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After about 10 years off and on working on this car I have finally gotten back to working on it with the intent to finish body and paint this winter.
I have finally got the doors, and door gaps closed in. I am now working on the hood.
I was wondering what I should use to raise the hood around the wheel contours, as I have the hood fitting good around the hinges and the latches. But the nose of the hood is to tall and the wheel contours is to low. Looking for input on how to get these panels to line up better. Can I fill in the low spots with VPA. My concern is the amount of build, as well as it being on the edge of the hood.
Unless this hood is really rare (Motion or similar) I would consider trying a loaner hood to compare the fit, this will give you a "baseline" to verify where your problem issues are. If they are the same as yours you can then move forward, if not you may want to look for a better fitting hood.
If you are "married" to this hood and want to move forward I would do fiberglass layups to the hood to get it to 3/32" of fender profile and then VPA to profile. It looks like you have a lot of experience at this stage so you probably know this.....a poorly molded hood can challenge ANYONE on this forum and shut me down quickly.
I just worked thru the same issue at the exact point on my hood, just not as bad. Mine where off even with matching factory hood and fenders.
Unless this hood is really rare (Motion or similar) I would consider trying a loaner hood to compare the fit, this will give you a "baseline" to verify where your problem issues are. If they are the same as yours you can then move forward, if not you may want to look for a better fitting hood.
If you are "married" to this hood and want to move forward I would do fiberglass layups to the hood to get it to 3/32" of fender profile and then VPA to profile. It looks like you have a lot of experience at this stage so you probably know this.....a poorly molded hood can challenge ANYONE on this forum and shut me down quickly.
I just worked thru the same issue at the exact point on my hood, just not as bad. Mine where off even with matching factory hood and fenders.
Kevin
I am not stuck with this hood, just not sure an aftermarket hood would fit any better.
I will see if I can grab my dad's 1978 hood to see if it fits better. His car has been in his garage for 10+ years in two pieces (body and frame).
There are dense rubber blocks that go in the hood gutter area to aid in raising the hood and hold its position.
I need to see what the hood looks like at the front gap in regards to how much is it raised up when closed. So..if you can..put your headlight down and take a photo LOOKING STRAIGHT at the front of the hood. PHOTO'S #2 and #4 raise some concern for me due to how high the hood is....but it not the whole view I need to see. I understand that you will need to be further back for the photo...but that is what I need to see.
VERY HIGH probability that NO hood will be needed. I have encountered this MANY TIMES....and I have a fix for it.
There are dense rubber blocks that go in the hood gutter area to aid in raising the hood and hold its position.
I need to see what the hood looks like at the front gap in regards to how much is it raised up when closed. So..if you can..put your headlight down and take a photo LOOKING STRAIGHT at the front of the hood. PHOTO'S #2 and #4 raise some concern for me due to how high the hood is....but it not the whole view I need to see. I understand that you will need to be further back for the photo...but that is what I need to see.
VERY HIGH probability that NO hood will be needed. I have encountered this MANY TIMES....and I have a fix for it.
DUB
Hope these are far enough back. Let me know your thoughts. Thank you for your help.
I SERIOUSLY DOUBT that you need to deal with another hood. I am about 99.9999% sure of it.
QUESTION: The section of the top hood surround that is BETWEEN the headlights and the hood opening. IS it still FIRMLY /SOLIDLY bonded to the metal support that is under this area???. IF it is ....GREAT!!!!!
SO I do not have to type for hours to walk you through what you will need to check and do. Versus...what it would take to achieve the same thing in a phone conversation. PM me if you are interested and I will give you my shop phone number and I can walk you through what to check and thus...understand what will be done to correct this issue.
I SERIOUSLY DOUBT that you need to deal with another hood. I am about 99.9999% sure of it.
QUESTION: The section of the top hood surround that is BETWEEN the headlights and the hood opening. IS it still FIRMLY /SOLIDLY bonded to the metal support that is under this area???. IF it is ....GREAT!!!!!
SO I do not have to type for hours to walk you through what you will need to check and do. Versus...what it would take to achieve the same thing in a phone conversation. PM me if you are interested and I will give you my shop phone number and I can walk you through what to check and thus...understand what will be done to correct this issue.
DUB
The area between the lights and the hood is firm and in place. A few years ago it did separate, and I re-bond it back to the bonding strip.
Finally had time to fit in the hood blocks. Looks a lot better. Thanks Dub. I should be able to work with this. It has been slow going here due to winter temps.
The 'blocks' go where they are needed....DEPENDING on IF the underside of your hoods under structure is not cracked or weakened due to its weight. To the best of my knowledge.,..there is not a specific spot where they MUST go. I never looked in the assembly manual for this specifically because I slide them up and down the gutter area and test the hood and where they work best is where I bond them in.
Google photos of Corvette engine compartments for cars like yours and see if you see them in the gutter area.
11-08-2015, 10:32 AM
Hood Fit Questions
