[Blur'd Vision]

@Blur'd Vision Lucky you and Liz! 😁 With as much salt and brine being used around here, it will take a good couple of rain storms to get Thunders tires round again! 😪

See Larry, That's the thing. We have had so much rain here. The reservoirs are 17.5 inches ABOVE normal! SO the brine they used is long gone. We drive Rt 98 from Wake Forest thru Durham to our son's house and Falls Lake is almost up to the road and MUDDY . But you'll get there and now you're retired and can enjoy driving Thunder most every day!

 

[Firetruck]

Great day! First permagrin of the new year! Top down and 60 degree weather in Cincinnati. Drove to @cincyssr place and meet up with @run faster. Installed new front stiffening plate (thanks @Mike in AZ ) and newly painted body matched running boards.
Also did a little top adjustment on the new truck. We look like Tennessee now... Red... Red... Red...!
After a long winter, we needed a good clear your head kind of day. Now it's out to dinner...

 

[HUAW]

Did @runfaster get a 3rd SSR? Or did @cincyssr add the ALL STATE Parade/Pace Truck to his stable? or is my memory going?

 

[Firetruck]

Did @runfaster get a 3rd SSR? Or did @cincyssr add the ALL STATE Parade/Pace Truck to his stable? or is my memory going?

@run faster is the new owner, third in their stable. It's a really nice truck, very special!
And in very good hands..,

 

[HUAW]

@run faster is the new owner, third in their stable. It's a really nice truck, very special!
And in very good hands..,

Wow! Thats Awesome!!!

 

[Trygodfirst]

Great day! First permagrin of the new year! Top down and 60 degree weather in Cincinnati. Drove to @cincyssr place and meet up with @run faster. Installed new front stiffening plate (thanks @Mike in AZ ) and newly painted body matched running boards.
Also did a little top adjustment on the new truck. We look like Tennessee now... Red... Red... Red...!
After a long winter, we needed a good clear your head kind of day. Now it's out to dinner...
View attachment 591406 View attachment 591407 View attachment 591408 View attachment 591409 View attachment 591410

Betting you LOVE that front stiffening plate. I felt the difference right away

 

[Firetruck]

Betting you LOVE that front stiffening plate. I felt the difference right away

Noticed it pulling out of the driveway! Money well spent there!

 

[Curbsssr]

Cleaned her up inside and out...

 

[DOOPHUS]

Betting you LOVE that front stiffening plate. I felt the difference right away

Noticed it pulling out of the driveway! Money well spent there!

I have said it dozens of times . . . DEFINITELY AN INVESTMENT.

After more than 15 years of upgrades and stuff . . . the Front Frame Stiffening Plate affords the most noticeable overall improvement of them all.

Driving away from Mike's Garage after installation, I could sense the improvement immediately.

! ! 👍 ! ! 👍 ! !

 

[Guzzi Guy]

Beautiful day here in the 80's, so I pulled the R out of the garage and we headed out with the top down. We ended up on US 41 going to a fruit stand that was recommended by our plumber/handyman that just happened to have strawberry milkshakes and strawberry shortcake on the menu. The wife and I both ended up going with the milkshakes which was nice and refreshing. We then continued our tour of the countryside crossing over to US 301 and heading back up north ending up at the house. A nice albeit short relaxing ride with no interstates!

Dave

 

[Trygodfirst]

SSR IN SHOP SO.......drove the GMC to Church.

 

[Bee75]

Took the R out to Alligator Alley in South Florida for a sunset cruise 🌴🌴🌴

 

[HUAW]

We hit the 50's today and pulled Thunder out of the garage to knock of some of that winter dust. Sure felt good to get him all shined up again. Then got things around to mount the L88 Kaminari/MPD hood tomorrow to see how it fits. I've got a couple of newer Fanatics to give me a hand. I've got some pointers from @MorbidSlowBurn on what to do. He recently mounted one of the carbon fiber hoods. Then I had to take him for a quick drive around our country mile! Oh how I love that 6 speed inspired PermaGrin! 😁 💙

 

[dave rasmussen]

I think next week will be warm and dry enough to go for a drive. I sure hasn't got dusty because of the 30" of snow.

We hit the 50's today and pulled Thunder out of the garage to knock of some of that winter dust. Sure felt good to get him all shined up again. Then got things around to mount the L88 Kaminari/MPD hood tomorrow to see how it fits. I've got a couple of newer Fanatics to give me a hand. I've got some pointers from @MorbidSlowBurn on what to do. He recently mounted one of the carbon fiber hoods. Then I had to take him for a quick drive around our country mile! Oh how I love that 6 speed inspired PermaGrin! 😁 💙

Is the carbon fiber hood for the SSR?

 

[HUAW]

Is the carbon fiber hood for the SSR?

The hood is for Thunder but it's the fiberglass version...

 

[HUAW]

Took Thunder to a fellow SSR owners shop this morning to mount the fiberglass Kaminari/MPD L88 styled hood. There were 3 of us so, "easy peasy" right? Well, 6 hours later and we still didn't get it adjusted correctly...

Easy to remove by just take out the 4 bolts from the 2 hinges and remove the factory struts. No problem. Install the new brackets on the hood. Opened up the Kaminari struts designed for the lighter hood and there are no bolts! Call Pete at Kaminari, he said to take them off the OEM hood. Can't because they are welded on... Oh! He calls me back a few minutes later with the size, length and thread size. No problem. NAPA is only a block away! Return with bolts and screw in the top bolt but WTF! The other hole in the hood doesn't line up with the bracket hole! Off but nearly a half inch. Call Pete again, wondering if they set me the wrong struts. Nope, all GM struts use this bracket he said but they failed to actually check if it fit the MPD hood...🤔 He's working with the supplier to correct the problem with the bracket or change the hole location in the mold...

Drilled half a hole on the edge of both brackets and added a washer to make it work temporarily so we can at least get the hood on and adjusted correctly!

Easier said than done with three guys who didn't have much more than a clue to start with. After all, 4 bolts and a latch to adjust...
6 hours later and I drove it home but had to really press hard to get it to latch. It almost seems that the hood is resting on the edge of the cowl. Pretty frustrated at this point... Tomorrow I'm going to shake some talcum powder on the rubber molding of the cowl seal and see if any transfers to the underside of the hood. I am aware that there is additional adjustment of the bottom portion of the hinges that may help but the fit at the door and along the side looks good. If anyone has some suggestions before I take it to a body shop in desperation send me a "conversation".

Black on Blue looks darn good I think!
Thanks in advance!
Larry

 

[Trygodfirst]

Took Thunder to a fellow SSR owners shop this morning to mount the fiberglass Kaminari/MPD L88 styled hood. There were 3 of us so, "easy peasy" right? Well, 6 hours later and we still didn't get it adjusted correctly...

Easy to remove by just take out the 4 bolts from the 2 hinges and remove the factory struts. No problem. Install the new brackets on the hood. Opened up the Kaminari struts designed for the lighter hood and there are no bolts! Call Pete at Kaminari, he said to take them off the OEM hood. Can't because they are welded on... Oh! He calls me back a few minutes later with the size, length and thread size. No problem. NAPA is only a block away! Return with bolts and screw in the top bolt but WTF! The other hole in the hood doesn't line up with the bracket hole! Off but nearly a half inch. Call Pete again, wondering if they set me the wrong struts. Nope, all GM struts use this bracket he said but they failed to actually check if it fit the MPD hood...🤔 He's working with the supplier to correct the problem with the bracket or change the hole location in the mold...

Drilled half a hole on the edge of both brackets and added a washer to make it work temporarily so we can at least get the hood on and adjusted correctly!

Easier said than done with three guys who didn't have much more than a clue to start with. After all, 4 bolts and a latch to adjust...
6 hours later and I drove it home but had to really press hard to get it to latch. It almost seems that the hood is resting on the edge of the cowl. Pretty frustrated at this point... Tomorrow I'm going to shake some talcum powder on the rubber molding of the cowl seal and see if any transfers to the underside of the hood. I am aware that there is additional adjustment of the bottom portion of the hinges that may help but the fit at the door and along the side looks good. If anyone has some suggestions before I take it to a body shop in desperation send me a "conversation".

Black on Blue looks darn good I think!
Thanks in advance!
Larry View attachment 591474

Sorry to read this Larry

 

[Guzzi Guy]

What would be nice Larry, is if they sent you a hood that is designed to fit as factory. You shouldn't have to "eat" their mistake.

Dave

 

[tinyssnowplows]

Larry, I know how you feel. Years ago I bought a fiberglass front bumper for my 74 Vette.
It looked great. When my body man had to fit it, it was off by 1/4” in some places.
He had to shave it down in some spots and build up the body in other spots.
A lot of work, but it looked great when done.
Good luck with your project!
Walt

 

[Stlhotrod]

Sorry to hear the issues Larry. I have had race car stuff that we have had to cut into pieces and re-glass to fit as nicely as we wanted. I had more time and labor in the part than it cost me. I once ordered a hood, set of doors and deck lid for an 81 Camaro I returned the hood and deck lid because they fit so bad. But our SSRs are a lot different than race cars and we expect the fit and finish to be up to the SSR standards. I hope the the company can help you out and work to get the issues resolved. Keep us posted on how it turns out.