Projects HELP - Hood flew off my '51 Roadmaster - Will any '51 Buick Hood Fit??

Thanks Squablow, that's about what I figured as well. And thank you to everyone else. I think I may have found the right bodyman outside of town...an old timer who knows what steel, lead and spoons are. When I said '51 Buick, the first thing he said (in between drags on a cigarette) was "Let me guess, the hood blew off from a passing truck. Yup, we did a few of those back in the day." Perfect.

I'll keep you all posted, thanks again.

 

How does a hood fly off?,I don't know anything about these big battleships. HRP

 

The Hood didn't fly off, it blew up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hood
Sorry, couldn't stop myself when you even called it a battleship. How the hood came of the car it has been explained earlier in the thread.

As for the dent, I agree with the rest that it should be a relatively simple fix for someone who knows what he's doing.

 

The hood is designed to be opened to the left, right or be completely removed. It is not secured to the car in the traditional sense. The hood has 4 alignment pins that fit into pockets and 4 slots to accept locking clamps. The pockets sit in a channel on the left and right side of the engine compartment above the front inner wheel fairings, parallel to the engine. They are hinged and have a squashed 'C' spring loaded locking clamp that cams into the receptacle in the hood and is held in place by spring tension . To unlatch the hood, you pull a cable release on either the LH or RH side under the dash that pulls a rod connecting the two pockets which releases the tension off the 'C' clamps in unison and that side pops up about an inch or two. You then lift the side of the hood and prop it open with a pivoting metal bar that is attached to the firewall. There's a good pic of the whole rig that was posted earlier in the thread.

What I figure happened in MY case, the draft from the passing truck coupled with a stiff cross wind, trapped air must have gotten UNDER my car and caused a positive pressure pocket in my engine compartment and coupled with my speed (60 MPH), overcame the tension on the locking clamps and blew my hood straight up. That's the only way I can figure it blew off as squarely as it did. It did't nose up or come back at the wind-shield. There's not a scratch on the car in the 'pockets' on the LH or RH side firewall by the wind-shield where you'd expect and it didn't even touch the radio antenna sticking out of the top of the windshield that extends over the roof. I must have blinked because I didn't see it come off...if it had come off un-evenly I figure I would have seen a massive sheet of black lifting up about to knock my lights out, but it just disappeared so I figure it took off on a flat, even keel. When I stopped, I took a look at the clamps - every one was in the locked position, none had popped up. The hood was fitting securely and I had gone on several highway trips this season without incident, so I had no indication something was about to give. Design flaw? Yeah, I'd say so. The big trick now is to figure a way out to mod the assembly to keep it from happening again and I can drive the car with confidence on the highway.

 

Glad you found a good old timer to repair it. PLEASE let us know what he does to adjust the latches. My '50 is the same, and does not latch easily. Therefore I am most anxious as to the cure.

Ben

 

Hello Ben, I will definitely keep you posted!

So apparently I'm not the only one this has happened to....I clipped this from an Ontario (Canada) car club forum.

"Don Brown was a deejay at a radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, around 1960 when he purchased a maroon and white 1951 Buick Roadmaster two-door hardtop. He drove it south when he returned to his hometown of Leamington to spin the records on the local station, then known as CJSP (where your dial Can Just Stay Put!).
He was hired one night to spin the records at a dance in Chatham, a town 45 minutes away. Running late, he and a friend drove fast to get there on time. When they passed a transport truck going just as fast in the opposite direction, the wind sucked Don's hood right off the car and sent it flying into a cornfield.
There was no time to stop and go back to get it when hundreds of screaming teenagers were waiting for him. He pulled up to the dance in his hoodless Buick and all the teeny boppers thought Don's car was really cool with its big straight eight engine on display. Their parents never drove around in a car like that!
Sometime after midnight, Don and his buddy headed back to Leamington. They stopped where they thought the hood flew off and searched every cornfield for two miles in both directions, all to no avail. The hood was gone, man, really gone."

Yup, sounds familiar....

 

The hood is a easy basic fix, but your hold downs are another story.

 

So I picked up the hood from the farm yesterday and set it back on the car. I pulled out a lawnchair, had a good look at it and had a think. Now, a long time ago when I was a kid with a barn find '58 Chev and just getting into this hobby, I didn't know J.S. about anything. I was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of an old hot-rodder who gave me some sage advice - God hates a coward. Anytime I faced a problem that I was intimidated by, I'd remember those words and using my hands and my brain, forge ahead and figure it out. And 95% of the time it worked and in the end I learned something. So sitting there, looking at the hood, I thought - what the heck, I can do this. I've read up on body work, I have the tools I need, I know what has to be done, nobody is magically going to do this for me - why not? So I grabbed a hammer, dolly, rubber mallet,sander and file and went to work. After about 20 min, things weren't looking so bad anymore. I re-fit the hood and it fits almost perfectly...Oddly enough the accident may have IMPROVED the positivity of the hood latch locks - they fit well before, but now, when I pull upwards on the lip of the hood, the whole front of the car moves up and down.It is not budging! Anyhow, I've got a lot of work to do, but things are looking up. This is probably small potatoes to a lot of you, but its a new step for me. Thanks everyone for your advice, I'll keep you posted.

 

nice job, you got the easy part done, now get it straight.

 

I am happy to learn that you beat it out yourself. A little patience and some massaging will make it as good as new.

 

That old body man you found outside of town probably fix it with out any filler. There is a lot of metal in those old cars and they can be worked with great success. A little pecking and shrinking and a little fileing and it's all done . Those older bodymen are real craftsman not like the new generation of body Tech. the cave and pavers. Using the old timer methods you material bill goes way down. Bondo and sand paper is expensive.
I have over 60 years in the trade and was taught by a old timer who worked thru the Great Depression and WW II when you could not get any parts so they knew how to fix everything those were very talented men. And yes the hoods got blown off by a passing truck. Also two welded together end to end made a cheap fishing boat. Just my 2ct. Worth Frank

 

Good for you! Now you can look at it and say "I did it myself!". Best feeling in the world is to be self sufficient.

 

LMAO !!!

 

Hi 51Roadmaster.Don`t laugh too loud.There were a couple of those around my home town.They did a pretty good job of getting us around on the water till we could save a bit to get a real boat.Got some REAL strange looks too when out on the water.Your repair is looking real good for a first time attempt.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Back in the day, I borrowed my dad's 50 Buick special, and with a bunch of buddies went out for some winter fun pulling toboggans out on a frozen lake with the old Buick. Then we remembered the hood came off easy. Being smart we remembered to remove the hood target, tied the rope on the hood, and towed three or four guys at a time all over the lake doing donuts. Until we high centered the car coming off the ice and couldn't get it unstuck. By the time we found a tractor to pull us out, it was dark, so we stuck the hood back on and drove home. Next morning dad went out to start the car for Church, and noticed the hood ornament missing. We had not been smart enough to put it back on. I took the hood ornament out of the trunk, handed it to him, he walked up front, and noticed all the scratches in the paint we had not seen in the dark. Needless to say I didn't get dad's car again for a long time. But that's another story.

 

I should have added that when I was driving home with the hood strapped down in the back of my truck heading South back to S'toon, all the cottage guys were heading North to their cabins with boats in tow. I stopped off at a gas station and the guy next to me pumping gas asked me if what I had in back was the front of a boat!

Now I know in a way he was kinda right.

 

I second the post stating your hood is -51-52 Buick Roadmaster only , I have a stuck together -50 Buick Special sedanette with a Roadmaster front end from a -50 Buick Roadmaster Riviera sedan , this works since -50 Buick used C-body for all series , not so for -49 Buick Special and earlier or -51 Buick Special and up that used B-body , -51-52 Buick Super hood is looking the same but is about 4" short , -50 Buick Roadmaster hood will fit the hole but has a design difference in the portholes being on the hood instead of being on the fender like -51 -52 Buick , see the pickup build below . -50 Buick hoods also have a seam in the center of the hood coverd by a trim , -51-52 hoods are pressed in one large piece of sheetmetal . I agree with others that the dent is not all that hard to fix with some hammer and dolly work .

 

What if you fashion some sort of leather strap to go across your hood like they did in early racing days?

 

A couple of 30 min evening sessions so far. I can't work too late, this thing reverberates like a bass drum and I don't want to become 'that guy' to my neighbors. I'd appreciate some feedback, just keep in mind I'm completely green to hammer/dolly body work and learning on the fly.

 

When hammering dents, don't. You are tapping the dents out, not hammering. Light hits in the opposite direction they were formed. Think about where the dent was created, and work backwards to there. You have the major shape restored there, now work all those small spots out with light tapping from outer regions to the center, probably the spot where the ornament bolts on.

On the big light half moon crease, it's best to use a heavy spoon over the top tip of the crease, and tap the spoon towards the center of the moon. Basically pushing the outer radius of the crease to the low middle. Work your way around the circle. Maybe have a friend pushing the low spot in the center of the moon up with their hand, but no dolly in there. Light taps so you don't make new dents.

Go easy grasshopper.

 

Thank you alchemy! I greatly appreciate the guidance.

 

These are the spots causing me fits , (from the prospective of the pic) - The big crescent shape in the upper right, the cross way ripple across the nose ( goes right across the center line 'rib' of the hood), the 'rib' that is covered by the hood ornament ( it may not be necessary as it is covered), the slight bulge on the left side (with the shadow on the top and bottom) and the tail end of the crease on the left by the edge of the raised center section. All the rest seems to be coming along. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

 

Louvers.

 

Probably should ban semi trucks.Or make sure the hood safety latch works

 

OK you identified the high and low spots. I would strongly suggest you look up Wray Schalein (sp) and his video on this very subject. You are going to need a "shrinking disc" and Wray sells them with a very informative video. Please take the time to look it up.

 

It would have just buffed out (LOL) but now that you started I think Princess Auto sells plastic filler so... get a trowel while your there!

 

Thanks for the note. I heard about the shrinking disk a while ago and watched the videos before I began this endeavor. They are not readily available in Canada, but I believe Wray Schelin does ship up here and I plan on ordering one.

 

I've been doing bodywork for over 35 years, and never got the hang of a shrinking disk. My little brother likes them and we did do a bit of work on a couple panels of mine, by I'll stick with heat shrinking on my big wobbles.

On your hood, you are not to the shrinking point yet. You have lots of small dents to remove first. Shrinking is only when you have a big stretch you can't get out (I doubt you will have any on that project), or some oil can on the large flat spots.

 

Thanks alchemy. I'm tapping away every evening when I get the chance, one spot at a time. I'm succeeding with the hammers and dollies, so a shrinking disk isn't high on my priority list. I'd like to learn how to use one though.

 

How's it going, (eh)?