Let's work on a latching device to pull this hood down and suck it in to the cowl. The hood was cut off that old tilt front end, when they did the mold for that they had to have went right over the top of a stock front, grill and all ! Everything is oversized but I work with what I got, it's also a 1/4 inch thick which makes it set up proud. I sketched out a few designs thinking I'd do an "L" shaped rod that would be on the side of the hood like an emblem that could twist and hook into a latch somehow but the angles just never worked out right.
So I ended up using a hood pin on the inside roll of the fender so it's unseen from the side. It stuck up kinda tall and would've needed a slot hole in the fender to work with the arc of the tilt. So I trimmed the head off of it a bit Then I sketched out a design for the plate that the safety pin rides on But I was unsure of the orientation I wanted
Next up was getting those fender sections I cut off back in 2016 to mount to the cowl, as with any fiberglass parts when they lay loose they distort shape. At first I was going to form a lip on them for the fender to ride on during the tilt but in the end I just made a nice clearance gap between the two pieces. I also made a couple tabs off the running board to hold the fender in place once it's closed. I'm hoping that a few heat cycles will get the hood and the other parts back into a tighter fit to the cowl. I'm also hoping that by adding these pieces back it won't be so damn hot inside the cab.
The front hood was so out of shape to fit the fenders, which were stock dimensions, I had to cut pieces free then cut them up then try and glass them into some kind of blended shape. Notice how the hood sits over the top of the grill. This is how stock parts fit with grill on the outside I gave it a guess to where the grill was supposed to go, since there's no reference points, but kept sliding the hood back to get a better fit on the nose and ended up with this hack looking job. Since I didn't want to narrow the nose I decided to buildup the back side of the hood so the grill could connect to that like stock then figure out the outside fit somehow. I then carved out a spot for each grill bar to nestle down into
That rear script panel was also a royal pain in the ass, my idea was to have a flat panel with a raised script. I thought welding it in would warp the panel so I had a shop recess the flat panel and then use panel bound to attach the metal piece with the script. It was not clamped flat so in some sections the panel with the script was raised up higher than the flat panel. No matter how I went about it I could not get my vision of a flat panel with raised script, it inadvertently would look wavy. In the end I tried taping the script off and tried to build up around it the thickness of the tape to give it the slightest of a recessed box with the script in it.
Sand, sand and when you think your done sand some more I used the same paint I used for the fenders back in 2017 That's some shiny satin
Got the grill squeezed back in without damage I had to make a spreader for the upper to get it around the to wide hood I was really happy with the way that fit into the little pockets I made. Can't tell much about the rear but I think it's a good compromise
I got the headlights back on, starting to look like something now I'm liking the new hood windows too Fender extensions back on and fit pretty good, I put some door edge guard around it to help protect it from the fenders banging around during the opening/closing Hood pin protectors back on and I trimmed the pin so the ring fastens around it so it doesn't fall out on it's own. Then I wiped the truck down to get an overall look, I like the changes I gave it, my ideas worked out
Well it's mid November 24 and time to kick it out of the heated section so I can get another one in. Then a quick test drive around the block a couple times, everything seems good, brakes work, my string front end alignment is straight, carbs need dialed in, shifter shifts. It's good to see it back out after a five year hiatus And ready for it's winter slumber
I didn't get everything done on the list, but got a lot done in a years time. I still need to paint the door panels, figure out the side windows and decide on a front rim to match the new rear rims. I've pretty much narrowed it down to these two American Rebel's, leaning towards the starburst I do have a pair of 15x3.75 ET slots I could polish up Or switch lug pattern to chevy and use some existing Gyros Who knows when I'll get to gettin around to that, but it leaves room for future installments. To be continued ........
Thanks to @fastcar1953 I got the American Rebel Starburst wheels for the 41 Put 165/80/15's on, this is the first wheel change in 30 yrs for Evil41 and I dig it.
The Jalopy Journal
