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Trying to make two stock hoods "interchangeable" on C2...
After a bunch of work building a '65 restomod in my garage, I finally outsourced the final stage (paint).
It's originally a small block car, but along the way I also found an original '67 press molded Stinger hood, brought that along to the paint shop, and asked them to prep and paint that so I could run either hood.
After cleaning up all of the gaps/surface heights and getting the small block hood lined up perfectly, they then did a trial fit with the stinger hood. Not even close. The gaps to the body are close to 1" wide in length, and the height sits wrong. It would require a significant amount of material added, that would require some serious $$$.
My main questions are: Has anyone else tried to make two different (but both C2) hoods work interchangeably? Were they close in overall size height they sat at? Were the tolerances in those days THAT far off?
After a bunch of work building a '65 restomod in my garage, I finally outsourced the final stage (paint).
It's originally a small block car, but along the way I also found an original '67 press molded Stinger hood, brought that along to the paint shop, and asked them to prep and paint that so I could run either hood.
After cleaning up all of the gaps/surface heights and getting the small block hood lined up perfectly, they then did a trial fit with the stinger hood. Not even close. The gaps to the body are close to 1" wide in length, and the height sits wrong. It would require a significant amount of material added, that would require some serious $$$.
My main questions are: Has anyone else tried to make two different (but both C2) hoods work interchangeably? Were they close in overall size height they sat at? Were the tolerances in those days THAT far off?
Thanks for any input.
Rick
When I bought my '66 (original BB car) it came with a well-fitting small block hood. I swapped that for a '67 BB hood -- I was told it was a "Rockwell" hood -- but soon after decided to mount a '65/'66 BB hood. ALL hoods fit REASONABLY well. Last one required some minor bodywork on the corners. All this was done prior to paint.
My GM issued '67 replacement North American Rockwell BB hood fits just as nice as my original SB hood. I know the history of my one owner car, so NO front end damage has ever occurred. Dennis
It use to be quite common to repair front end damage, by cutting the nose off in the middle of the fenders, and just replacing the damaged portion of the nose. For some reason, it doesn't always occur to people to test fit the hood, before bonding the new section on. The result is noses that are positioned incorrectly, and hoods that get trimmed, to fit the repaired nose. The same can happen with the fit left to right.
Anytime you're buying an early hood, you need to carefully inspect the edges on the underside, to make sure that it hasn't been trimmed.
Thanks for the feedback guys. The Stinger hood I bought did not appear to have had any modifications to it. The car itself (1965) was a two-owner car, I bought it from a co-worker who had owned the car from 1972 until I bought it in 2009. The prior owner didn't think it'd ever been hit. Not only did the hood seem shorter than the small block hood, in the front corners the gaps were close to 1".
When I dropped the car off, I made it clear to the shop that getting the gaps correct for the small block hood was the priority, and having the Stinger hood fit correctly was the second priority.
I guess I'll be selling a Stinger hood at a discount after making sure the buyer knows it will likely have fitment issues....bummer.
Thanks for the feedback guys. The Stinger hood I bought did not appear to have had any modifications to it. The car itself (1965) was a two-owner car, I bought it from a co-worker who had owned the car from 1972 until I bought it in 2009. The prior owner didn't think it'd ever been hit. Not only did the hood seem shorter than the small block hood, in the front corners the gaps were close to 1".
When I dropped the car off, I made it clear to the shop that getting the gaps correct for the small block hood was the priority, and having the Stinger hood fit correctly was the second priority.
I guess I'll be selling a Stinger hood at a discount after making sure the buyer knows it will likely have fitment issues....bummer.
Thanks again,
Rick
Im game for a stinger hood that needs work if the price is ok.
PM me im in Kansas 67017. Thanks
I have a 65 convertible. It came with the small block hood. I also have a 67 bb hood. Both fit the car perfectly. I usually pick one to use for the year and leave it on. Good luck.
I'm currently doing paint and body on a friend's '66 who has the original hood and wanted a stinger also. I found an original stinger locally and will be painting both. They both fit pretty well. The original has a little more bow in it front to back causing the hood to sit maybe 1/16" higher in the middle in relation to the fender. The stinger matches very well compared to the fender, but sits a little low in the front middle as shown in the last photo.
02-10-2016, 01:53 PM
Trying to make two stock hoods "interchangeable" on C2...
Dennis
