Input Needed on Hood Modification

[Snakeskin347]

Hi guys, I'm in the middle of something and wanted to reach out for some input before I started to drill and tap the hinge brackets on my finished hood. I am in the midst of making a bracket that will apply slight pressure up in the center of the front of the hood to make it match the contour of the body. Right now it sits 3/8" lower than the hood cowl and it is driving me nuts! Attached are some pictures of a bracket that I am in the middle of making. This was a 2013 build that I bought a couple of years ago and I really wish that it was corrected at the time of build. When I am finished the bracket that I am making shouldn't be too noticeable once I re-install the hinge hardware. Is this crazy what I am doing and has anyone ever experienced this issue and corrected it a different way? Maybe it was a bad hood mold and couldn't be fixed at the time of build?

Also, does anyone know if this hood is ABS or fiberglass? Someone in a previous post said that it could be either in that 2013 era.

Thanks for any input guys as I am hesitating with a drill in my hand right now!

[Jeff Kleiner]

Gotta' give you credit for thinking outside of the box but there is a much easier way to match the front of the hood to the body---simply use one of the thick 5/8" by 3/8" rubber bumpers that was provided with the kit and install it dead center on the body's hood flange at the front. When you close the hood it springs the center of the body down to match the hood. If it's not quite enough add one or two small #12 flat washers under the bumper and if it's too much shave a bit of the rubber off. Probably 75% of the cars I do get this bumper at the front and 95% of them get one in the center at the rear.

As I noted in your other thread the hood is fiberglass and these photos show that the scoop is ABS. The differing materials are not intended to be molded together and it is this incompatibility that lead to the failure you're experiencing.

Jeff

[Snakeskin347]

Gotta' give you credit for thinking outside of the box but there is a much easier way to match the front of the hood to the body---simply use one of the thick 5/8" by 3/8" rubber bumpers that was provided with the kit and install it dead center on the body's hood flange at the front. When you close the hood it springs the center of the body down to match the hood. If it's not quite enough add one or two small #12 flat washers under the bumper and if it's too much shave a bit of the rubber off. Probably 75% of the cars I do get this bumper at the front and 95% of them get one in the center at the rear.

As I noted in your other thread the hood is fiberglass and these photos show that the scoop is ABS. The differing materials are not intended to be molded together and it is this incompatibility that lead to the failure you're experiencing.

Jeff

Jeff, thanks for supporting me through all my posts! I totally hear you regarding the rubber spacer in the middle of the cowl to match up the body lines, unfortunately when I did as you said the front corners of the hood would not suck down and they looked like wings sticking up in the air, there was clearly a 100% forming issue with this hood or maybe it was something that was created with the body work that was done to mold the cowl to the hood? What I did was a last resort and it is not something that I wanted to do but personally I think it worked out OK? Check it out...

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