john hess Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I walked in on the very ending of the movie 'Grease'. The car they were riding away in had a full see-through hood. Very interesting piece. Was this just a prop or was this an actual produced piece for sales ?? I do know some manufactures had some see-through panels on hood, just didn't ever see a full clear hood before... Very interesting piece for showing you underhood pride-and-joy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 (edited) I don't know anything about the movie car, but Oldsmobile made hoods with windows for dealership use to show off the new Rocket V8 in the 1949-1951 cars. Edited September 1, 2019 by joe_padavano (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I believe a hood with see-through panels was available to Studebaker dealers in 1951 to show off their new V8 engine. Of course, 1940 Pontiac one-upped them all with a see-through car: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/index.php/2011/06/07/the-tin-indian-that-wasnt-rm-to-offer-see-through-pontiac/ As did the 1968 Quasar Unipower even with see-through seats! http://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/1968-quasar-unipower-the-car-to-be-seen-in/ Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted September 1, 2019 Share Posted September 1, 2019 I'm pretty sure Ford had a few see-through hood models to show off their new Y-block V-8 in 1954. I can't remember if each dealer got one for display purposes or if there were just a few cars floating around for temporary display at the many US dealerships. I suspect it was the later. I also suspect that it was an idea that caught on with a few would-be customizers back then; I recently saw a rusty '51 Ford 4 door project that someone had hack-sawed so they could install (poorly) a see-through glass panel in the hood. I was going to take a picture and post it, but it was too hideous. (They did the same to the roof.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Just a movie prop. The actual car was a originally a dilapidated, white 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible. ... The fantasy version of the car was a 1948 Ford Convertible in Kandy Red finish with white lightning bolts. It had a transparent plexiglass hood, with added fenders in the back and matching firestone tires with matching hubcaps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) First one I saw was on a 1964 Corvair turbo at a local car show in 64 (new car on display by the dealer). On that one the whole hood was molded of plexiglass. GM made such hoods for dealer display, and they were listed in the parts catalog or maybe the accessory catalog. It seems other car makers offered similar hoods. Edited September 2, 2019 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHuDWah Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 19 hours ago, mike6024 said: Just a movie prop. The actual car was a originally a dilapidated, white 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible. ... The fantasy version of the car was a 1948 Ford Convertible in Kandy Red finish with white lightning bolts. It had a transparent plexiglass hood, with added fenders in the back and matching firestone tires with matching hubcaps. The white "Greased Lightening" wasn't bad but the red version was UGLY!! 🤢 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Franklin cars in the early 1930s had a car in California with a clear hood on it, believe it was Ralph Hamlin's dealership. Not sure how it was fabricated. But it was a PR stunt and they paid a kid to sit on the hood of the car as it drove around slowly and the kid had a sign he held up that said "I ain't hot". I will look to see if I can find the Dealer's Bulletin that I first saw this mentioned ( pictured in) to give an exact date. To large a library and archives here, to much material on so many WWI to WWII era cars , to little time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Wanna buy a duck ? https://www.orlandoautomuseum.com/sales/vehicles/3235/1948-ford-deluxe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted September 3, 2019 Share Posted September 3, 2019 Early Corvairs have one. Dealer showroom floor display for introduction of 1960 models. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 1933 DeSoto....Display car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 There were several car companies that used clear hood panels to show off new engines, or innovations under the hood. Along with Oldsmobile, in the Early Fifties, 1954 Ford had one to show the new Over Head Valve V8, and in 1955 Chevrolet used the same idea to show the new Small Block, along with factory air conditioning. I saw a 1950 Oldsmobile plexiglass panel hood at Hershey last year, Neat conversation piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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