Install of an After Market Ram air hood.

[LT1 Driven]

I just recieved a Predator ram air hood from Suncoast Creations for my 1997 Firebird Formula, I was wondering if anyone who has had experience installing one of these could give me some advice, Is this a good company to get an aftermarket hood from and do they bolt on as easy as they say they do or does it take alot of customizing to get it to fit right? Any info on this hood or the installation of it would be greatly appreciated.
thank you, Glenda

[Joe 1320]

I've installed a few of those hoods for friends. Suncoast hoods seem to be hit and miss as far as whether they fit right or not. They fit close... but not as good as a stock hood. The install is pretty easy. Grind part of each hinge, bend an alignment tab, bottom out the hood latch and you're pretty close. I would have it sanded and painted off the car for complete coverage and then bolt it on.

[TraceZ]

It's not impossible to DIY a hood install. Be prepared to move things around a bit. It may be necessary to remove the nose and fenders to notch brackets and move things into allignment. My hood is from SLP but I did have to bottom out the latch bracket and notch the hinges a bit as well as bending an allignment tab and notching out the holes in my fender brackets to move them up to meet the hood.

I gave up at one point and took it to a bodyshop. The painter was so impressed at how close I had it that he instead gave me some guidance and told me to go finish it myself. After following his tip to remove the nose and fenders I notched a couple brackets and things started looking good.