47-55.1 How to adjust hoon on a '54

[Gregski]

trying to align the hood on a '54 with a Camaro front clip (the radiator core support is not welded in yet) and it seems like it needs to go back towards the windshield about 1/2 an inch as it has a slight overbite right now and won't slam shut

is there some sort of adjustability that can be done

please and thank you

[NorCalGal]

Looks like you need to drop the core support to me. Generally you start by dropping or raising the core support until the front edge of the hood and the front edge of the fenders are the same length.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by NorCalGal

Looks like you need to drop the core support to me. Generally you start by dropping or raising the core support until the front edge of the hood and the front edge of the fenders are the same length.

yep, well stated. a good rule of thumb is the body line on the bottom rear of the fender should be parallel to the bottom of the cab/the running boards. really if its a horizontal straight line, it should be parallel to all the horizontal straight lines: bed rails, running boards. etc. the eye can notice even a 1/16 difference in angle, so step back and look.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by NorCalGal

Looks like you need to drop the core support to me. Generally you start by dropping or raising the core support until the front edge of the hood and the front edge of the fenders are the same length.

thank you, that makes total sense as it is hung up on the power steering box just so slightly on the driver's side

(now where did I put that angle grinder)

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by joedoh

yep, well stated. a good rule of thumb is the body line on the bottom rear of the fender should be parallel to the bottom of the cab/the running boards. really if its a horizontal straight line, it should be parallel to all the horizontal straight lines: bed rails, running boards. etc. the eye can notice even a 1/16 difference in angle, so step back and look.

aha, appreciate that, so probly put the dront wheels back on and don't try to align it with the front end on jack stands, ha ha

[mr48chev]

By dumb luck my hood and fenders fit my 48 without a fight when I subframed it in 1980 (it is obsolete 1980 technology custom truck wise though)

Joedoe pretty well nailed it and he has done as many or more frame swaps and subframe swaps as anyone around.

The best way is to align the hood with the cowl. with the fenders off and then fit the fenders to the cowl and hood.

On the cab setting square parallel with the bed rail and running boards that is not only to fit the front but to have the truck look proper.

The measurement from frame to body floor are the pages on this photobucket album that I put together a few years ago saved out of the assembly manual if you don't have one of those The floor to frame measurments are in here and the hood adjustment pages out of the service manual are there too. https://s173.photobucket.com/user/mr...?sort=2&page=1

It might be simple to shim the cab up a tad (level) rather than do a bunch of mods to the core support depending on how far off it is.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

It might be simple to shim the cab up a tad (level) rather than do a bunch of mods to the core support depending on how far off it is.

Thank you for all your feedback, but this gold!