Took my 37 pickup to a local Cruise-in yesterday and parked next to a fellow that had a 1952 Oldsmobile 88. It had the see through hood (Dealers Car) for prospective buyer to see what they were getting under the hood. Never saw one before so it was nice to see someone restored the car as it was back in the day.
Local 49 or 50 Olds has a "dealers" hood also,car gets plenty of attention for sure. The 52 looks like a fine car,seldom seen IMHO.
My father worked for the original manufacturer of the GM display hoods. They would heat the plastic and lay it on a GM original hood. After it cooled it was cut with a sabre saw. The edges flame heated to re-clear the material and the trim/edging bent. They also did the Corvair lids and cut-away show displays.
I don't know if this is the same car I saw last year at Kochanski's Polish Pile-up. It was a local car and the same color. We talked to the guy about it and found out what you learned. Wonder if that is the same car or there's more than just one.
I've seen several on '54 Fords over the years,they were a great sales tool to show the new overhead V8. HRP
I love the see through hoods like that, bet it would be a bitch to keep clean, keep it from yellowing or turning dark. Kinda surprised any got out to the public, you'd think they would have been replaced at the dealer before it was sold. I remember seeing an OT 68 or 69 Roadrunner with a completely clear hood. Don't know if it was a one off or a factory demo, but I thought it was cool.
One advantage to those hoods is if the hood comes flying open while you're cruising down the freeway you can still see where you're going.... I saw something cool at a cruise yesterday too-a freight train coming down the middle of the street....
p It does look good but I'm afraid the way I use my cars the engine would only look that clean until I started driving it. HRP
I had no idea those were ever made. I was wondering if perhaps the OP's posted car was some sort of Harley Earl deal at first. Gary
When Pontiac came out with their V-8 in 1955 my dad and I went looking at new cars. There was a new V-8 hanging on a trick engine stand in the showroom. More effective than a plastic window in the hood.
what a killer thread on these visible hoods. I had never seen one on a 52 Olds. A friend in Wahoo, Ne., Eddie Rezac had a couple for the 49/50 models. And the 54 Ford showing the ohv mill is really cool. And then the bonus lesson how they were manufactured, wow the hot rod life is rich, thanx for all the info here.
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