Ideas to fix bent hood, 1938 Ford

Since I got great advice on my tire selection, I figure I'll pick some more brains...

My 38 Ford Standard has that commonly bent hood, from the hood prop. We almost have it back into shape, but it's bowed out about 1/2" in the middle of the drivers side. We tried everything and it still springs back to the bowed out shape. What have others done to fix this? Pictures would help!

Our ideas so far are...
Run a heavy strip of metal on the inside edge of the drivers side and weld it into place while holding pressure in the hood.

Run a strip or rod from the passengers side to the drivers side, following the contour of the underside of the hood...welding along the edge of the hood on either side. Again, holding pressure to get it to the right shape.

Thanks for any input!
Mike
Arvada, CO

 

Hammer & dolly. HRP

 

Been hammering and dollying for days. Can't seem to get it to stay, it just bounces back no matter what I try. Scared I'll get it way out of whack if I hammer on it much more. The shape is great, but is just slightly wide.

Love that pickup HRP!

 

show a picture of what you are doing.

 

I'll snap a shot next time at the shop.

 

You may have to start further away from the bow.

Many times the distorted area is the symptom, not the cause.

 

CVD- you have a point. I've been focusing on the bowed area itself. I'll try working the whole side to see if I can lose that last 1/2". Thanks for the tip.

 

Not familiar with that particular model and year, but on other "warped" hoods I have used a a rosebud tip on a torch to heat relieve or shrink a hood back to square. If you have those tools available it's another option if the hammer and dolly fail.

 

I not only had a bend but also a split in the metal. WE welded the split and then heated the inside of the lip and added a flat piece of metal stock the length of the hood. It worked fine. I also replaced the hinges. Keep them lubed and be sure they don't bind.

 

You really should post some pictures. It sounds like you've overworked the panel. You'll get lots of guessing and suggestions on this board, but without knowing exactly what and where the problem is, more metalworking will do more damage.