hood inserts and other associated parts, such as hood pad clips and rubber adjustment bumper stops.

Flat Hoods

Externally, the 1967-1969 flat hoods are the same. The standard flat hood used on all 1967 and 1968 Camaros was part number 3886617. This hood was used on all 6 cylinder and V8 models, except the 1967 and 1968 SS cars. The 1969 flat hood was part number 3938617, used on all 6 cylinder and most V8 models.

The inner structure of the flat hoods have some differences. When the inner structure was modified for clearance of the SS 396 air cleaner on SS hoods, the same structure was then used on later 1967 flat hoods. This structure then continued for 1968 hoods. There does not seem to have been a part number change for this modification. Very late in the 1968 model year and for the 1969 model year there were additional changes. The 1969 hoods have “tabs” on the ribs that run from the center towards the back corners and a hood hinge alignment hole was added (shown below in the SS hood section). This seems to be the reason for the part number change, since the hood insulation pad would be slightly different. There is a note in the GM parts books "relocate hood insulation hole located near hood hinge". Later in 1969, stiffening pyramids were added near the front edge. The other hood structures received this modification in the same timeframe. There did not seem to be a part number change for the addition of these pyramids.

Original hoods have two circular stops approximately 1.750" in diameter which are welded to the right front and left front corners of the hood. They line up with the adjustable hood stops which are mounted on the core support. Notice that there are three small circular spot-weld indentations inside these stops. All original GM hoods have these. Most reproduction hoods do not have the three spot-welded indentations, they are smooth. The ones that do have the spot welds are not as pronounced as the originals. Reproduction hoods are also very sharp on the front edge of the hood. This is noticable whenever you lift a reproduction hood. GM hoods have a more refined and smoother front edge than the reproductions.

All Z28's in 1967 and 1968 used the flat hood. For 1969, most Z28's received the flat hood, but the cowl hood was an option.

SS Hoods

While all SS hoods appear the same, and all will interchange, there are differences between the years.

At the start of the 1967 model year, Camaros equipped with the SS package came with the L48 350 engine. These used the first design of the SS hood, part number 3898129. Later in the year, the 396 engine became available with the SS package. The understructure of the hood had to be modified; the center portion of the understructure was redesigned to fit the SS396 air cleaner location. The second version of the SS hood was part number 3909158. It was used for both the SS350 and SS396 cars. The 1967 SS hoods do not have drain holes, they are not needed due to the louver design.

In 1968, both the 350 and 396 equipped cars used the SS hood, part number 3919102. This revised hood included holes for water drainage, because of the louver design change. Note the drain holes, circled in red below.

The inner structure of the SS hood is the same as the inner structure of the flat hood. There are minor underside structure differences between hoods in 1967 and 1968 compared to 1969. The 1969 hoods have “tabs” on the ribs that run from the the center towards the back corners - 1967 and 1968 hoods don't have these tabs. In late May 1968, a hood hinge alignment hole was added to hoods. This carried over through the 1969 model year. The late 1968 model year and 1969 model year SS hood was part number 3938619.

The SS hood is significantly heavier than the flat hood. The difference is in the top structure and the hood ornaments. Because of the weight difference, different springs were used to assist in lifting the SS hood. More information on hood springs is here.

RPO ZL2, Special Ducted Hoods

In late 1968, the special ducted hood, aka the cowl hood, was released. In 1969 advertising, it was called the "Super Scoop" hood. RPO ZL2, part number 3949708, was a mandatory option for the Z11 Indy Pace Car replicas and Z10 coupes. It became available as an option on 1969 SS and Z28 cars in December 1968. Only 10,026 cars were ordered with the cowl hood. With the Z10 and Z11 production totalling about 4,100 cars, that left only about 5,900 SS and Z28 having the ZL2 hood from the factory.

Note that the hood was included with COPO 9560 (ZL1) and COPO 9561 (L72) and thus those 1066 cars are not included in the RPO totals.

The 1st design ducted hood would flex and bend at the top front where the plenum begins. Stiffening pyramids were added to the front part of the inner structure around April 1969, and this solved the problem. This was not visually apparent, as the hoods had hood pads covering the area. There does not seem to have been a part change number for this inner structure change.

Two special ducted hoods were available as service parts for the 2x4 "cross ram" carb setup which was used in Trans-Am racing. The fiberglass hood assembly is part number 3963832. The steel hood assembly is part number 3965728. Neither of these hoods are assembly line parts.

SS Hood Louvers

For 1967, "finned" type louvers were used on Camaro SS hoods. These were designed to simulate oil cooler type fins. Part number 3902899 (casting number 3898132) was the first design used on the SS350 cars. This louver had 18 fins and had the outer fins cut off at a 90 degree angle.

The louver was redesigned to have 19 fins and the the outer fins cut off at about a 45 degree angle and assigned part number 3918764 (casting number 3914781). The revised louver was used for later SS350's and all 1967 SS396's. It is believed that this revised part superseded 3902899 in production sometime in early to mid-December, 1966, though the part number history shows the paperwork was completed in April 1967. The louver has a very slight bow to it from front to back, following the contour of the Camaro hood. If inverted on a flat surface, this louver will slightly rock fore and aft. Although discontinued in February, 1969, these louvers are available in reproduction.

For 1968, there was a new "stacks" (or "ice cube tray") type hood louvers that imitated velocity stacks, but only the SS396 cars used this design at first. The second design 1967 "finned" louver continued to be used on the 1968 SS350 through October of 1967. After that, the "stacks" type louvers were used on both the SS350 and SS396 cars.
The stacks louvers are flash chrome with semi-gloss black accents around the inner edges. Part number 3927469 was used on the left side (casting number 27043) and part number 3927470 was used on the right side (casting number 27042).

As shown in the Camaro Factory Assembly Instruction Manual (AIM) drawings below, the assembly consists of the louvers themselves, plus a wire mesh screen underneath (part number 3927468), a foam rubber seal (part number 3898146) and a flat black panel under that (part number 3927471 left, and 3927472 right). A rectangular drain (see arrow below) was cast into the stacks so water would escape through the drain tubes (3903974).

Early 1969 SS Camaros received the 3927469 and 3927470 "stacks" louvers, the same as the 1968 part numbers. In January of 1969, they were replaced by part numbers 3930909 (left) and 3930910 (right). It appears this was a part number change only as the casting numbers are the same as the 3927469 (casting number 27043) and 3927470 (casting number 27042) louvers, and the two versions of the stacks appear to be identical.

Finned louvers were also used on the 1968-1972 Nova SS cars. These were part number 3927442 (casting number the same). Like the second design Camaro finned louvers, these also had 19 fins. But to fit the almost flat surface of the Nova hood, there was no “bow” in them, If inverted and placed on a flat surface, they will not “rock” fore and aft like the Camaro finned louvers do. However, they do have a slight “curve” to them side to side. The Nova also used a decorative chrome bezel, part number 3927443, under the louver (not shown). Beginning in February, 1969, the 3927442 louver was also used for service on the 1967 SS and early 1968 SS350 Camaros - causing installation problems. If using the flat 3927442 louvers on a Camaro, the possibility exists of breaking the front and/or back studs when trying to tighten them down. Note that this louver was discontinued by GM in the early 1990s, but is currently available in reproduction.

The 68 and early 69 "stacks" louvers were replaced by 3930909 (left) and 3930910 (right) in January of 1969, and were available as service parts until May of 1972. At that point, the 3930310 was discontinued and only the 3930909 was available with the instructions: "Dealer will be required to drill 2 holes 0.3125" when using in place of 3930310". Note that the 3930909 was finally discontinued in November of 1990. The “stacks” louvers are available in reproduction.

Hood Dates

There are several ways to indentify and original hood from a reproduction, but the easiest is that most originals will have a date code stamped on the driver side rear corner. This will be a "week" format. Picture below shows week 44 but the second 4 is mostly missing. This picture also shows that the rear edge of an original hood is different than a reproduction hood.

Underhood insulation and clips

An underhood insulation pad was standard on the SS and ZL2 hoods. It was also included with deluxe interior as part of RPO Z87. The pads have indents molded into them for clearance.

1967 insulation for flat hood - 3898152. SS insulation was 3899833. Parts book July 1967, cost $3.95

1968 insulation for flat hood - 3898152. SS insulation was 3938621, which superceded part number 3919106.

Hood pad clips were used to retain the underhood insulation pad. These were part number 3909199 and were used for all three years. The part number (and design) changed to 3977775 in November 1974.

Some reproduction clips are not correct visually and some fall out when you install them because part that pushes into the hole is the wrong diameter.

Underhood lamp

An underhood lamp option was available all three years. Part number 3903402 was the lamp assembly used for 1967, ordered either as RPO U26 or as part of the ZJ9 auxiliary lighting group. An image from the 1967 Camaro AIM is below. For 1967, in line six cylinder (L6) cars had the light on the passenger side and small block (SBC) cars had the light on the drivers side. The AIM shows all V8 cars having the light on the drivers side. But the light was supposed to illuminate the engine oil dipstick area, which is on the passenger side for big block (BBC) engines. It is not clear if all 1967 big block (BBC) cars had the light on the drivers side. Research is ongoing to see if the location may have changed during the model year.

The wiring end of the 1967 light pointed toward the front of the car with the hood closed. The light was operated by a mercury switch, which turned it on when the hood was open. The service part number for the light as of November 1967 was 987028.

For 1968 and 1969, lamp part number 3916764 was used. The lamp was ordered as part of RPO ZJ9 auxiliary lighting group. There were two locations for this light, which depended on the location of the dipstick. L6 and BBC cars had the light on the passenger side, while SBC cars had the light on the drivers side. The wiring end of the light was changed so that it pointed toward the rear of the car with the hood closed. The service part number in November 1967 was 987225, but this part number was removed from service in November 1968. The part number for the 1969 light was 993553 as of February 1969. A rubber grommet was used with the light. The grommet was part number 3733225 for all three years.

For 1967, a round perforated hole had to be made in the hood pad for the screw (part number 9420508) to be installed. For 1968 and 1969, a square perforated hole had to be removed for the screws (part number 9415191) to be installed.

For cars with option C60, air conditioning, the light was moved inward 4 inches for clearance of the AC box. If a car in 1969 had option ZL2, special ducted hood, then 2 holes had to be drilled in the hood for the light to be installed.

Other Associated Parts

There was a rubber insert that was installed on the underside of 68 and 69 SS hoods that served as an extension for the metal drain tubes. These were part number 3903974 for the simulated stacks used in 1968 and 1969.

The rubber hood bumpers, attached to the inner lip of the fender, changed over time. For 1967, the side bumpers were 3891690 which changed to part number 3916019. These had an arrow shape in the push-in portion of the bumper. Side bumpers for 1968 and 1969 were 3919126 and these were a slide-in type. The slots for the bumpers in the fender for 1967 are different than in 1968 and 1969.

The front rubber hood bumpers (sometimes called hood stops) are located toward the outer end of the core support on the top part of a bolt that screws into the core support and is locked in place with a nut. The part number for all three years was 3792828.

Acknowledgements

Ed and Troy spent a lot of time researching the details for this report. Many other CRG members contributed to the final product. If you have information to contribute on the topic, we would like to hear from you.

C R G	CRG Reports	Exterior	Engine	1967 Model ID
Numbers Decode	General Info	Interior	Transmission	1968 Model ID
Drivetrain Decode	Options	Underhood	Chassis	1969 Model ID