poly hood

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Trent Fabs?
 
yep, that's it....who's got one and how do you like it? how's it holding up? and how does it do on the tow rig going 75mph?
 
i don't think anyone here runs one, I dig the way they painted the Race Rig with a Red Tint, looks pretty sweet!, and Trent Fab are good people! that's about all i can tell you.

Check out this cool Sequence my Roomate Shoot..
The Rockit West Photo Gallery

i Love the Red Glow under the rig from the hood..
2.jpg
 
I am running one. I mounted all the factory hinges, latches, etc, with some bracing beneath. I haven't wheeled with it yet, but it fit okay. It took quite a bit of work to get it done though.
001.webp
 
hey green73 were did you get that cover...

i need one...
 
I've got a pair at home for a future project, but haven't installed them yet....seems like a nice product tho, and they ARE very light!
 
Please don't let the trail cover be a hijack on this thread. FWIW I was one of the lucky ones in the BroncoCovers ordeal. It took a while to get it, the construction is top notch, the materials are also top notch. Here is the thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/chit-chat-section/168762-another-trail-cover-design.html

If you look closer in the photo you will see the equally troublesome Faultline Fab rocker sliders. It seems that I have an uncanny knack for buying into things that end up "going south"

As for the poly hood. it is VERY light weight. Yes I too wish the louvers would have been more prominent, but it was a sacrifice I made. I destroyed my original hood in a roll, and did not want to put the labor into "restoring" another potentially rusty steel hood. I figured after any labor etc... for that it was just a little more to go with the poly hood. I wouldn't use it for a resto rig mind you, but for a trail rig.... it works okay. Where I mounted the latches and hinges there has been some minor cracking, but I drilled a small hole at the end of each crack and that has stopped the cracks from spreading. The only problem I have right now is the sharp edge that does not roll under like the factory steel piece to allow for a flush fit to the bib and aprons. In the near future I will be adding a short length of either 3/4 or 1" aluminum angle to it to allow it to "sit" on the aprons, rather than ride one them. Another down side, is that it is not strong enough to support the windshield being folded down. Keep in mind the poly hood is intended to be attached with quick release hood pins, and not mounted like factory. To mount it factory, bracing will be needed. For the cowl end and hinge mount I cut a 3" by 1/8" strip of aluminum to length and bent it to match the cowl shape. That is then pop riveted to the hood, and the hinges are bolted on. For the windshield latches there is an arched strip of aluminum under the hood between the 2. Without this the center of the hood flops/flexed while driving. I'll take a shot of the underside of the hood today and post it up. for clarity.

Another note. I just moved from Virginia to California, with the FJ40 on the trailer. No issues with the hood at all with it attached how I have it.
 
Last edited:
More pics:
locust 001 (912 x 684).webp
locust 002 (912 x 684).webp
 
IMO it would look nice to cleanly cut the louvers out of stock hood with say a 1/2" band around the whole thing. Then paint em up and bolt or rivet em onto the tfab hood.
 
Re: Hood Louvers

I picked up 2 pair of Datsun 280Z hood louvers off Ebay pretty cheaply & installed them on both my trail rigs. They're plastic & have a rain pan underneath, but I didn't use the rain pans as I ditched the open filters on my carbs.
 
and Green73, did you have any trouble cutting the pre-molded fenders off that come on the hood? do you think it would have flexed so much if you hadn't used the windshield hold down brackets?
 
I had no trouble cutting the pre molded fenders off at all. I did it wrong though. I used a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder. This made the edges pretty ragged. If I ever do another I will do the score and break thing kind of like sheetrock. It works fine for RC bodies. This is slightly thicker though, but a deeper scoring should make up for that. As for the center flexing, I don't feel having the latches on the hood caused it. There is a lot of surface area and it isn't thick or braced. I think it depends on how it is mounted. If I had used the intended method of quick release pins on stand-offs it may negated the flexing. I have not seen any pictures of how Trent-Fab mounts them, or trims them, so they may have some input on that. FWIW the back edge is also blocked off in the as shipped non trimmed product. I cut that off to allow for hood opening. I did not leave enough of a lip and that caused some flexing as well. That is another reason I added the aluminum brace at the back end.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom