Aluminum Hood

[69hurstolds]

Weight saving

It may in this case, but whenever I see that phrase I always think of the W-30 package of old and how people always said they used weight savings measures over a regular 442. And that makes me chuckle. The W-30 package IIRC, actually ADDED something like 50 lbs thereabouts to the car, even with reduced insulation packages. I'd have to go back and look at the specs breakdown, but I believe it was around that figure.

Also, I don't believe for a second that Oldsmobile put an aluminum hood on a Calais destined for C&C. I'm calling BS on that, and people can deny it all they want, but that would have been azz backwards of how GM did things in general. They used steel hoods all the way through 1988, so the possibility of them running out of steel hoods on back then's wildly popular GM selling car is about the chance of this virus pandemic coming to an end tomorrow.

The issue I see is, the steel and aluminum hoods had different part numbers. And there was only one part number for the W40 STEEL hood. ALL the aluminum hoods have the "extra" piercing just like the "regular" steel hoods. The W40 hoods did not. Which means, if it rains or you wash the hood, you're likely getting a leak, soaking the hood liner from the back side. So even an "accidental" wrong part install of this magnitude would seem extremely improbable. You'd probably bend the hood using the steel hood springs.

Documentation/pics or it didn't happen. All GM documentation so far says it didn't happen.

 

[fleming442]

It's definitely cool that they made them. Aluminum bumper supports? Meh. Probably going to sell mine off the 78. I hit too much stuff.

 

[LeftLaneOnly]

What is the lbs difference between the two

 

[88hurstolds]

Also, I don't believe for a second that Oldsmobile put an aluminum hood on a Calais destined for C&C. I'm calling BS on that, and people can deny it all they want, but that would have been azz backwards of how GM did things in general. They used steel hoods all the way through 1988, so the possibility of them running out of steel hoods on back then's wildly popular GM selling car is about the chance of this virus pandemic coming to an end tomorrow.

The issue I see is, the steel and aluminum hoods had different part numbers. And there was only one part number for the W40 STEEL hood. ALL the aluminum hoods have the "extra" piercing just like the "regular" steel hoods. The W40 hoods did not. Which means, if it rains or you wash the hood, you're likely getting a leak, soaking the hood liner from the back side. So even an "accidental" wrong part install of this magnitude would seem extremely improbable. You'd probably bend the hood using the steel hood springs.

Documentation/pics or it didn't happen. All GM documentation so far says it didn't happen.

It's been almost a year now and I've yet to have anyone come forward with evidence of an original low mile unmolested '83/'84 H/O with an aluminum hood after pressing the issue a few times on FB. One guy about 5 years ago on FB claimed he had one and also claimed that he had an aluminum core support on his 83 H/O which was a huge red flag of BS, he was also a notorious for picking fights online with people and was banned from many groups. His brother came forward last year and said he's a POS and his family doesn't talk to him so that one is ruled out... Leaves one other guy I think from NY years ago on here or Oldspower that claimed to have an aluminum hooded H/O but I think further discussions with him showed that there were a number of other mods on the car and he was skeptical. Guy I know in Wisconsin with one shows to be hacked at with no clean hole saw edges or primer around the holes on top.

 

[hangar401]

I dont think they all did, however I have run across a couple at yard from 78 to 80 that did.

My 79 Calais has it

 

[hangar401]

No they didn't all come with aluminum hoods.

79 305 stock has the aluminum hood

 

[69hurstolds]

To this day I still don't understand the randomness of it. To what degree did they say it was a successful venture to keep making the hoods through the late 70s and through most of the 80s?

There did seem to be a concentration of 1984s that had aluminum hoods.

It's not about fuel efficiency by itself or they would have put them on all the cars they could. There's got to be another reason. GM never did crap without a reason. May not be a good one, but they had one.

I get the late 70s cars with aluminum parts. Weight savings due to gas crunch II was a big deal. But here and there, cars just kept getting aluminum junk at seemingly random.

NO VIN 9 Olds that I have ever seen came with an aluminum hood that I have ever found. With as many as I have seen and been around, you would think I'd have stumbled across one. I'll never be convinced they ever came with them from the factory.

 

[blk7gxn]

To this day I still don't understand the randomness of it. To what degree did they say it was a successful venture to keep making the hoods through the late 70s and through most of the 80s?

There did seem to be a concentration of 1984s that had aluminum hoods.

It's not about fuel efficiency by itself or they would have put them on all the cars they could. There's got to be another reason. GM never did crap without a reason. May not be a good one, but they had one.

I get the late 70s cars with aluminum parts. Weight savings due to gas crunch II was a big deal. But here and there, cars just kept getting aluminum junk at seemingly random.

NO VIN 9 Olds that I have ever seen came with an aluminum hood that I have ever found. With as many as I have seen and been around, you would think I'd have stumbled across one. I'll never be convinced they ever came with them from the factory.

Some good points. I agree, GM having a good reason, perhaps we will never know. The randomness is still a killer to me and strikes my curiosity not only with these aluminum hoods, but other parts used at random over the years in production. Perhaps GM was trying to fall into play with an EPA requirement, or not, I'm sure building aluminum anything was highly costly, along with making special tooling for it. I have reached out to several XGM employees to try to rattle their brains to quench my own thirst on a few questions I had, and STILL have for that matter, because no one could recall. Unfortunalty, the G line was not a high quality, desirable, or collectable car, it was a mediocre affordable vehicle for the motoring middle class public, GM made decisions to make a buck or to follow certain guidelines and regulations in production, I truly feel our answer lie's in-between there somewhere.

 

[Ribbedroof]

My take on it has always been that it was some combination of model/option content/drivetrain. Perhaps to meet some F/R weight balance criteria.

Without KNOWING the criteria, trying to reverse-engineer GM's policies from an incredibly small sample of the production run would seem to be an exercise in futility.

Embrace the fact that they DID make them, and use to your advantage.

 

[DRIVEN]

79 305 stock has the aluminum hood

Mine too. Relatively low optioned Supreme.