Several years ago I had my 32 in a local shop for some issues I wasn`t making any progress on. Rad, shell and hood were a few of them. They decided that, Griffin had located the brackets for mounting the rad, were in the wrong place and moved them up about 3/4" and then made up some spacers to bring it back where it was. I have fixed this but now find out that they also trimmed the hood for some strange reason. What is the dimension front to back on the stock hood? I understand that the rootlieb hoods require some tweaking/t******* and am wondering if this can be saved. Not really in a position to buy another.
Couple years ago I hired a guy to fit a hoodtop for my roadster. He painted it...delivered..and it would not fit. He cut it the exact same way yours is done! . Mine is still in my garage, leaning against the wall..and never was put on the car. I thought when I first saw the pic it was mine hood
My experience is that 32 Rootlieb hoods fit same as 32 originals. I suggest fitting radiator/grille to match hood, after matching hood to cowl.
Spacing the radiator and shell is different on all Deuces along with shimming the cowl of the car,,the hood will generally fit without modifications but it takes a lot of trial and error. The last time we fit a hood on my pal Dave's 32 pickup it to us the better part of a Saturday. HRP
That is the reality likely due to aftermarket radiators, or out of shape cowl and/or frame. My experience has been that original in-shape components fit right one way, with minor shimming. I have had better luck with good original stuff.
My thoughts are the hood would have probably fit very well out of the box but was trimmed beyond an acceptable fit.
Just my observation but I notice multiple Rootlieb hooded Deuces where the belt line lines up good on the p***enger side but is off a shade on the drivers side. This includes my own car with lots of time spent trying to correct it to no avail.
Do the hood sides fit?? Looks as though the shell needs to go up,or maybe back at the bottom. With the way they welded straight to the outer skin like that, i'd go elsewhere...
On my roadster I used an original top and Rootleib sides, and I took about 3/16" off the center strip and the top and sides fit much better.
My sense is that you should be able to end up with a gap similar to any other on the car - around 1/8" to 3/16". I think the suggestions to start by fitting the hood to the cowl first, then using your radiator support rods to bring the rad and shell into place are the best approach. You should have the "reveal" where the top and sides of the hood meet, lined up with the body "reveal" or "belt-line" to create a continuous straight line. This will then dictate the height of your rad shell (line up with the top of the hood). It is a fussy job shoving things around, but don't mess any with the hood until you have done your best to fit everything. Then you can best determine what mods need to be done/corrected. Hope this helps. -Dave
I've got Rootlieb gennie style 25 louver hoods with Walker radiators and original shells on the last 3 cars we built and they have all required some t******* on the sides, sectioning of the tops and on my 3 window we had to add to the bottom of both sides to get the look we wanted. Maybe we're to picky but hood fit and door gap are 2 things that bug me????
Kinda been mentioned already, but the hood could have been made to fit well with gaps that won't rub paint, out I the box. If you are looking for anything better, it'll take tweaking. Your hood is fixable, but by somebody who knows what their doing. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
This is a long shot, but, does anyone have a measurement from the top of the crossmember center, to the top of the rad shell? Not sure if this is even measureable with everything in place. As mentioned in my first post, the shop decided that Griffin had placed the mounting brackets in the wrong place, relocated them and then used spacers to sort of make the rad fit. I think I have it in the right place give or take a few thou but would like to know if I am in the proverbial ball park. Thanks to all for your help so far.
I hope its repairable but unless the shop that trimmed it bucks up for the repair, I suspect it may cost more then a replacement.
I had a gennie 32 roadster and the hood fit like a chickens lip, we ended up cutting a small pie shape section off one side and added a bit on the other...and yes everything was measured over and over..the car and frame were straight and the rad was original and in great shape.We could not get an even gap on that thing for love nor money.It bugged the hell out of me,that we got there by cheating.To this day, I don't know what the problem was.
On a side note, can someone give me the dimensions on a stock firewall, for the factory mounting pads that the rad support rods bolt to from side and top? should take my mind off my hood dilemma for a short while. Thanks
hb, I hope this doesn't confuse (I have a non-stock firewall), but these measurements should get you there... 2 5/8" down from (underside) of hood and 12 1/2" apart. Anyone with an original firewall may have different figures. -Dave
Thanks and will have a look at what I have. I am picking up a gl*** reasonable facsimile firewall this weekend and would like to set it close to original.
This is the hacked up 32 swap meet firewall in my pickup that we repaired,,the radiator supports are in the original location.,,HRP
I ran my 32 pickup with just a hood top an (original) for a long time. I bought 25 louver hood sides and tried for a week to get them to fit. Gave up and took them to Jeb Scolman and he had to cut and weld to get them to fit. I think its just the nature of the beast.--TV
thats exactly how bad the new hood for Mom's roadster fit. I had to remove a bit from here and there and add a bunch to the other spots to get it to fit.
Thanks for the pic and they should with the measurements of where the 2 pads are from top and side that rodncustomdreams provided above.
Still no resolve and does not look like there will be. I am not going to mention the shop here but will run the hood as is and give credit at all the shows I attend next year. The black welded washers were made up to fix the rad after the tabs were relocated for no apparent reasons, which put it back in a general location where it was originally. Shell was also modified with the hex threaded rod and cover which placed it approximately 1 inch higher. I have yet to see another arrangement like this and have specifically looked at 100`s of 32`s. The round spacers on the bottom were used to set the shell out to meet the hood, but all the research I have done, indicates the shell mates flush with the tabs on the rad. Maybe I am missing something?
Had an interesting conversation this afternoon with another dissatisfied customer that had his hood improperly fitted by the same shop. Funny thing was he brought it up without me naming the place. Similar story of being threatened with slander if he named the place. So basically if you like the work, tell all and if you don`t, say no more. He as well gave them plenty of opportunity to right the problem to no avail. Great way to run a business
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