My 72 Corvette Convertible has a 1/4' mismatch at the end of the hood. I bought a new hood and the result was the same. There has been a lot of fiberglass bondo applied to and bonding the front end together. The hood fits well until the last 6 inches or so Any remedies aside from a new front clip?

i don't want to paint it this way!

 

is it the spring between the hood and the fender that are bigger ?
ore is the hood longer then the fenders?
have any pics?

 

The end edge of hood is higher than the surface holding the headlights. The headlight covers match the nose piece. It fits all the way down to the last 6 or 8 inches.

 

Still not sure I understand your question. Does the hood sit 1/4 inch higher in the front??? OR is the hood longer/shorter than the hood opening???? Chuck

 

If I understand correctly the hood sits higher than the fender at the front edge? Check for shims under the hinge, if there are any there take them out. If not then I have no idea

Jim

 

IF IT IS THE FRONT OF THE HOOD
One of my hinges was cut down (ie piece that bolts to fender is shorter) about 1/8-1/4" to lower the hood.

I cannot say I am a fan of this method but the hood does fit perfect and the hood release works like a champion.

It is not noticeable that it has been done.

IF IT IS THE REAR OF THE HOOD
Check the hood locks. They are height adjustable. You can adjust those up or down to adjust the fit. The hood is really long so 1/4" at one end is hardly noticeable at the other end.


[Modified by stingry, 10:40 AM 4/9/2004]


[Modified by stingry, 10:40 AM 4/9/2004]

 

The hood fits the opening just fine on all 4 sides and is not too long. There are no shims to remove under the hinges. To get the front lip to flush in you have to lift the back of the hood 3 inches above the base of the windshield.

It seems like the glass has just sagged in the nose of the car.
When I bought the car I thought it would be an easy fix - wrong!

 

There is a support rod (with adjustment) that holds the trailing edge of the
nose vertically. This rod runs down to the bottom of the radiator support.
At the top, it bolts into the nose/headlight body reinforcement (steel glued to 'glass).
Loosen the bolt, and adjust the height of the surround accordingly.
The top end is slotted for this. This should get you close.

Actually, it will get the center close. If the sides of the front are off too, then
the inner fender to surround bonding is off, and the hinge mounts will need
'adjusting' by modification as discussed above.

:smash: :seeya

Here are a couple pics of it. This is my partial nose - upside down on the garage carpet.




[Modified by NHvette, 12:57 PM 4/9/2004]

 

There's an adjustment on the springs to 'set' the final resting postion of the hood. Use a big screwdriver.......and experiment to see what works.

Be careful not to force the hood down if you have the springs too high........and the opposite may cause your hood to 'stick' a little. ;)

 

Mine has a worse problem. I have a '73 hood I was planning on putting on my '69. When the front lip and rear of the hood are level with the fenders the raised areas that match the fender swells are too LOW! :eek:

I've already got the drivers side down to bare fiberglass so I know it's not an excess filler problem.

I talked to a couple of body experts on the forum and I was told the right way to fix my problem is remove the hood skin from the support frame, readjust and reattach. :cry

Only other option I see is to add glass on top of the hood until it lines up and feather in with vette panel filler.

So much for a cheap and easy replacement. (Got the hood for a decent price.) If it's gonna be that much work I'm probably gonna buy an L88 hood - nothing quite looks like an L88 hood.

Any opinions on visibility issues with the L88 hood? I'm building the car for Autocross and I'm not sure if the raised cowl will really be a problem.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

Huh ? There are small rubber blocks that are used to adjust the side height.
They glue down to the inner edge of the surround, and they are trimmed
to bring the side edge flush with the surround.

OK - looks like a 74-on part, but I think it is your answer:
http://www.ecklers.com/product.asp?p...3QS9EKSDUAFB23

 

On the side where your hood sits too high, try putting shims under the rear-most hinge bolt...where the hinge bolts to the inner fender. Putting shims under the rear-most bolt will tip the front of the hinge down, and lower the front edge of the hood. Chuck

 

Tried the shim trick to no avail several months ago. 1/4 inch is a big step up.
Going to look for that support rod. Getting jealous of people with matching hoods.

 

My front end is all glued together with a gallon or two of fiberglass bondo. This makes moving things more difficult.

Why do people torture their Corvettes? Love - hate relationship by generations of hack mechanics?

 

My 72 does not use this rod. there is sort of a ram's horn bracket. Everything I come up with raises the hinge location too.

Wonder if the car left the factory this way in 72?

 

Your problem sounds worse. Even a new hood won't fix it if the fenders don't conform to the proper shape. I wonder if the glass has sagged over the years or it just left the factory tthis way.

Since my headlights line up in the nose piece properly, I don't think the glass has sagged. As you say this could take a custom hood to make it fit!

 

Can't figure out how to attach pic. Maybe new members don't get to?

 

you need to put the link for the picture in here----- [img ]http://www.yourlinkhere.com[/url ] do not use spaces in between the brackets though.



[Modified by lostpatrolman, 8:52 PM 4/10/2004]

 

Try loosening the front bumper suports at the frame. Then take the radiator support bolts loose where it attaches to the frame. You'll also need to take the support rod and U bracket loose at the nose. This should allow you to lift up slightly on the nose. With the hood in place (not bolted on, just laying in place) you should be lift the nose to the point that the forward edge of the hood is flush with the surround. You may have to put some shims under the hood along the edge to lift the hood so that it's level with the rear 3/4 of the fenders. It's important to not firmly attach the hood so that you can move it around a bit as you make your adjustments. You'll find that the front end of these cars is very flimsy when all of these supports are loose.

Lift up on the nose until the surround and hood are flush and then have a friend insert the correct thickness of shims between the radiator support and the frame to hold everything in alignment. Now tighten down all of the other supports in place now that everything is aligned. The shimming of the two attachment points between the frame and the radiator support are the KEY adjustments here!!

I went through this with my '68 just recently and did just what I described above. Everything lines up beautifully now. If you have any questions send me an e-mail and I'll tell you how to get in touch with me directly and we can discuss. I don't think there's anything wrong with your front clip or hood, they just need adjusting. :thumbs:

 

Thanks!
This sounds like it will actually work. The red convertible looks so nice everywhere else, I want to stick with this until it is perfect before I paint.

Ray in Texas