Stretching a Model A Hood....continued

check this thread.The metal is far from new!


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=662041

www.themetalsurgeon.com

 

The metal surgon is dead right on NOT quenchig this weld. This would be in my humble opinion best handled with a 000 welding tip and hammer welded to relieve shrink. With a MIG, turn you heat up until its just about ready to burn through, and shorten you wire speed down a bit less than you normally would. Your going to use this to tack with real hot tacks. Practice this a bit on sheet so that you get the right combonation to get real small, neat, tacks with out allot of extra wire. Do tacks alternating from end to end as far away from each other every six inches or so. Stop, and take a air powered cutting wheel and just knock the tops off the welds. At each tack, grab your hammer and dolly and hammer the tack on dolly just a bit. What you are doing is restretching the material that the weld shrunk. Repeat this process untill the hood is fully welded.

 

beautiful work surgeon.. i didnt mean to take anything away from your work. i own a tig welder. i was trying to talk more about the heat effect on this hood. how new 18 guage metal is different then the factory henry hood.

 

hey ,no worries.The hood material will likely be very thin from age.The metal structure will be very weak so adding more problems in material behavior when welding.Basically the material molecules have broken down over the years dues to elements and age.

my weekly metal work blog www.themetalsurgeon.com

 

Depends what you consider fine.

The work you have put into this so far is more work than would have been needed to make a new one. If you mig weld this unfortunately I think you will have trouble lifting it by the time you have filled it smooth. I would like to see you prove me wrong.


David

 

any progress to be reported?


my weekly metal work blog www.themetalsurgeon.com

 

you could have added some metal to the back edge. Then separate the 2 halves ,bring them in so they overlap and run a nice skinny cut off wheel up the centre . Nice neat weld up the middle and job done. Or you could even retain the centre hinge if you so desired quite easily and even less welding and grinding.
just my .02

 

IMO welds shouldn't be normally be quenched at all. It over-shrinks them and can sometimes make them brittle.
I seldom even quench hot shrinks for this very reason. However,placing a cold wet rag AROUND a shrink to prevent heat travel is ok IMO.
I do realise tho,after havin worked alongside other tradesmen,that no 2 guys will tackle the same job in the same exact way and its the end result that counts.
Kiwi Kev had a great thread on here about makin a hood top with very basic tools ...wish I knew how to link it here. Would be worth doin a search for it.

 

hope your not still welding n grinding on your hood Bob!!??

 

So after all that work..what do the proportions of the car look like?

 

My thoughts exactly... Just didn't want to be the first to say it.

 

Wow , that looks like a difficult job. I admire you tenacity, both with the work involved and all the advice from "been there, done that" guys. I needed a longer hood for my '33 pickup. I made it from a spare '46 pickup hood. Check it out here:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=623660&highlight=easy+hood

 

Yes, I'm still working on it. I don't get too much time to put into this hood, a hour here & there. All braces are welded to the underside & the pie cuts have been welded closed. I will be making the panels to fill the void tomorrow, maybe even tack them in place. These postings are not a vanity thing for me, I'm just staying with this thread because it's interesting. If someone is actually interested in what I am doing, and would like to see some photos, just ask.

 

I would like to please. Glad you are still at it.

 

Sure lets see pics

 

x2

 

Please...

 

I got the patch panels cut to size & screwed into place. Screwed into the square tube that has been relocated to the underside. The panels are actually flush with the two original hood sections. Next will be a lot of slow & careful butt welding, I would hate to have this thing warp from heat after all this work. After the butt welds I will pull the screws out & weld the holes closed, this should also weld the panel to the square tube underneath. I must say, it's been an interesting challenge. By the way, to those who think I am bragging about my great metal working skills, I have to admit I have none. This is my first attempt at sheet metal. Never did a patch panel before.
Bob

 

Show some pics with the rule along the length of the hood sides .

My metal work blog www.themetalsurgeon.com

 

think you should make sure your hood profiles at each end still match the radiator surround and the cowl. Looks like the front has spread out and the hood doesn't taper enough.
Also, are you goin to put roll hinge sections in the middle or?

 

Are you happy with the results?

 

Still not sure if this is going to work Ok. The devil is in the details. I still have a little bit of weld grinding to do & then see how it fits on the car.

 

Details? I can see from the last pictures it didn't work.

 

X2!

you probably learned something from it though...

David

 

you probably could have sold that hood , to pay for the materials to build a longer hood.

still want to see what the proportions look like with it on the car..thats where the rubber meets the road

 

I fit a blown Chrysler hemi with a 3" belt under a stock '31 hood with a 34 pickup grille and reversed firewall. God only knows what I would have done with 5 more inches.

 

are we there yet? ??

 

Been watching this thread Bob, you did say you love a good challenge. Stay the course, have fun doing it!

 

Let's see it!

 

I could not agree more.