Please help... Gen1 or Gen2 Hood?

[DDlesk06]

Is this a gen1 or gen 2 viper hood??? I know it doesn't have the NACA duct or the heat exhaust... HOWEVER, it does appear to have the cut-out's for them. Please see pics and let me know. I need to purchase a gen1 hood.

eBay Motors: Dodge Viper Hood (item 160185436238 end time Dec-07-07 20:35:45 PST)

Thanks!

 

[Viper Wizard]

It's a GENI hood but it could be a GENII hood if you cut the holes for the vents & scoop? It does not look like a factory hood to me? So don't know about the fit??

 

[DDlesk06]

Agreed... still confusing none-the-less. Appreciate the response.

 

[plumcrazy]

id be carefull. tator says it doesnt look OEM and he'd know. i agree.

 

[DDlesk06]

Believe me, I agree with the Wizard... Looking at the parts list for the hood, it shows that the NACA air duct and vents appear to simply "merge" with the hood as additional pieces. It looks like this hood is "not complete" meaning you need to dremmel out the holes and insert the duct & vents? Thanks for the help guys.

 

[FE 065]

I've got a Gen 1 hood I'll sell you, PM me.

Approx 300 miles north of Cincinnati btw

 

[FE 065]

It's a GENI hood but it could be a GENII hood if you cut the holes for the vents & scoop? It does not look like a factory hood to me? So don't know about the fit??

Chuck should know, but why does it have all the mounting bosses for the NACA duct and fender louvers cast into it? Almost seems to be more like a Gen 2 hood smoothed over to look like a Gen 1.

 

[DDlesk06]

I've got a Gen 1 hood I'll sell you, PM me.

Approx 300 miles north of Cincinnati btw

PM sent... Thanks

 

[RTTTTed]

GTSbud also had a hood, and a thread on it here.

Ted

 

[Freddog11]

If I'm not mistaken, the 1996 RT/10 had a smooth hood with the cutouts for NACA ducts and vents on the underpanel, sometimes referred to as the GEN 1.5

 

[vipermech1]

The hoods are made in 2 major parts a inner and a outer panel.
All inner panels in the later gen 1 had the cutouts. The
hoods from a gen1 and a gts will interchange. Later model had
the rear catcher hooks. They were to make the hood snap or bend
in the middle in a crash. So as to not let it go thru the windshield. and cause people damage.

 

[DDlesk06]

Thanks. I think Freddog hit the nail on the head. Looking at early Gen2 RT/10's, they have the cut-outs prepped (just not cut-out). However, on the Gen1's (particularly mine - '95), there are no cut-outs defined. A simple comparison between the two inner panels shows the difference.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

I have a damaged Gen2 with the vents if all else fails.

 

[Rheeder218]

my Gen 1 94 viper has the cut outs under the hood, but then my buddies 95 doesnt have the cut out ready for the duct and vents. whats up with that

 

[99 R/T 10]

my Gen 1 94 viper has the cut outs under the hood, but then my buddies 95 doesnt have the cut out ready for the duct and vents. whats up with that

Your hood is a replacement. Most likely before you bought the car.

 

[GTSjbud]

I have a mint '96 Gen. II hood for sale. I've sent you a PM regarding it.

Cheers
Jason

 

[94 RT/10 Black MAMBA]

Back in 1999 the hood on my '94 developed cracks......the dealer replaced it even though it was out of warranty with what they said was a hood from one of the factory race cars that was replaced with something lighter. They factory authorized this because they said the GenI hood was defective.

I don't know if thats true but it has the vents and ducts that haven't been cut out.

I recomend that you stay away from Gen I hoods if you can.They were made using a different process and ALL are going to crack some day.

There is some kind of number on the underside if I recall that tells you the diffence in manufacture....JonB told me back then what it was but I have forgotten. Maybe he'll post a response if he sees this.

 

[DDlesk06]

Back in 1999 the hood on my '94 developed cracks......the dealer replaced it even though it was out of warranty with what they said was a hood from one of the factory race cars that was replaced with something lighter. They factory authorized this because they said the GenI hood was defective.

I don't know if thats true but it has the vents and ducts that haven't been cut out.

I recomend that you stay away from Gen I hoods if you can.They were made using a different process and ALL are going to crack some day.

There is some kind of number on the underside if I recall that tells you the diffence in manufacture....JonB told me back then what it was but I have forgotten. Maybe he'll post a response if he sees this.

Although my original hood is now cracked, I'd still like to keep the car as original as possible. I love the Gen1 vipers for their "authenticity" if you will... My take on it is if you're going for the all-stock appeal, keep it that way (especially when the hood alone is 25% cost of the vehicle!). None-the-less, since I use my Viper as an everyday driver, putting a Gen2 hood on it is of little concern. Thanks for the input.

 

[dansauto]

They are not all going to crack, some did others did not. Yes it was a process issue, but plenty of Gen1 hoods did not crack. BTY they can be fixed so they dont crack...

 

[94 RT/10 Black MAMBA]

I guess I wasn't clear enough about how the factory got around to giving me a hood.

The zone rep from DC decided to use my hood to see if they could repair it. It was becoming more common for cracked hoods to be reported to the factory about that time.

They sent my car to what the zone rep called his best body shop around at that time. The shop tried various methods of repair but found none they were completely happy with. They determined that the cracks that developed in my hood could not be repaired....the factory team finally attempted to sand blast the cracks out but found that they went all the way through the hood.

Their final conclusion was that they couldn't repair it. They also decided that they had totally destroyed my hood in the process and thus found this one at the plant ( I guess just lying around up there) and gave it to me.

 

[DDlesk06]

I guess I wasn't clear enough about how the factory got around to giving me a hood.

The zone rep from DC decided to use my hood to see if they could repair it. It was becoming more common for cracked hoods to be reported to the factory about that time.

They sent my car to what the zone rep called his best body shop around at that time. The shop tried various methods of repair but found none they were completely happy with. They determined that the cracks that developed in my hood could not be repaired....the factory team finally attempted to sand blast the cracks out but found that they went all the way through the hood.

Their final conclusion was that they couldn't repair it. They also decided that they had totally destroyed my hood in the process and thus found this one at the plant ( I guess just lying around up there) and gave it to me.

That *****!

Interesting that they could get away with putting a Gen2 (or Gen1.5) on your Viper.

 

[dansauto]

sandblast? no wonder, They just could have ground the crack out, cure the area under a heat lamp for 24 hrs and re-resin with SMC repair and it will be fine.

 

[94 RT/10 Black MAMBA]

again I'm not being clear enough....

The cracks were not only through the hood they were numerous. As in hundreds of them scattered all over. That is why they decided it was useless....more would just keep appearing as the hood got older.

Fixing the ones they could see at the time was like putting a band aid on cancer.

 

[Freddog11]

That *****!

Interesting that they could get away with putting a Gen2 (or Gen1.5) on your Viper.

Actually, unless it was a car that was being preserved for absolute originality, the newer hood is a significant improvement. In 1996 they changed from the RTM (Resin Transfer Mold) to SMC (Sheet Molded Compound), thus reducing the cracking problems and making a much stronger hood. The '96 RT/10 had the smooth hood (SMC) with the underpanel designed to allow the vents and the NACA duct. SMC is a much better process and is used on many vehicles today.

 

[94 RT/10 Black MAMBA]

that's exactly right....Rtm and SMC were the designations I forgot.

They didn't have to give me anything because my car was out of warranty. The only reason they did was because they wanted to experiment with different repairs on the cracks and told me that if they couldn't repair my hood they would provide another.

 

[Rheeder218]

hmm maybe someone could carfax the car for me. If possible that would be great thanks.