{"id":4613,"date":"2013-03-23T23:55:02","date_gmt":"2013-03-24T06:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grandmighty.com\/?p=4613"},"modified":"2013-03-23T23:57:44","modified_gmt":"2013-03-24T06:57:44","slug":"shine-x-williams-auto-body-feed-hood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grandmighty.com\/2013\/03\/shine-x-williams-auto-body-feed-hood\/","title":{"rendered":"Shine x William’s Auto Body FEED Hood"},"content":{"rendered":"
As stock as my car’s exterior is, I am very content with it. ’99 front bumper, mud flaps, FEED spoiler… that’s all I wanted. Well, except for one more thing – the FEED hood. I have a soft spot for this hood’s design as I find it striking yet subtle. From certain angles, you can barely tell that it’s any different from a stock hood. The dual vents are highly reminiscent of the Jaguar XJ220. The fact that this kind of hood is available for the RX-7 made it a must-have, with skepticisms notwithstanding. I’m sure the alternative hoods that are more aggressively vented perform better, but this is one of the rare instances where I will favor form over function. The FEED’s vents will provide additional heat relief, which is sufficient for the cause. <\/p>\n
Shine Auto Project used to make a FRP & Carbon version of the FEED hood, but no longer do so. Regardless, I’m not a fan of any composite material hoods. Even though the FEED hood is the only aftermarket variant I’d purposely install on my car, I still didn’t want to go aftermarket, per-say. I was keen on retaining exact OEM fitment and also obviating the need for hood latches. This meant I was left with one, more interesting option of “procuring” this hood – make my own hybrid. You gotta do what you gotta do…<\/p>\n
I hit up my man Ken @ Shine and was able to convince him to make me a copy of just the dual vents. I then brought this over to William and had him work some magic into my stock hood. Needless to say, the molding and bodywork process was quite difficult and intricate ($$$). I asked William to take pictures along the way, check it out. <\/p>\n
Here is what the vents look like placed over the stock hood, for reference.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n In order to transpose the vent accurately into the hood, very precise and measured cuts needed to be made. <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Inserted into position:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Next came the task of bonding everything together.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n And then a lot of filling and smoothing.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Primered:<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The holes for the vents were then cut out. Only the center sections of the vents were cut because this was a balance of compromising structural rigidity. Furthermore, the framework of the stock hood actually impedes the vents on the side areas, so it wasn’t worth it. <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The job took about 3 weeks to complete. Here is the hood painted and installed. <\/p>\n