Need Ideas for Shipping a Hood

[Chelle]

Hello everyone,

I need some help. I found a hood for my 280z from a private party and need to figure out how to ship it to myself. I have a FedEx account and can schedule a pickup, but I am not sure if I need to have the hood wrapped & crated or not. I'm trying to figure this out so that I can make it as simple as possible for the seller.

The location of the hood is in Fontana, Ca and I need to ship it to Reno. I'm sure I could probably find a hood closer, but this is the one I want. How would you have a hood shipped to you? Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Chelle

[Mike B]

I shipped a hood from WA to FL via Greyhound Bus (GPX), which is probably the cheapest way to ship something that big. It was a bit of work to make and pad a box that size. It would probably be pretty expensive to have someone else make a crate for it, and then it may be too big for GPX, so shipping by a freight company would be expensive too.

-Mike

[five&dime]

I shipped a 510 hood through greyhound and it was only $45. It arrived safely.

What I did was call the local dealers and connect to the body shop. The local Ford dealership was very nice and said they would hold a box when they got it. Sure enough they called the following week. It was perfect!!!!!

[DougN]

As someone who works in the transportation industry, I can assure you will need to pad and box it or it will get some dents and scuffs in it - that is the nature of the beast.

Even so, there is a small chance it will get damaged regardless depending on how well it is packed - remember it will be put in a couple of different trailers throughout the journey with hundreds of other boxes. One small thing that will help is putting the label in the part of the box that should be on the top (which in this case would be one of the long, narrow sides; e.g. hood on it's side) and putting some of those UP arrows on the box indicated the orientation it should be at.

If you are buying a BP hood with the intention of getting it and sticking it on your BP without any paint or bodywork, then padding and a crate will be needed to minimize the chances that it will get damaged. If this is the case, your best bet might be a road trip to pick it up yourself.

If you are going to have it painted, then it is not such a big deal as the paint shop can take care of any minor damage when they prep for paint, so you could just stick it on a bus (as Mike B said), or give it to FedEx with a label taped to it.

Hope this helps!

[Chelle]

Hi, thanks for all the suggestions. I do feel a bit nervous about having it shipped. It is a BP hood and I don't think I want to take any chances with this. Luckily the owner is willing to hold onto it for me until I can get down there. What a nice guy!

Thanks again,

Chelle