Helion Composites Hood

DB83 said:

Will there be a fibreglass version too?

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Yes there will be.

This looks fantastic, any estimates on when it will be ready to ship?

I wasn't planning on an aftermarket hood, but i recently got some hail damage and I plan on waiting to get it fixed for a couple months to see if there's an aftermarket hood i prefer over stock.

68fbjjz109 said:

Personally my favorite view, sorry for the rather poor quality image.

The increased view of the road is very nice.


We intentionally went as low as possibly to accentuate the aggressive nature of the hood.

There likely isn't enough room to install the GT hood vent if we even wanted to offer something like that. There is 1/4" gap between to two points of concern, the fuse box and the hood release cable.

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My interest is peaked. So far so good. The price is what I am fearing.

Any more pictures? Side views in particular? I haven't desperately wanted to do anything to my car quite as much as this hood.

I can try and head down this weekend and grab some at Helion. I know what you mean with the hood. I have been teased for months, not having the car magnifies it. The only plus has been the mileage has been within 50 miles of what is was in October.

With regards to price. We have initial pricing in mind. However a few things have changed since then, and Todd has been working some interesting things with regards to process.

Aside from hood 001, race skins are being built for some previous customers of Helion. That will help finalize the estimations.

Fast, Fun, and Affordable is what makes the Mustang a success. We are going to do our best to make it as affordable as possible, without sacrificing quality. The hood is almost the epitome of Made in Detroit, with regards to labor, material sourcing, and manufacturing. The only change to that will be a carbon used on certain hoods which is being manufactured in the UK, as the supplier didn't want to take the line down locally, to accommodate our special order.

Looks really good....let the waiting begin

68fbjjz109 said:

I suppose I can comment on this.

The image pictured is a GT350 hood which we made and used as a basis for creating a unique surface. Yes, the heat extractor is function just like the GT350, and will use the OEM grill insert.



As you can see there is alot of unique surface work, and frankly it looks great. It really has taken on it's own lines with how different the front clips are.

It is being prepped currently to building tooling from. What you see on my car was pulled from a dimensionally stable clay model, and hasn't been prepped yet.





Very excited to see it in carbon, and to get car on the track soon.

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Was out at Cars & Coffee today in Carlsbad, CA and saw a new 350R. This hood from Helion is a dead-on replica - the 350 hood is very different from the GT hood - different lines, shape, venting, etc. Keep us informed on when it will be available. Now the key is to create the fenders, the front bumper cover, splitter and canards for us mere mortals who cannot afford the asinine ADM's the dealers are charging for 350/350R's.

68fbjjz109 said:

Personally my favorite view, sorry for the rather poor quality image.

The increased view of the road is very nice.


We intentionally went as low as possibly to accentuate the aggressive nature of the hood.

There likely isn't enough room to install the GT hood vent if we even wanted to offer something like that. There is 1/4" gap between to two points of concern, the fuse box and the hood release cable.

Click to expand...

What about distance between the horizontal factory strut tower brace and the underside of the hood? Is there enough clearance for a PD supercharger?

Very interested! First 350 replica hood that actually lowers the top surface of the hood rather then adding to it.... As long as the price is decent for the fiberglass version this might be my next mod!

ShelbyGT350 said:

Was out at Cars & Coffee today in Carlsbad, CA and saw a new 350R. This hood from Helion is a dead-on replica - the 350 hood is very different from the GT hood - different lines, shape, venting, etc. Keep us informed on when it will be available. Now the key is to create the fenders, the front bumper cover, splitter and canards for us mere mortals who cannot afford the asinine ADM's the dealers are charging for 350/350R's.

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The best way to describe it is essence. The essence, and functionality was captured well, they are rather different pieces.

We are discussing doing fenders, but they will follow suit with the hood. The essence, and functionality. We want to capture the performance advantages of the 1 inch or 25mm of flare the GT 350 has, coupled with the venting but for the Mustang.

A front fascia is not advantageous at this point.

68fbjjz109 said:

The best way to describe it is essence. The essence, and functionality was captured well, they are rather different pieces.

We are discussing doing fenders, but they will follow suit with the hood. The essence, and functionality. We want to capture the performance advantages of the 1 inch or 25mm of flare the GT 350 has, coupled with the venting but for the Mustang.

A front fascia is not advantageous at this point.

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So i'd have to go to Anderson Composites, Carbon Dynamics (likely not - their business practices concern me) or IKON Motorsports for the bumper cover, splitter and canards? Would rather do a complete package. Yes, different materials (more OEM on that). Curious as to why it would not be advantageous? Thanks.

This is awesome. Definitely looking forward to purchasing one from you guys. :hail:

I don't want to speak too much for Todd at Helion. But from past discussions we have had on this topic, I will speak too. However please keep in mind that may not represent future state of where Helion intends to take their Mustang program.

We have considered doing a full conversion based on GT350 parts to ensure functionality and capture the essence of those components for the Mustang. (Personally I really like the Mustang front clip, and now the Steeda offering aswell) The desire to build a GTTP for myself stemmed from this GT350 Mule.



We have also discussed just a GT350 conversion. This way you can piggie back of certain OEM parts.



With regards to why is it not adventitious to do a front fascia?

Quality: Quality and durability associate with material properties. If Helion was to do a Mustang conversion fascia. It likely wouldn't be carbon or fiberglass (maybe for race applications only) It would be a TPO or some other similar material, and portions of production would have to be outsourced. That wasn't off the table and it has been looked into.

Most OEMs use injection molding for bumper covers, to put that in perspective just tool for the GT350 bumper cover is probably close to the price 3 2015 GT350Rs [no ADM ]

Getting to the point where you can build a stable part to pull molds from while blending surfaces is expensive even on the low volume aftermarket side.

From my point of view, while the hood has generated alot of interest, there is always the price caveat. Which is understandable. No one wants to pay 10% of a base GT price for a single component regardless of how nice it is.

I am a big advocate for Fast, Fun, and Affordable. It is what makes the Mustang as car and legacy successful. The hood is easier to advocate for and build a high quality part still. The hood also stands on its own very well, and can be put on with you and a buddy in the afternoon.

That starts to lessen with the other components.

I have a set of fenders, fenders is actually where this all started.



(Apologies for the poor photo, old phone)

That mule above, and the the fact I want to run are large Square tire setup and hunt down the new 1LE we all new was coming was the driving force. The GT350 fenders offer alot of clearance and attractive aero improvements.

How they will be incorporate into the Mustang fascia hasn't been finalized, but it is something we want to pursue.

Looking forward to the complete development. Specially if a complete conversion is developed.