Completely reworking the hood

[chevyrestoguy]

I like the first version in post #31. I think that the hood line needs to stay straight from front to back, and I like the way it ties in with the seam in the grille surround. That's the way GM did it back in the day. Clean, sharp, straight lines.

If you plan on painting the truck a dark color, those hood gaps are going to nearly disappear.

I like where your head is at with this truck. Very subtle, almost indistinguishable mods. So subtle that folks will look at and it and scratch their heads. They'll know SOMETHING is different, but they can't figure it out. There are a few builders out there that can nail that theme. Guys like Troy Trepanier, who build cars that when you start looking at them up close, the more you see.

[samuellg1977]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Those are a part of the fenders. They are spot welded to the rest of the fender. Those parts are not available seperately.

Yeah, Awbrown hit me on PM. Thanks, though. I found a complete 65 a few miles away. The guy has no title for it, so he is parting it out. It has a running 283 / 3-speed in it. Looks pretty solid. I'm gonna try to pillage it for the front clip. He won't sell the whole thing - said he didn't want to see it on the road again. I didn't ask why cause he said it like he MEANT IT!! Oh well. Thanks for the help, Guys.

Sam

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by shrunken66stroker

I can't figure this one out.

I really think the best bet is to use the factory seam over the park lights, mold the grill support and lower hood together, and weld the grille support to the fenders and fill up the seams, even behind the grille....

[QWYKTRUK]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

I did a couple tiny refinements that I think really clean this design up....
1) stopping the seam at the cowl extension. I would weld it up solid, you can actually move the two upper fender bolts (under the cowl extension) to inside the vehicle, I did this on my 61, you can weld a nut to the fender, and then access the bolt from inside the kick panel vent.,I would put the seam between the cowl vent/grate , and the cowl extension right where the wiper transmission is.
2)I took away the seam at the hood corner, by the blinker. then I moved the hood opening up to where the factory seam is across and above the blinkers.

I'm a fan of the design as it deletes the gap between the hood and fender. Always had a hard time with that look - the gap only going to the door.It really shows up on light colors and two tones.

Great p/shop by the way!!!

[wutnxt]

Dude You have great design ideas......I think your truck rocks.....I also agree that a hood change is a great idea....I have been working on my prostreet hood for awhile now getting it to match the picture in my head . I think it's safe to say we are on the same page and idea.....My hood has been cut,welded and fit and at the body shop waiting for the rest of my truck for a couple of weeks now . We don't have the exact same solution but it feels like you read my mind.....lol....or i read yours . Dude you do killer work and you have wicked ideas....

[shrunken66stroker]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

I really think the best bet is to use the factory seam over the park lights, mold the grill support and lower hood together, and weld the grille support to the fenders and fill up the seams, even behind the grille....

I'm still thinking about how the hood release will work if I use the factory seam as the front of the hood. I'll probably have to go to the junk yard and get a cable operated release that runs into the cab. I don't want to weld the whole dog house together because I always work by myself and won't be able to get it on and off solo.

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

I like the first version in post #31. I think that the hood line needs to stay straight from front to back, and I like the way it ties in with the seam in the grille surround. That's the way GM did it back in the day. Clean, sharp, straight lines.

If you plan on painting the truck a dark color, those hood gaps are going to nearly disappear.

I like where your head is at with this truck. Very subtle, almost indistinguishable mods. So subtle that folks will look at and it and scratch their heads. They'll know SOMETHING is different, but they can't figure it out. There are a few builders out there that can nail that theme. Guys like Troy Trepanier, who build cars that when you start looking at them up close, the more you see.

Subtle is exactly what I'm after. It's turning into a complete redesign. Thanks.

Originally Posted by wutnxt

Dude You have great design ideas......I think your truck rocks.....I also agree that a hood change is a great idea....I have been working on my prostreet hood for awhile now getting it to match the picture in my head . I think it's safe to say we are on the same page and idea.....My hood has been cut,welded and fit and at the body shop waiting for the rest of my truck for a couple of weeks now . We don't have the exact same solution but it feels like you read my mind.....lol....or i read yours . Dude you do killer work and you have wicked ideas....

Thanks. Good luck with the hood. I'll keep an eye out on your thread.

[shrunken66stroker]

So this is going a little farther than I ever intended but I'll keep throwing things out and see what sticks. I filled the seam at the front of the fenders on all of them. I'm thinking about pancaking the center of the hood about an inch to bring it back to the same level as the left and right. It could either over hang the front or I could flush it up and straighten out the front seam all the way across. I threw some mesh in the last on just for fun.

[jonzcustomshop]

a latch off a 81-87 truck with the cable release would probably do the trick.

[jonzcustomshop]

Originally Posted by shrunken66stroker

I can't figure this one out.

some more looking at these pics: I think you need to keep the seam for the hood in line with the fender and grille support, at least up to the factory horizontal seam , maybe it could go wide from there....
ps. after you get this figured out I am going to copy you!

also when you cut across the hood the metal will lose its structure, and go flat, maybe weld 2 pieces of round rod to the inside of the hood before you cut (this will be the new hood and fender edge) and cut in between them and finish up the edge, this might help the center keep its shape.

I would also look into some other bracing for the center hood, as I think it gets most of its rigidity from the sides that you are cutting off....
maybe find a 81-87 hood and pirate some of the inner structure for strength?


...just some stuff to think about before you cut...

[shrunken66stroker]

Originally Posted by jonzcustomshop

some more looking at these pics: I think you need to keep the seam for the hood in line with the fender and grille support, at least up to the factory horizontal seam , maybe it could go wide from there....
ps. after you get this figured out I am going to copy you!

also when you cut across the hood the metal will lose its structure, and go flat, maybe weld 2 pieces of round rod to the inside of the hood before you cut (this will be the new hood and fender edge) and cut in between them and finish up the edge, this might help the center keep its shape.

I would also look into some other bracing for the center hood, as I think it gets most of its rigidity from the sides that you are cutting off....
maybe find a 81-87 hood and pirate some of the inner structure for strength?


...just some stuff to think about before you cut...

I was going to make a U channel on the underside of the hood before cutting it so it wouldn't lose it's shape. Thanks for the round rod suggestion. I was thinking about using 3/32 tig rod to make that edge which will probably work too. I haven't thought about bracing yet because I don't know where the cuts are going to be.