plexiglass display hoods

[unclescooby]

I'd like to hear some real knowledge on this subject. I've had two 1954 Fords with a factory plexiglass insert in the hood that was supposed to show off the new overhead valve V8 at the dealership.

I also know that Ford stole that idea from GM when they did a plexiglass display hood to show off there OHV V8 in 1949. The GM hoods I've seen have had to small plexiglass inserts (one on each side of the hood) but I found one recently that is entirely plexiglass from front to back and side to side. I believe all of them were lighted from underneath for display purposes.

I have also seen them for the Corvair but don't know if they were factory or what they were supposed to showcase. Anybody know the whole scoop on these and why GM would have made two different plexiglass hoods in 1949? I would think the entirely plexiglass hood would be the obvious choice as opposed to the two small inserts. Maybe it came later?

I'd love to know if you know.

[JimA]

Goes back even further- seen pics of new '32 Fords with clear hoods.

[unclescooby]

here is the one of the olds that I'd always seen in the past.

[unclescooby]

here's the 54 Ford

[unclescooby]

and the corvair...

Got pix of the 32 Ford?

[pasadenahotrod]

Here is the 54 239 OHV window display hood story:
Ford shipped every dealer in the US and Canada a "new V8 display kit" which consisted of 1 hood in primer with window, 1 engine dress-up kit (chromed valve covers, air cleaner, fan, at least), 1 lighting display kit (a light "bar" for each side of the window with colored bulbs like Christmas tree lights). Instructions were to paint the hood and install the engine dress-up kit and light display kit on a car in the showroom, preferably a sporty model (convertible coupe or hardtop).
The kit was shipped COD by REA Express as were all parts orders and car orders. The charges were just over $200. YES, $200 for a promotional deal plus you had to spend the labor dismantling and painting a brand new car!!
Small dealerships (one car showrooms) usually had a Fordor sedan in the showroom so they were not doing this promo but they had to purchase the kit anyway!
These hoods were fairly common in the 60s-70s, most of the engine dressup kits were sold to customers or employees, the light kits were generally discarded. I sold one of the hoods in 1976 for $450 to a guy in South Houston who had a glass top 54.
The story was told to me by an old dealer who had just discarded the window hood the year before I came to ask about them...damn it! But he told me the "rest of the story".

[Kiwi Kev]

I saw a 32 Ford clear hood top with louvers at a swap meet, would have bought it just for fun if I had any money left.

[FoMoCoPower]

Originally Posted by unclescooby

here's the 54 Ford

Would you believethat my father junked an identical car to that when I was about 10-years old??? Well,identical except for the paint.....it was white with sea-weed style red flames.....otherwise identical!!!

[willowbilly3]

Originally Posted by unclescooby

here's the 54 Ford

What happened to this car? Wasn't it for sale a year or so ago.
As for the GM hoods, my guess is they were not all done on an assembly line, maybe even contracted out.

[unclescooby]

I never should have sold that 54. If it ever comes up for sale again, I'd buy it back. I still haven't been able to find any info on the totally clear GM hood but do know that the GM display hood with the two panels was from GM. I think the totally clear one was an autorama thing.

[B.A.KING]

i have friend who bought out some guys olds collection and in it was nos plexiglass hood, still in the original shipping crate .its the full size thing. if i remember rite its for a 53 olds. not sure on that but i think i'm rite. never been out of box.small hole cut in box to see it. how rare is that

[amsvette]

Originally Posted by unclescooby

I never should have sold that 54. If it ever comes up for sale again, I'd buy it back. I still haven't been able to find any info on the totally clear GM hood but do know that the GM display hood with the two panels was from GM. I think the totally clear one was an autorama thing.

I love that car! I wanted to buy it from you when it was on ebay but I couldn't scrape up enough money. Hope the current owner is enjoying it. I have to settle on the pictures I saved from your auction.

[draggin ass]

someone posted an ebay link on another sight.



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1950-...em230117971177

[unclescooby]

that's a bitchin hood! $1400 didn't meet reserve though? OUCH. I was talking to Dickster today and I can't imagine how you could mount this thing. I'd think the springs would be way to strong to shut it.

[LUX BLUE]

C'mon Scoob!

you take the springs out!

or just pin it. but you get to drill it.

[Bob K]

Scoob:

I've had this one hanging in my garage for several years.




BB

[roadkillontheweb]

I had an original 1953 Dodge hood with the plastic windows years ago. It had the two plastic windows on either side of center and a light fixture between them so that the engine coud be lit up on the showroom model so customers could check out the new Hemi engine available that year.

[roadkillontheweb]

Here is a picture from a 1933 Desoto overseas graphic (magazine for dealers in other lands) in my collection. It shows a 1933 Desoto with a plastic hood on a showroom floor somewhere overseas.

[pasadenahotrod]

Heck in 1939 or 40 Oldsmobile put a full "glass" bodied car together for display.

[NONAME]

just saw one yesterday. 50 Olds 98 fastback I went running over there with my camera and backed way way up after holding back the vomit urge. injected Chev crate motor. said it comes with a painted louvered hood too!

[1 Hotrod]

Originally Posted by pasadenahotrod

Heck in 1939 or 40 Oldsmobile put a full "glass" bodied car together for display.

I saw that car in Iola a few years back. I was thinking it was a Pontiac but I've been wrong more than once. It was built for the worlds fair,it was something I'll probably only see once and never forget. You could see all the door glass and regulators inside the doors.

[rixrex]

Originally Posted by unclescooby

here's the 54 Ford

Wowee..is that your car? way cool, with the plexiglass panel in the roof it is also a Sun Valley? Please give us a little show and tell on this car.... 

[MattB]

Not to rub it in but I rmeember pics of your '54 when you posted it for sale and ALWAYS loved that car! Didn't it have a McCulloch supercharger as well?! I honestly don't know much about the clear hoods with the exception of when I was younger and the ZR1 Corvette came-out, they had one at the Dallas Auto Show with a clear hood. Pretty neat when you are 12/13 years-old. I'd have tot hink that in the past when they introduced somethign where the engine was the major change and not the body, a clear hood would make total sense. I wonder if there were any clear '55 Chevy hoods for the brand new V8?!

[5window]

Originally Posted by JimA

Goes back even further- seen pics of new '32 Fords with clear hoods.

That would be interesting to see. According to my records, "Plexiglas" was invented about 1928 but not marketed until 1933 by Rohm and Haas. I wonder where Ford got enough of the material, and the technical know-how, to bring it to the Deuce? Please post a picture if you have one. Anyone making clear A or '32 hoods today?

[unclescooby]

Matt,
I'm a superior dumbass for selling that 54. I've never been happy with anything since then. It was a factory glass top and glass hood car that I bought in Illinois. It was an old custom with a white tuck and roll interior but was really clapped out. It had 239 with tripower though. Then I traded up to a 292 with tripower, then six dueces..then hilborn injected 312 and then about three different six dueces before finally settling on a Latham supercharged 312 backed by a later model toploader four speed. It had all the goodies, early "say why and" valve covers, spaulding flamethrower, etc...Then Tom Culbertson added the tilt front end and gasser goodies and Billy the Kid did the lettering. I got the straight axle from an old drag car in Florida that someone was foolishly trying to put back to stock.

The funny thing (not really) about the 54 is that the first time I took it out in public (The Rockabilly Rumble), I had some "help" tying it back down on the trailer when I left. The front was never properly secured and I did not check it. That car came off the trailer on I-70 at Emerson Ave at almost 70 MPH. I was extremely lucky it didn't kill anyone. It was very stupid. The car went across all three lanes of traffic and off the highway and up the hill without being damaged at all. The car stopped on a penny (yeah, not a dime) that was rolled up (I've never seen a bent penny before that). I put the penny on the dash and considered it VERY lucky. I wonder if it's still there.

The 49 I'm working on now is coming along pretty nicely and will certainly be a much nastier car but like the 54, I'm not sure how streetable it will be.

[scrape]

didnt one of the last owners sell the latham and the plexy hood????

[unclescooby]

Jesus, I hope not.

[propwash]

There's a 49-52 Chev in WA state with the see-through hood panel(s) - beautiful car....well 'restored' - except for the Mazda Rotary engine sitting in the bay and fully visible throught that hood - really a stunning sight when you're expecting to be eyeballing a stovebolt six

"gotta two pack habit and a motel tan"

dj

[Fifty5C-Gas]

oh, man, unclescoob, the glasser gasser, one of my favorie cars, i wish i had the money when it iwas for sale, i wanted it...BAD!!!!!

[vintageozarks]

1949 Olds plexiglass display hood Just located one of these hoods NOS any one got any more details on values ect. any help appreciated Larry Henry 417-276-9966 larry@ vintageozarks.com

[stuart in mn]

Originally Posted by 1 Hotrod

I saw that car in Iola a few years back. I was thinking it was a Pontiac but I've been wrong more than once. It was built for the worlds fair,it was something I'll probably only see once and never forget. You could see all the door glass and regulators inside the doors.

Pontiac did build a clear plastic Pontiac in 1939 for the New York World's Fair. It was later updated with 1940 body panels, and as far as I know it's in a private collection someplace. I can't find any online photos of it at the moment.

[Bob K]

Here is 50 olds (I think) with a showroom hood that is seen around Southeastern Wisconsin a lot. I shot these at the NSRA event in Milwaukee last summer.










Looks to me to be an Olds motor under there.

BB

[fordnutz]

I don't know if Ford of Canada ever had any 54 glass hoods. They were sent to US dealers to showcase the new overhead V-8, but Canadian Fords in 54 still had flatheads. The early V-8 club is 32-53 , but we can join with our 54 fords, still ran a flattie. Pat.

[Destralo Roach]

Ok, I have to say a few words about IT! was the hood on the 42-48 ford "Ugh" Kustom in Grease, a factory display hood, or a one off for the move?????.........Roach.

[rustynewyorker]

Probably a one-off, like the car, fortunately.

The '40 Pontiac does exist, it was in a magazine a while back. Starting to get some cracks around the edges of the fenders, so it doesn't see daylight very often.

I suspect the reason for using just the small windows in the metal hood is it's more durable and less prone to cracking or damage - even without the springs, just from someone accidentally slamming the hood shut.

[47Plym]

This car is super nice. Lives somewhere in the southwest Missouri area, I think.

[Dat Dirty Rat]

I know of a guy who has a '63 Impala droptop that has an all glass hood & trunk...Its an amazing show piece that also gets driven...I got pics somewhere i will try to dig up.

[vintageozarks]

Here is a pic of the 1949 oldsmobile glass hood. Still can't find out what it might be worth. It is like new. No scratches on glass. Has not been cleaned up from 60 years of storage in its original box. When the paper was peeled back from the glass it left glue lines which look like scratches but it's just old glue.

[rustynewyorker]

Chuck 'er on eBay, you'll find out quick then...

[unclescooby]

I bid on the last one on Ebay and it got to $700 and didn't meet reserve. The seller wanted $1000 and still has it as far as I know. It was totally clear though instead of just the two portholes. I'd guess this would be worth similar money. I've paid around $700 for the 1954 Ford hoods I've had.

[belair]

A really cool thread. Those demo hoods always intrigued me. Saw one at a little car show in Center Point a few years ago on a green 54(?) ford wagon, owned by some Mexican guy. Didn't the Flintstone car have clear floors?

[touchdowntodd]

bob, i met the guy taht owns taht olds at a lowrider show ..

HE FUCKING RULES

[NITROFC]

Check it out ...

[guiseart]

Mom!!!! Scoob's Always Getting The Best Toys!!!!

[racerjohnson]

look up the old ferrari plexiglass hood scoops. All one sees under a beautiful teardrop plexiglass scoop is a bunch of weber carb stacks. GORGEOUS!

[vintageozarks]

We're really surprised that Google and Yahoo have nothing when we type in showroom hood or visible hood in the Search bar but we are finding out a lot from forums, especially this one. Here is an interesting fact emailed to us by an Oldsmobile Club expert, Franklin Graf:

First of all, if the hood is metal, it's a 1950 not a 1949 --in 49
the factory made complete plastic hoods. But in 1950 they put plastic windows in metal hoods to see the New Rocket Engine 303.7 cu. in over head valve engine...I have a 1949 plastic hood -- they were just show room items.. it just lifted off...in 1950 the hood had windows and you were able to open and close the hood.