Wanting to knock the nose down on my 52 Chevy. Did a search and did not find anything helpfull. Hoping to get some tips or pictures to keep from screwing it up. Bob
I would make a single cut around the hood, but not all the way through in the back so that the top portion is still attached. Then you can lower the top section down into the lower section and see what it will look like, then when you have figured out how much to take out you just mark out the next cut line and take the pie piece out. Then you weld it back together, with some convincing of the two sections to make them line up. Of course when you weld it back together make a ton of tack welds so you don't warp it.
Hey Bob, How big of a reduction in height are you after on the hood panel? Once you figger that out, you can better plan the section. Once you decide on the amount, the removal is a no brainer, but the planning is what will decide sucess or failure! If after you cut the section out and like the amount, completly cut loose the top of the hood and slide it foward. This will make all those relief cuts you see on some jobs not necessary, and make the blending of the contures much easier. Welding will be easier, too! You will, however have to fab a patch to cover the amount of metal that you moved foward, at the rear of the hood. There isn't usually much shape at the back of a hood panel, so makin' up this patch is pretty straight foward. good luck, Swankey Devils C.C.
Hadn't thought about cutting section entirely loose and moving it forward. The hard part is figuring out how much to take out. I was thinking about 3-4 inches at the nose but not sure what it would take to get rid of the pug nose look. I'm sure somebody here has done it and has the pic to prove it. And no doubt about the welding slow - My hood is already warped from getting carried away while one piecing it. I guess that makes it easier to cut on it some more. But I was planning on welding in a few ribs on the underside to pull it back flat enough to do bodywork. Tehgerg, what did you do to fix yours? Bob
I did it on a '46. I put something crushable (Dixie cup) on the highest point at the front of the hood, the rad cap. Closed the hood and measured the height of the crushed cup and added about a half inch. I took 2 1/2" out of the front of mine. If your car is not finish painted I would tack weld the hood to the fenders. I didn't and although the hood turned out good it doesn't follow the fender line as well as it did before I pie cut it, and i had braced the hood well before I cut it. I was told later about tacking it to the fenders, although mine was finish painted. I also filled in the seam in the middle of the hood while I was at it, it was wide enough in the front to use a piece if about 1/4' rod. and yeah, go slow with the welding...
do not slide the skin forward. it will be more of a problem to add legnth to it along the flat section of the back. a few well placed slits around the front and it will drop right into place.
This is a 50 Merc hood that has 3.5 inches removed from the front,and tapers to 1 inch at the back of the hood.We sliced the upper and lower parts of the front to get it to line up. It is only tack welded together.Hopefully this will give you some ideas for your hood.
Hey, The point of my suggestion was made in the photo of the Mercury- Look at everyone of those vertical cuts, they will all require much welding, hammering and shaping to avoid the excessive use of mud. Following my suggestion will only require the shaping and welding of the fore and aft seam, light shaping of the cut top hood panel, and the fabracation of the filler panel, at the rear of the hood. The filler panel is in a low crowned area of the hood and would be butt simple to make up. People figger that since someone else has always done something one way, that that's the "only way" taint so! pick and choose the method that will work for you. Any method that makes for less welding on an already floopy hood, and less hours of hammerweld- ing of welds that didn't need to be there to begin with is good, no? Swankey devils C.c.
I have to agree with Pimpin, way too much welding and shrinkage on doing it that way. It will work in the end, but no need to spend hour after hour hammering all that weld out. A low crown filler piece at the rear will be easier to fab and finish out. The hood pictured will need to be welded up very methodically if you want it to ever fit the car again. It really needs to be tack welded to the fenders, but then you cant have access to hammer the welds back out. You sure dont want to weld them all up and then try to stretch them back out. Each seam needs to be worked one at a time. The first rule about metal work is there are no rules! There are many ways to achieve the same thing, and none are really wrong, some will just speed things up a whole lot! Tim @ www.irrationalmetalworks.com
I don't think you'll want to take 3-4 inches out. I know a guy who took 1 1/2 inches out of his 1950 hood, and it looks really good. Go that low and you'll have to modify your radiator and probably the radiator support. I intend to do my 1951 hood one inch - just enough to improve the looks but not enough to make it look "wrong."
Id start pie cutting the trunk before the hood. IMO, the trunks of these cars NEED to be pie cut, and it may be easier to learn on the deck lid than on the hood.
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