Body Parts - Fit and Finish

[rboltz]

Today I put my NOS hood on as I continue the re-assembly. The old hood was beyond my skills at repair. That one never did fit right and had HUGE gaps but I didn't bother with it since I was going to replace it. The new one now has a gap of about 1/2" between the fender and hood and the same between the rear of the hood and the cowl. I have all the adjustment used up on the hinges, both up and down and front to rear, and still the 1/2" gaps. I can lower the front of the hood with the bumpers but that would make a gap smaller at the front then the rear and that won't look right. Not having another truck to compare with I'm not sure if this is just the way it is?

[randyscycle]

My hood was "collapsed" in the middle. It seemed that someone had stood on it or put a lot of weight in the center, and it caused the gap to be unadjustable in the rear like you describe. Funny, it wasn't creased, or bent, just sprung so that it didn't close right.

What I did, since the hood was in excellent shape otherwise, was to use a wedge under the back of the hood and the cowl, and close it, leaving it for a couple of days to form the hood back to its original shape at the rear. It has worked fine since.

[wrecker]

I have two trucks and both hoods fit pretty good. Seems like 1/2 inch may be a bit too much but I'll have to check for sure. Did you try removing the hinges all together and seeing how the hood lays on the fenders? Maybe the hinges are damaged from the bent hood. Just a wild guess but maybe...

[rboltz]

The hood lines up with the front end so even if I could move it back some more, the front would then not be right. Almost like the engine compartment was "stretched" by 1/2". I did get the sides down to 3/8" and I can live with that. I'd post pictures but my camera is at the service center being repaired.

[sf38a1]

Mine was off to the right , I replaced the hood hingeswith another set of used ones I had and it move back to where it needed to be.