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Lengthening the hinge is an interesting approach that didn't occur to me.

I fabricated 1/2" thick solid aluminum spacers (see attached picture). This allowed me to get contact all the way across the back of the fog lights. I also made 16 guage steel backing plates that fit on the inside of the fog light wells so as to "sandwich" the fiberglass for an extra strong connection. I'm using Mustang fog lights that I bought from Summit instead of those that came with the kit. They have one very strong 3/8 attachment bolt which is just long enough to accomodate the 1/2" spacer and steel backing plate. With one more 3/8" bolt, I have a very strong unit that allows for adequate adjustment in both directions.

Also note in the picture the reinforcement brackets where the hydraulic struts attach to the hood. I also had to order one of the little ball strut attachments that go on the struts from McMaster Carr since my kit came with 2 "left hand" pieces...
 

Attachments

Okay, now I think I may have done something wrong when mounting my hood. I did not have to space it out to have my wheel wells to line up with the pontoons. Anybody else not run into problems mounting it? John
 
So did mine. It fit perfect in terms of the wheel well line.

Edit: black body.

Marc
 
Hood mounting

Anybody have this problem? The nose brackets do not match up with the fog light housings. The 90 degree bend is touching the Fiberglas and the circle is about 1/2" above the edge of the housing, even though I bent the T bracket to fit. The hood has been stored vertically indoors for almost a year and a half.
 

Attachments

Dick,

I wouldn't worry about this. It appears to me from your pic that it lines up closely enough, so if you use the Mustang fog lights (which have a large hardened mounting stud) and an additional piece of steel behind to sandwich everything you'll be plenty strong. If the overlap bothers you cosmetically, then you could grind that part off. I guess if you want you could fabricate another round piece the same size as the piece on the hinge that's too high, weld it on in the right spot and cut off the overlap if it really bothers you... (see my pic below for the spacer and more detail on the approach I used). The only thing I would have done differently is that I would have drilled a 1 1/4" hole through the center so a weatherpac connector can pass through, but I'll be correcting this soon when I take the body off for painting!

Sam
Lengthening the hinge is an interesting approach that didn't occur to me.

I fabricated 1/2" thick solid aluminum spacers (see attached picture). This allowed me to get contact all the way across the back of the fog lights. I also made 16 guage steel backing plates that fit on the inside of the fog light wells so as to "sandwich" the fiberglass for an extra strong connection. I'm using Mustang fog lights that I bought from Summit instead of those that came with the kit. They have one very strong 3/8 attachment bolt which is just long enough to accomodate the 1/2" spacer and steel backing plate. With one more 3/8" bolt, I have a very strong unit that allows for adequate adjustment in both directions.

Also note in the picture the reinforcement brackets where the hydraulic struts attach to the hood. I also had to order one of the little ball strut attachments that go on the struts from McMaster Carr since my kit came with 2 "left hand" pieces...
 
Slide the bracket back to meet the lower edge of the hood clip. Fill the space in between the fog bucket and the bracket



When you put the hood back on line the rear opening of the wheel well with the pontoon front. Then you can get the proper cut where the hood meets the cowl.

John
 
I agree with John that the right order to deal with this is to put on the hood first without the hinge brackets and get it to line up properly. Then install the hinge brackets and deal with any spacing issues. John's pics show that his nose needed a very similar shim forward as mine; he used a wooden spacer whereas I had one machined from aluminum as shown in my pic below. But the point is that the nose should be lined up first, then position the hinge brackets. Position them so the bolt is in the center of the travel...

Sam
 
Mine (black body) lined up pretty well without spacers.

I have the headlight bucket aluminum covers and Russ' upper rad cover and you can't see the hinges AT ALL. Concentrate on the hood fit.

Marc
 
hood mounting

Sam, thanks for the reply. I was mostly worried that the mismatch would lower my hood too much. I think mounting the hood without the brackets first sounds like a great idea.
 
Dick,

For sure. That way you're certain that when you screw it all together you have a proper fit.

By the way, I noticed that in my pic below, it shows how I've welded in a piece of roundstock and supports for a front tow strap. I then installed a stainless U-bolt into the center facing straight down and attached a nylon tow strap with an eye on the end. The car needs a tow point and this works great for me; super strong and out of the way.

Sam, thanks for the reply. I was mostly worried that the mismatch would lower my hood too much. I think mounting the hood without the brackets first sounds like a great idea.
 
It looks like you'll need to shift your hood backwards. This appears to be the opposite of the problem I had since I needed to shim it forwards. Sorry but I can't help you with this one...
 
Dick

Mine was the same. I had to trim it back until the wheel well lined up with the pontoon. I trimmed a little at a time then used the hinge slots for fine running the fit.

Just make sure you get the correct angle on the hood...that the front isn't too far up or down. I also had to straighten the front forks for the hood...they weren't square so the hood was pointing to the left a little. I took measurements and then squared it with a little muscle power (long steel bar).

Marc
 
From what I'm reading I suggest that it's probably best to mount the nose "as is" and not to trim it off a whole lot until much later in the build, perhaps even at the end as part of the painting process. The approach I've taken is not to cut anything off that can just as well be cut off later, snce "you can cut it shorter, but you can't cut it longer..."" (That said, I have done some trimming where the overage is really grossly long.)

Make sense?

Sam
 
Don't worry about the mounts and fog light bucket align. They don't.
You will end up with the back of the hood being too long , overlaping the cowl or body. It is a long slow process to get the gap right. Get a long sanding block 12" or longer , I used 36 grit to get close then 80. Kind of like the old movie
" sand the floor " there is no easy way. Block it , shut the hood , mark it. Block it , shut the hood mark it..... Over and over again. Gaps and fitments take lots of effort , period. No easy way out if you want it to look right.


Make hast slowly.
 
Fox is right; slow process. I first rough cut it off with a air powered cut-off wheel, then closer with an air grinder, then with an air powered straight sander with 40 grit; finished by hand. I made it fit as close as possible and still close, but am electing to have all the final gapping done professionally. The doors were really a challenge for me; I've re-fitted them 3 times, but am letting the professional take it from here...
 
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