Help! 71 R/T hood question

[Jer]

Okay, I have an odd one here....I have an R/T hood here that came off a '71 I purchased ages ago.  Now, the hood has the '71 R/T insert and everythng looks fine EXCEPT that it has the '73-style vents in the rear. The underside of the hood has never been painted - any of it - frame or skin.  The part number stamped onto a side rail is 3482471, which is the part number for the 1971 (only) fresh-air hood.  There are no non-factory welds anywhere, even along the seam along the outboard edges.  No filler, no welds, no overlaps, no nothing.  The vents are original to the skin, and none have been patched or filled. It appears that someone ordered the hood from Chrysler, never painted the underside, painted the top side and put it on the car.   I'm assuming factory service replacement part (because of the stamped part number and unpainted bottom) but how would that be done?  Punching a '73 rallye hood for the '71 insert seems odd, but maybe they sent it through old tooling.  Maybe.  I mean...... I'm a bit confused on this.

Anyone got a clue as to how this hood came to be?  And what do I call it - '71?  '73?  Hybrid '72??

Thanks, oh wise Charger nuts!    Jer

[superblu72]

I have the same hood, NOS ,but painted and never put on a car. Probably just a replacement part marked w/71 part number manufactured in or after 73? Same bulge as a 71 hood just stamped w/hole for r/t or superbee insert.

[rt green]

could be what was avalible after '73 for body shop parts to repair 71's.  i like the way they look though. 

[ipstrategies]

That is a nice green hood. I have seen a few with the 72 vents but never a 73.

[TruckDriver]

  That's a new one to me too!

[SeattleCharger]

Haven't seen that hood on a car, or didn't notice vents, anyone have a pic of a car with one on it? 

[1958300]

I have been chasing the hood vent issue for months, and I think I finally have a vague idea of what Chrysler was doing in the early 70's. I am interested in air grabber/ramcharger hoods, but the R/T (and even Superbee) hoods would probably fall into the same category. Generally speaking, the 1971 hood had vents all the way across, the 1972 hood had a small gap in the middle of the vents, the 1973 had two small groups of vents, and the 1974 had no vents at all. I say generally speaking, since there are documented original 1971 cars with the gap in the middle of the vents (like a 1972), and there are 1972 cars with the continuous vents (like a 1971). This seems to be a issue with the original supplier, and both type were used in both years. It gets more interesting with the 1973 style vents in the hoods. Obviously, Chrysler would need to stock spare parts for collision replacements, so the hoods made after the original production runs had the 1973 style vents. A friend of mine just sold his air grabber hood with the 1973 style vents, and I thought it was just something somebody made up by putting air grabber parts on a 1973 hood. He claimed that it was NOS and had never been on a car. After a lot of research, I am now inclined to believe that what he said was true, and that the hood had never been on a car. It was a factory replacement hood.

I have never seen an R/T hood with the 1973 style vents until now, but seeing is believing that Chrysler really did some strange and wonderful things.

[Jer]

Hey, guys, thanks for the help and info!  This is a first for me, too, and it's the only one I've actually seen until Superblu's picture.  Service part makes sense, but one never knows with '70s Mopars.....I'll bet the '73-vented air grabber hood owner got a lot of questions! 

[hotrod98]

I've seen similar situations with other parts from mopar. All replacement fenders for the 70 and 71 challengers after the 71 model year had the 72 up style inner panel that bolts to the core support. There is a square notch cut in them for the 72 up style grilles. When I restore a 70 or 71 that has that notch, I fill it in to make it look correct.

[1958300]

Well,after seeing my first R/T hood with the 73 style vents, look what's on ebay right now!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mopar-1971-71-Dodge-Charger-R-T-RT-Hood-very-nice_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34204QQihZ020QQitemZ300000801252QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[Nacho-RT74]

is amazing when some weird stuff is noticed, then appears more inmediatly

[hemigeno]

is amazing when some weird stuff is noticed, then appears more inmediatly

Hmmm, there's almost certainly more to this story than pure coincidence.  I think that the person who started this thread is now selling their hood on eBay armed with the information gained in this thread.  Strange how that works sometimes...

[SeattleCharger]

I like it better when someone lists the item here first and gives people here a chance to buy it first, then put it on ebay later if needed, but I know ebay reaches a bigger market and you can charge more without feeling guilty, because it is a stranger buying it probably, and not someone from the site. What are ya gonna do. 

[MassCharger73]

If he can get two grand for that hood I am going to start asking questions about all my odds and ends here !

[twilt]

A very unique hood...............  Since the hood is basically an " incorrect service replacement", I personally would value it at a price significantly lower than a correct original. 

[Troy]

is amazing when some weird stuff is noticed, then appears more inmediatly

Hmmm, there's almost certainly more to this story than pure coincidence.  I think that the person who started this thread is now selling their hood on eBay armed with the information gained in this thread.  Strange how that works sometimes...

I'm inclined to agree (original poster is in/near Rochester). However, I think it's great that people somehow find this place in order to get their questions answered - which is basically one of the great benefits of this site.

Troy

[Jer]

I'm inclined to agree (original poster is in/near Rochester). However, I think it's great that people somehow find this place in order to get their questions answered - which is basically one of the great benefits of this site.

Troy

Hi, Troy -

Actually, I'm sure there are many more members who 'lurk' on the board, looking AND learning, and that alone is a great benefit not only to the board, but to those who want to do things right!  So, as one who lurks on occasion, my many thanks.

As some have guessed, the original question was asked by me, and I have the hood offered on eBay.  It was a member of this board who alerted me to the fact that my hood really wasn't what I thought it was, but he wasn't sure how it came to be.  It looks like a modifed '73, and he figured others who know the 3rd gen Chargers would just assume the same thing.  So, I figured I'd ask those who might know best - members of this board.

As for the price....well, it is eBay, and it is a B-I-N price....plus, it helps weed out those who think they might score it for $400......but seriously, I'm sure all of us have purchased a car or parts that others have scratched their heads at and thought we were nuts.  Is it worth the money?  Maybe, to someone.  All I know is that the hood, even as an incorrect '71, is far too nice to leave on the '71 500 semi-rotbox it was installed on.  Kind of like a designer hat being put on a lady who purchased her dress at Wal-mart.  I have a decent power bulge hood for the 500, if I can ever find the time to put it all together......

Again, my many thanks to those who have taken the time to reply, and to help a guy who is still learning the subtle differences about '71-74 Chargers.  Have a great, safe 4th!

Jer

[Nacho-RT74]

I'm agree with latelly posted... this board is more usefull and checked that we think. If you look at home page frequently it appears guests double than members on line... I think that is great.

AND HERE IS A FUNNY EXAMPLE LOL:
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,8128.0.html

[Mr_fixit]

I have a hood just like that one with the 73 style vents.  Same part  number underneath.