Well, I bought a fiberglass hood 2 years ago at the Nats. Mine is made by AAR. I'm not sure if I goofed, or the sales guy did, but I ended up with one designed to use the hood hinges. I didn't know this until way later. My fault though, as I picked it up there and brought it home myself. Anyways, I like it. The fit isn't as wonderful as the factory hood, but I don't really think they are supposed to be.
Currently, mine is on using the hinges. A winter project is to get the hinges off, and install the 4 pins. 68's are a tad different, so the front locations will be a little off. I have no problems fitting anything under the hood. Both the 4bbl air cleaner and the Air Grabber set up fit fine. This is with a 1" spacer on my carb as well. Down the road I have a 440 to go in, so maybe that'll be a little different with the raised block height.
A year ago I had borrowed my ex-father-in-law's original 6bbl hood. It was noticeably heavier than my AAR hood. All of the local guys I hang out with say to stay with the hinges. I won't do that though. The main reason I bought a fiberglass hood is so that I have a true "lift off" hood. I may not have the 6bbl set up, but I'm working on the 440 part at least. :cool: For me, right now, the hood is quite easy to take off and on. I realize this will be a pain to check the oil and other small things, but for now this is the route I've decided to take. There's always a give-and-take I suppose.
Now, ask me again in 5 years, .............. :huh:
:cheers: