Hood too high in front
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,028
Likes: 1
From: SOUTH ELGIN IL
Hood too high in front
Hi All,
I've had this problem for a long time now (car came to me this way) and I have prioritized other things until now. In the front it sits about 1/2" too high but is correctly aligned on the driver's side and sits about 1/4" high on the passenger side in the front. I've done some searching and it seems many have broken the bond between the inner fenders and the hood surround to bring the surround up and then rebonded it. Is this my best option? Will that bring the nose up or is there an adjustment somewhere? My AIM is a little criptic...
I do not have any shims under the hinges.
Thanks,
Dan
This pic is from Bloomington Gold last weekend:
I've had this problem for a long time now (car came to me this way) and I have prioritized other things until now. In the front it sits about 1/2" too high but is correctly aligned on the driver's side and sits about 1/4" high on the passenger side in the front. I've done some searching and it seems many have broken the bond between the inner fenders and the hood surround to bring the surround up and then rebonded it. Is this my best option? Will that bring the nose up or is there an adjustment somewhere? My AIM is a little criptic...
I do not have any shims under the hinges.
Thanks,
Dan
This pic is from Bloomington Gold last weekend:
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 971
Likes: 45
From: Middlesex NJ
Most likely what you are dealing with is an aftermarket hood that isn't quite right.
My hood is also high in the front if you line up the sides of the hood where it meets the "hips" of the fenders. I have seen allot of aftermarket L88 style hoods where the tip of the hood is simply too high like the hood wasn't sloped enough in the mold.
If you lower your hood to where the tip is inline with the surround you will most likely find that now the sides of the hood where it meets the fenders will be too low.
If you have no shims to remove then you are as low as you can go. I had the same issue and instead opted to cut my hinges and reattach them with 1/8" of metal removed from the sides so that I could now use shims.
I was able to then get a happier medium when the tip of the hood is slightly high and the sides are slightly low. Its not perfect but it looks ok and unless you scrutinize or know to look for it, it doesn't just jump out.
My hood is also high in the front if you line up the sides of the hood where it meets the "hips" of the fenders. I have seen allot of aftermarket L88 style hoods where the tip of the hood is simply too high like the hood wasn't sloped enough in the mold.
If you lower your hood to where the tip is inline with the surround you will most likely find that now the sides of the hood where it meets the fenders will be too low.
If you have no shims to remove then you are as low as you can go. I had the same issue and instead opted to cut my hinges and reattach them with 1/8" of metal removed from the sides so that I could now use shims.
I was able to then get a happier medium when the tip of the hood is slightly high and the sides are slightly low. Its not perfect but it looks ok and unless you scrutinize or know to look for it, it doesn't just jump out.
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
See if you can raise the front of the hood surround panel with the bar and skirt reinforcements underneath. Easy does it. Don't try to force anything.
Nose bar runs from the bottom of the radiator support to the top of the nose.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3,264
Likes: 3
From: Vero Beach FL
Mike, Can you raise the nose on the car by shimming the bottom bolts of the radiator support and “V” crossmember? I did something to that effect on mine a couple of years ago to raise my surround to get it even with the hood. I can’t remember if that was it or not.
Scott
Scott
Team Owner
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 38,923
Likes: 1,481
From: Southbound
Cruise-In II Veteran
Burning Brakes
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 971
Likes: 45
From: Middlesex NJ
Guys, I am trying to get my head around the idea of how raising the radiator support by putting shims under it is going to raise the hood surround independent of the hood when the inner fender wells are bonded to the fenders and the hood is mounted to the top of the inner fender wells and the radiator support is sandwiched and bolted to the inner fender wells?
Just seems like you are going to push the entire nose up in the air compared to the rest of the body?
Just seems like you are going to push the entire nose up in the air compared to the rest of the body?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3,264
Likes: 3
From: Vero Beach FL
A few years ago when I got my car ( a failed restoration in boxes) the nose was totally loose and ¼ to 3/8th of an inch lower than the hood. Most of the bolts were missing or only hand tightened. I did a search here and found this thread and followed the procedure in the fifth post. I replaced the missing bolts and tightened them up and it worked.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...mess-with.html
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...mess-with.html
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,028
Likes: 1
From: SOUTH ELGIN IL
Interesting procedure in that other post. When I got the car I didn't have 4 of the 6 bolts in the core support. I just put them in there, and had to fight them in if I recall. I don't remember the nose moving up or down after I installed them, seems it stayed in the same place.
So I will look at the bar and skirt reinforcements and the core support and see if I can budge it.
Am I the only one worried that if I move the core support (or combination of parts) up 1/2" I will crack the glass?
So I will look at the bar and skirt reinforcements and the core support and see if I can budge it.
Am I the only one worried that if I move the core support (or combination of parts) up 1/2" I will crack the glass?
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 3,264
Likes: 3
From: Vero Beach FL
My situation was a little different the only thing bolted on my car was the body mounts. When I went to push my car from the front (to my surprise) the nose lifted over an inch and without any damage. It was in primer so I am not sure what would have happen if it had been in paint.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,609
Likes: 12
From: Massapequa Park NY
Raising the front frame extensions/core support moves everything at the same time, hood & the surround. This can fix a nose that sagged or door gaps, but the only way to adjust the surround relative to the hood is to break the bond at the skirts, adjust the position and re bond everything.
Jim
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,028
Likes: 1
From: SOUTH ELGIN IL
Thanks Jim.
Is this doable in the garage? It sounds like more of a body shop thing because they would have the equipment to raise the surround and hold it. I could do this with shims without cracking the paint and the fiberglass?
Is this doable in the garage? It sounds like more of a body shop thing because they would have the equipment to raise the surround and hold it. I could do this with shims without cracking the paint and the fiberglass?
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,682
Likes: 829
From: WI
I believe it is also an aftermarket hood from a poorly constructed mold. The rad. support doesn't have anything to do with the hood mount. Like the others pointed out, it's the fender skirts. If it were me I would:
1) Look for a factory hood, which you probably don't want to do cause yours is all nicely painted up.
2) Keep your hood and remove your hinges and cut 1/2" of material from them and re-weld. Or, get a set of used hinges from someone on the forum and cut/weld them down till the front of the hood matches to your satisfaction. You could send them off and get re-plated and nobody would know but you. Then, someday you could always put on a different hood and your original hinges and it will still fit.
Cutting the hinges and re-welding shouldn't take more than 1/2 day. To me it's the path of least resistance from what I can tell.
Mark G
1) Look for a factory hood, which you probably don't want to do cause yours is all nicely painted up.
2) Keep your hood and remove your hinges and cut 1/2" of material from them and re-weld. Or, get a set of used hinges from someone on the forum and cut/weld them down till the front of the hood matches to your satisfaction. You could send them off and get re-plated and nobody would know but you. Then, someday you could always put on a different hood and your original hinges and it will still fit.
Cutting the hinges and re-welding shouldn't take more than 1/2 day. To me it's the path of least resistance from what I can tell.
Mark G
Last edited by Mark G; Jun 30, 2011 at 07:30 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,609
Likes: 12
From: Massapequa Park NY
A pair of hinges is a lot less expensive than body work
Jim
Pro
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 612
Likes: 17
From: MA
I just went through this on my car.
I ended up adding a shim to each side on the front (nose), which actually made that line up mint, but taking out the shims at the latches resulted in my hood not wanting to latch when shut.
So I added shims until it latched solidly which gives me about an 1/8" rise which I'm fine with because, I don't see it while driving, the hood is up at shows anyway, & we all know C3 lines are never perfect!
I ended up adding a shim to each side on the front (nose), which actually made that line up mint, but taking out the shims at the latches resulted in my hood not wanting to latch when shut.
So I added shims until it latched solidly which gives me about an 1/8" rise which I'm fine with because, I don't see it while driving, the hood is up at shows anyway, & we all know C3 lines are never perfect!
