Ok, guys! I’m definitely doing a shaker hood conversion. I have found that the most cost efficient way of doing this is getting a donor shaker hood and cutting out the shaker hole then welding it in to the existing hood. Sizing and cutting the hole and then having to roll the lip would take much longer labor hours since I’m having a body shop do this project.
The key is getting the hood cheap enough to make all of this cost efficient. There are plenty of shaker hoods out there if you want to spend
$400 to $800! Lol! But that’s not going to be cost efficient here. So I have been look for the hood on Craigslist and junkyards in the western United States. I’m going to use the shaker only, so, if I were to find an affordable hood from a junkyard I would have them cut out the shaker 12 inches around the hole and ship that because the shipping cost would be much less than shipping an entire hood.
I first searched for local hoods within a couple hours from my home but after 3 months of scouring Craigslist ads I have been unsuccessful finding a hood under $100. My goal was to find a dented or partially rusted hood that would be much lower priced in hope that the shaker area would be in good shape.
My second search now expanded to some salvage yards. After 2 months I finally found what I was looking for! CTC Auto Salvage in Texas had a 1977 Transam shaker hood that was dented and rusted so it was cheap! $90!
Cutting the shaker out and Crating and shipping to Ohio cost me $40 but overall its exactly what I was looking for!
