My Review on Motion Performance Parts Hoods

[Fox Body]

Appearance of hood
Hood photo 1, Hood photo 2, Hood photo 3
IMO, I am VERY happy and thoroughly content with the hood.

Quality of hood
Now I'm no fiberglass hood specialist, but I did give it a thorough inspection. I held it up to a bright light and the fiberglass is well-evenly spread throughout. No cracks, noticeable thin spots or anything major. However, there were 1 or 2 small (about 2" in diameter) places where the gelcoat was a little thin (almost not there). So I wonder how that's gonna work out when I go to get it painted....

Price of hood
By credit card, it costed $360. If I had done it by money order (which would have taken longer), there is a small discount, it would've costed $330. (OOoooohh, big deal !) These prices include packaging fee, but exclude shipping. We'll get to that in just a few...

Quality of shipping service
Now this is the part that pissed me off the most. Shipping was $100 and was by Wilson Trucking Corp. This is the first time I have had anything this big shipped to me, but that does seem a little steep in $$$ if ya ask me. So you add $100 to $360 and you get a total of $460.

Amount of prep work
Hood prep photo 1. I had to shave 4 areas of the side lip so that the hood would clear the rubber hood stops;
Hood prep photo 2. I had to shave around alot the back inside of the hood so it would clear the breather;
Hood prep photo 3. There is no hood prop hole in the hood. The hood spring and hook did bolt on with no problem whatsoever.

Prep work wasn't bad at all considering:
1) you already own a dremel with the correct shaving head
2) the 4 clips in the new 'glass hood that the 4 bolts go into accomodate the same size bolts that go into your original hood.
3) a dust mask would be nice

This took me a few hrs. If I had to do it again, it'd take much less time. Wasn't hard at all though.
The thing that pissed me off about this though is that I ask the guy on the phone at MPP if it was "fully bolt on." I specifically asked him, "So, all I have to do is take off the old hood and put on the new one." He replied, "Yes, that's right." ....That wasn't true...
The clips on the hood that the bolts go into were a different size (bigger) than the the original bolts and MPP didn't send any bolts along with the hood, which the SHOULD HAVE. That means I had to go to Advanced Auto Parts and fish out (trial and error-- bought 3 diff, size and thread bolds) the right bolts. Turned out to be a metric size that fit. Hmmmm.

All in all, I am very happy with the hood. Both it's quality and appearance. I am still pissed off about the shipping arrangement though.

My rating of MPP's hood and service-- each on a scale of 1-10 (10 being best)
Appearance of hood = 10
Quality of hood = 9
Price of hood = 9
Quality (and price) of shipping service = 7 (took 2 weeks to get here and the shipping was a little pricey IMO)
Amount of prep work = 9 (really easy for me and this was the first time I ever did this)

Total = 44 out of 50 possible points
Score = 88%

When I scored this, I kept raising each individual score until I could not allow myself to raise them anymore. I would like to say that it scored about 99%, but that's how it added up.

NOTE: Now, if the shipping wasn't included in the rating, the hood itself would've scored 92.5%. That is very good.

I hope this info can help someone even if it is only added knowledge or just a reminder (if you already knew it all )

[Coupe Devil]

Cool man, good review. My only question and maybe I missed something is "Did the hood have and inner lining"? I wouldn't mind having a hood like that if it has the full inner lining.

[1BAD89]

Yeah $80-100 is about right for shipping on a hood. My harwood hood cost $550 with shipping included! So don't feel bad, I had to do ALOT of trimming also.

[Five0]

I just removes the rubber stops on mine. It even said to do that in the instructions that came with it. The fit was great and it is the full under side. Shipping was 75 dollars.
I got mine from abc exclusive.

[Fox Body]

pony_power_90,
No it came with a "partial inner" (see hood prep photo 2 above). That is the only way I would have it though-- cuts down on weight (but it is still very sturdy) and that is something I always keep in mind when adding something new. Plus, still looks as good as a "full inner" hood on the outside.

1BAD89 and Five0,
Thanks for the info on the shipping prices. That does kinda set my mind at ease.

[Mach 1]

well, I would say you paid to much for the hood and the shipping. You really have to shop around. There are better hoods available for a better price. You could have drove to MPS that is located northeast of Atlanta from Augusta and picked up a hood there, saving shipping, and you can get the hoods for around $300-$330. Also, you should have removed the rubber stops, not ground down your hood. Live and learn.

On the plus side, you give one heck of a comprehensive review. Keep up the good work.

[Fox Body]

Mach 1.

Thanks for the compliments on the hood review.

I did my research. I did not just wake up one morning, look at a few ads in the paper and buy a hood from some weird company. I spent months searching for a 4" cowl induction hood for a '79-82 Mustang and only found 2 places: Motion Performance Parts and Cincinatti Composites. Due to the # of complaints on this site and others about CC, plus PERSONAL bad experience with them, I could not allow myself to buy from them.
I asked MPS did they sell them and they said "No". I called and asked them several diff times and they said, guess what, "No." Moreover, I don't think I trust them that much either, to tell the truth.
Driving to MPS was not an option. Work schedule and other factors did not permit it, plain and simple.

Us '79-82 Mustang guys don't get it as easy as the '87-93 guys, that's just how it goes with aftermarket nowadays, screw it, I've almost come to terms with that.

Also, I opted to shave the hood rather than remove the stops-- my preference, my choice, no damage done.


...BTW, it's kinda funny when people tell me what I "should've/could've" done after the fact, but when I posted (many times) on the hood subject b4 it was bought, little or no one accurately could tell me what I "should've/could've" done.

(if it sounds like I'm pissed at you, I'm not, just letting you know the facts. )

[Mach 1]

I was wondering what year your car was, I am aware that nobody sells hoods for the 79-82' , as my friend has an 82' GT and is always complaining that nobody makes hoods for his car. Anyway, that definately limited your choice, and would explain why MPS didnt have a hood for your car.

As far as you "opting" to shave your hood instead of remove the rubber stops, it would appear that you brain farted when you made the decision to grind away the hood unnecesarily. It happens.
I disagree with that decision, and figured in hind sight you would of as well. But apparantly you thought it out beforehand and decided to grind away your hood for no reason. Hey , thats cool. Just dont understand why you decided to go that way?

[Fox Body]

I decided to go that way b/c I rather have some absorbance between the hood and the car. Believe me, Im careful about what I do to my car and I personally rather carefully grind off the hood by the bumper stops rather than removing them, also considering that IMO (which is what is most important when considering my own property), it takes zero away from the hood's visual appearance (b/c most of all, you cannot see the modification when the hood is shut-- and of course it spends way more time shut than open. That is another reason I opted to go with the partial instead of full inner). I personally see nothing wrong with grinding away the hood, now or earlier, and I like it just the same. That may be hard for you to believe, but that is the best way I can explain it to you, man. If you don't like it, hey, look on the bright side, at least you don't have to drive it.

To all others reading the review, you may follow Mach 1s advice if you wish. It is another option if you'd rather not grind your hood...whichever you desire.

Thanks for your input Mach 1.