Gen 3 Coupe Hood Trimming

[Ammotroop1991]

I'm to the point of mounting the hood on the coupe. Question is, I have about 1/2 inch hanging over the pontoons. 1/2" seems like alot to trim off the back of the hood. Is this typical?

Thanks in advance

[Indy Shu]

Yes, but…. Still need to be careful when trimming. Leave a little extra until you get the hood to body alignment completely dialed in. You also have to match the line of the body, which is not straight. Good luck!

[Namrups]

As indy said, the hood and the doors are oversized and will need to be trimmed. Take a little at a time. I set my body per the manual and then worked on my hood, leaving the doors for last. MISTAKE! When I went to hang the doors the hinges would not fully swing. I had to unmount the body and move it forward to get the hinges to swing. That ment the hood was also wrong now and needed adjusting. I left the hood struts till the last thing. MISTAKE! When mounting the hood struts they push against the hood and caused the gap between the hood and the body cowl to now be too large. My point is this ... everything works together. Making a change to one part will effect the other parts. Adjust and readjust. Remove material in small slices. Remember, it's easier to remove than to add back on.

[Ammotroop1991]

Thanks John and Scott. I'll let ya'll know how it goes

[edwardb]

In addition to the hints already noted, I'd also suggest installing the splash guards that attach to the pontoons and clamp the pontoons in place. Best not to finalize the attachment until you have everything dialed in. But getting those things rigid plays into the alignment all around. Getting the hood to align exactly with the pontoons was important to me and I was able to get it done. But took some effort because everything tends to interact. My Gen 3 kit is from several years ago (#59) and I think Factory Five has made some mold changes since then. But don't be surprised if the best alignment for the hood all around isn't exactly centered at the nose. That was my experience and heard the same from other builders. Asymmetry is part of the charm of these builds. :rolleyes:

[Kbl7td]

I’m at this stage as well. What I’ve found is if you center the hood left to right as best as possible. You’ll find that the cut from factory five isn’t even. In my case the passenger side has a 1/2 gap at the back while the drivers side is tight, so your initial cut might not be straight.

My plan is to get the pontoons set as Paul said, then shim the gap with some paint sticks, then cut the back of the hood, make the hood as centered left to right as possible, and only then will I mark my holes for the front hinges. They definitely have play, but not much.

[David Williamson]

As noted above get the doors mounted then set the pontoons then the hood all temporarily located. Then circle back and go around a few times to get everything in place. Expect to spend many hours on getting this done.
David W

[GoDadGo]

This was an amazing car done by the folks at Manheim Auctions is documented pretty well and was done for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
They did some different techniques and modification that are typically not done by our F-5 Family Members.
You may or may not find these videos helpful:

Part-1
https://youtu.be/key003RaJsc

Part-2
https://youtu.be/8QcQvfM1IM4

Part-3
https://youtu.be/JsYNQZsvBH4

Time Lapse
https://youtu.be/XfTR4-Ov80s

Marketing Video / Post Make-A-Wish Raffle
https://youtu.be/qhzF_IXXuhc

[Namrups]

My hood ended up off center twords the PS by almost 1 inch. Coupe #393. Body from the updated molds. Not being centered is typical. Being offset that much may not be. Just the way everything lined up for me.