Yes the glass hoods were real. Dealers could get them to install on new '49
and '50 Olds 88's and '98's for showroom display. I had 2 NOS ones years
ago I bought as part of big loads of parts from dealer's obsolete inventory.
There were 2 versions. One was steel like the one shown in the picture, and
a second version was ALL plexiglass. The bottom was painted, or the color
was in the plexiglass, and there was a clear area in the center above the
engine to view the new Rocket engine. The clear area was the same size as
the glass opening on the one in the picture. If you had an all glass one on
the car, of course you couldn't use the hood hinges. I sold the steel one
with the inserts, and believe it or not, I threw the all glass one in the
dumpster when I cleaned out my pole barn and moved from Ohio to Arizona in
'87. A guy was supposed to buy it and pick it up, but never showed up, and I
had no more room to pack anything to make the move. I had about 20 NOS
moldings wrapped and wired to the side of the frame rails of the Penske 24'
truck, and they made the trip fine. Cars show up at National meets with
these metal/glass hoods often. They can be installed and left on the car
indefinitely. Just have to be careful and not scratch the plexiglass
inserts.
Joe Varley
AZ
