Just a quick peek in your...
Just a quick peek in your rearview mirror is enough to make you tense up when you see this sight snarling back at you. It's the in-your-face styling of the WS6 Trans Am that always has people looking twice and keeps owners grinning. For those who were not fortunate enough to buy a WS6 Bird, the aftermarket has responded to the demand for a similar hood design, as seen with our VFN WS6-style fiberglass piece.
The expression "hitting the nail on the head" comes to mind when discussing the '98-'02 WS6 Trans Am. You'd be hard-pressed to find a tougher, meaner looking car on the road-or at least one that's affordable on a sensible income.
Since the T/A's arrival, the aftermarket has been flooded with replica WS6-style hoods of varying quality. GM offers its factory replacement hoods for a small fortune, so many fiberglass hood manufacturers have found success with their more affordable products. While researching hood possibilities for this T/A, VFN Fiberglass, in Addison, Illinois, came up. We found many testimonials speaking highly of its products and customer service, so we gave the company a call and ultimately sourced one of its widely popular WS6-style hoods for '98-'02 Firebirds.
Once the hood arrived, John Dempsey, owner of J.D.'s Paint & Body, in Mulberry, Florida, instructed us to test-fit it to the car. This saved us a lot of headaches before we got to the body shop since we were able to assess the problem areas. Armando Kent at VFN also informed us that the hinges might need some modification to help align the hood and allow it to sit correctly. After this was done, we had J.D. examine it and provide an estimate on labor and materials for prep and paint.
It was during this time that we ran into an issue with the factory hood struts. Since the new hood is considerably lighter, the struts were too stiff. As a result, the slight flexing when we attempted to close the hood scared us into seeking out alternative struts, but we only found dead ends. Therefore, we opted to modify the factory struts and install a strut prop rather than have expensive custom struts made. We used a Thexton Universal Hood/Tailgate prop, available through Snap-on Tools (PN 430). After addressing this problem, we looked at the hood's cosmetic attributes.
The terms "bolt-on" and "fiberglass" usually have very little business being in the same sentence. Fiberglass hoods, as a rule, require a certain amount of prep work to make them fit correctly. Our hood needed some work along the driver side that was easy to address with a thin layer of filler. Some hoods need more attention than others, but the same procedures are followed on any hood to ensure a proper fit. Thankfully, this install went well, as you can see in the following photos and captions.
Though the factory Trans Am...
Though the factory Trans Am hood is smooth and clean, we wanted to wake it up with something more aggressive and intimidating.
The VFN WS6-style hood closely...
The VFN WS6-style hood closely resembles the OEM WS6 hood. There are small differences between the two, namely the way the raised edges of the scoops taper off into the hood surface, but it retains the menacing look.
VFN and John Dempsey, of J.D.'s...
VFN and John Dempsey, of J.D.'s Paint & Body, suggested that we test-fit the hood to the T/A before we sent it off for paint. We began removing the stock hood at the safety release and striker. This also saved us the frustration of having to pop the hood again if it closed. The striker is held down by 13mm bolts and the hood release is secured with 10mm bolts.
Upon removing the hood striker,...
Upon removing the hood striker, we ground this small alignment tab down, as shown. The factory steel hood has a hole to fit this tab, but the VFN hood doesn't have provisions for it. The other choice is to simply drill the needed hole for a stock appearance.
After we installed a temporary...
After we installed a temporary prop to support the hood's weight, we unbolted the struts on both sides. They're held down by two 10mm bolts and can be reused on the new fiberglass hood. VFN strongly suggests that you modify the struts to have less tension, as this can lead to hood damage. We decided to release the pressure from the struts by drilling a small hole in the side of each one.