Thinking about pancaking the hood on this 49 Ford has anyone attempted this did you like the results any pictures before and after would help or should I go out and find another Hood in try it
Panel shut lines make alot of difference in my eyes but its ALOT of work, ask me how I know, and yes try another hood first
Jamoke, Some clarification is in order. Old timers knew "pancaked" hoods as redefined opening parameters (i.e., no overhang, hence "pancaked".) Younger guys have coined the term for "sectioned" hoods. (i.e., reducing the profile.) To which do you refer? To which do you refer?
Yes, be more clear as to exactly what your going to do to it. My advice is not to necessarily use a different Hood but to be sure your metal working talents are up to the Job. Tin is just Tin weather it's a Hood or a trash can. Can you fit and finish a weld seam. That's the only question you should be asking yourself. Now if your thinking of removing some of the Peak on the front of that hood your going to need something other than stock when it comes to the Radiator and air deflector to be able to do that. There is no space to come into, above them. Mo is correct about the true job of Pancake a hood.
Huh? People think the term "pancake" now means sectioning? I always thought it still meant reducing the opening like the Earnst Chevy pic above. Anyone who tries to redefine ancient terms should be banned from the HAMB. As for the OP, I don't see an improvement for your car. I can guarantee you will not like it for ease of tuning the engine.
Thank you so much for your input I wasn't sure how it would look or if it would be worth it I think I'm going to leave Henry Ford to what he has designed and leave it alone
I've never been a fan of them with the smaller opening. I have been around one and that one was a pain in the ass to do anything on the engine on even just checking the oil.
On custom cars, it's all about "The Look". I pancaked the front of my 55 Olds, because it made the front end of the car look wider. Vertical lines of the hood opening eliminated.
I first noticed the term change in the 90s. You pancaked the hood to take the hump out of it. But you are correct when I was coming up in the '60s it still meant changing the opening like the pic that @'Mo posted.
It may be hard to swallow, but the sectioned hood pictured is actually from an R&C article entitled "The Art of Pancaking a Hood". https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1302rc-art-of-pancaking-a-hood/ And the Beat goes on...
Who wrote the article? Must not have been a customizer. Probably a recent transfer from Minitruckin' Magazine.
Language is a living entity. It is constantly changing by mere usage. I like to think of it this way, in my Dad's life a fag was originally a person who had trouble breathing. Then it became a word used for a cigarette in theory because they made you have trouble breathing or becoming all fagged out. Now we are not allowed to use the term at all. Language is also regional. Just like our hot rods and customs are. I sure wish is was not that way but we have to live life and communicate, right?
I think that the first thing I would do would be to tack the hood to the fenders in 4 to 6 spots just to maintain some stability.
We did the hood on a HAMB unfriendly 1970 Jimmy (Blazer) and it is a huge amount of work. Probably not one in ten that walks by it will even notice and it probably set the customer back 2k or so.
Never cared for the pancake look and not worth effort. Whats the point of making your hood smaller? Looks dorky to me.
I like pancaked hoods, and appreciate the work that goes into making them work. I know some of them can make access to under hood stuff a little tougher, but that's just another price we pay for being the coolest guy on the block. Whenever I see one, my respect for the builder goes way up. I'm not doing it to my Merc, though for two reasons...… it's too much work, and it'd take a helluva more than a pancaked hood to make me cool. No, they don't look "dorky" Geez, it's a custom..
they should have carved all the proper Hot Rod terms in stone in 1948 when Hot Rods were invented. then we would not be having these issues and Mini Truckers would not call channeling a body drop.
I know this is not what you asked, but if you're looking to add a custom touch to the hood, how about rounding off the corners. A lot less work, those that know will recognize the touch, likely will not trigger the love it or hate it reaction. Just thinking out loud...on your thread.
I always thought pancake meant to flatten the hood like a pancake. Take the hump out of the hood. Never thought it referred to making the opening smaller.
I agree! Rounded hood corners makes a BIG difference and requires just basic sheetmetal welding skills.
My 2 cents.... I would not pancake the hood. I would round the corners like Mo and others have showed. Pancaked hoods was something done on some of the more "Radical" customs of the times and are indeed a lot of work to do it correctly as not only do you modify the opening but in many cases the hinge system as well. Plus. There are many variations on pancaking. The hood on my old Clarkaiser custom was considered Pancaked, but that mostly meant redoing the leading edge as the hinge system was stock as I recall. As far a the nomenclature goes... I love it when people use the term "Frenched" when talking about tail lights that have been Recessed. ( Tunneled).JMHO Torchie