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Duraflex?????

5K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  Gigity 
#1 ·
I see some vendors producing C5 fenders in Duraflex. What is it and how does it compare to the fiberglass on the Corvette?
 
#9 ·
Think Fiero ? Hey I had a 84 fiero and slid it into a guardrail in the snow. It caved the whole rear quarter in deep. I inched it off the rail and smacked the panel it popped right out without a mark.I loved that body but the car mechanics were a nightmare.
 
#13 ·
It is pure JUNK.
Some of the stuff looks good once you modify everything to get it to fit, but be prepared to spend 6-7 times the price of the hood. The guy at the body shop warned me and begged me NOT to buy it because he had just gone through it with another car.
I bought the Duraflex ZR Edition 2 hood. The first one I bought was carbon fiber. It wouldn't come close to lining up. I called the company and they said to "field destroy" it and they would refund the purchase - which I did and so did they (to their credit). It doesn't say much when they didn't want the hood back.
Their CF hood:
Motor vehicle Vehicle Car Hood Panel beater

A stock hood (notice how well it lines up with the fenders):
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Hood Alloy wheel

End Result:
Tire

So I was obviously PO'd, but since MCM was out of business I searched all over and couldn't find one I liked better (I think it is a cool looking hood but some don't). So after a couple of weeks I went back to the body shop and told them I really wanted it so they said I if really wanted it that bad, then get it but get the fiberglass version so they could operate on it "and be prepared to spend at least $5,000 getting it right". So I ordered the fiberglass version, and then the trouble started. The screens that ship in the openings are held on to the food by cheap little tabs and the first thing we had to do was go find a screen that was better quality than the chicken wire they ship with it. The hood didn't come close to fitting; in fact they had to spend an incredible amount of time and money deforming the perfectly fitting fenders I had bought from a quality manufacturer (L5).
Fender Surgery to make a cheap hood fit "better"
Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Automotive design Automotive exterior

You won't find a straight line on the hood anywhere-
Yellow Hood Automotive exterior Vehicle Bumper

So after all of that and some great painting, the car hood looked pretty good-
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Sports car

Then even after it was finished, more trouble. The rest of the car was great; the hood was constantly developing so many "duck ponds" that getting them all cleaned up and worked out took three tries. We would get the hood straight, drive it for a couple of months, and voila:
Yellow Vehicle Automotive design Car Automotive exterior

The last straw was when the fiberglass started separating. So out of pure frustration, I have now basically rebuilt the entire hood AGAIN over the past 5 weeks. I had them cut out every single bad section, and they found "pockets" throughout the hood when they starting reworking it. Absolute JUNK! I wish to God I could find the pictures I took of the bubbles that were forming where the fiberglass (or whatever they make these things out of) started separating, but here are typical areas-
Yellow Blue Watercolor paint Close-up Textile

Yellow Material property Painting Paint Drawing

Yellow Wall Sky Geological phenomenon Road

One more warning: If you have done any mods to your engine, you will probably need to rework the entire underside of the hood (that's not their fault, but I never had to do it when MCM was in business).
Motor vehicle Hood Automotive design Vehicle Auto part

So you have been warned. There are too many quality manufacturers to go with before using this product. To date, I easily have over $8,000 invested in this hood.
DON'T BUY IT - It isn't worth your money and definitely isn't worth your time!
 
#15 ·
you ought to see what I got in the car now...... my wife would KILL me
 
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