Im in the process of peaking the hood on my 51' chev. What is the best way to get rid of the two bolts sticking through the hood under the front emblem, and still retain the strength needed for the hood latch assembly under the hood? Also, what side rod is best to work the peak with? Im thinking of using 1/4 rod, and welding slowly...hahah?
weld the bolts to the hood and use filler or weld a patch of tin over the hole, then you can still unbolt the hood latch parts....DO NOT USE ROD when welding up the two piece hood.......use TUBING as the heat won't stay in it like rod...1/4" heavy wall hydraulic tubing works great...when rod cools it will suck the sheet metal down and cause hours of work...ask me how I know
Very Good, thanks for the heads up. I'll deffinatly make sure to get some Tubing. Also, im hoping that by using some leading clay from eastwood will help the hot metal situation.
Hey, You can use 1/4'' round stock, and sweat solder it into place. If you take a piece of 1/4'' hot rolled ( the hot roll bends alittle easier than cold rolled) clamp it to the bench and grind a flat on one side, than bend it to fit your hood panel, you'll use less filler, and have a wider base to solder it to. You can use 50/50 or 30/70 tin, lead solder. Be sure to tin the panel and the rod prior to adding more solder to the round stock/panel. A soldered joint will produce less distortion to the flat & semi low crowned areas of the panel and hold up to the heat cycle/s of the hood panel much better than plastic filler or Kitty Hair. I'd hole saw out the circles, and weld the bolts to the back of the hood panel, then I'd weld in circle shaped patches, butt welded into place. Done correctly, little or no filler should be necessary for the hole patches, the 1/4 round stock should just take enougn solder to blend it into the hood panel, and be sanded to shape with production paper. " Humpty Dumpty was pushed "
i used 3/16 rod with heat gel to keep it from warping. it still warped but only in the confined areas. i also used vise grips to hold the flange tight under the hood. i didn't weld it solid down both sides. as you can see in the pic it was stitched from side to side with 1" gaps. 8 yrs on the road and no problems or cracks.
I used 3/16" rod on the hood and trunk of my '55 Caddy...it worked well but you must use minimum heat...I use a MIG and tack and let it cool...took quite a while to get it all welded in, but it can be done if you take your time. Can't say how it'd work on a two-piece hood tho... R-
Thanks for all the advice fellas, the pics help alot as well. did you guys do anything with the underside of the hood, where the two pieces come together?
I used some big C-clamps to clamp the lips on the underside. Then I used oxy act welding rod for filler and tacked it in with my mig...started one tack in the center, then one half way between. I kept doing the half way between until I had it solid tacks. Then used cutoff wheel to knock the welds down. I did this while working on another project so I could put down a few tacks and then walk away and work on something else so I didn't get too much heat into the hood at any time.
i just clamped it with 8 duck bill vise grips to keep it tight. try it and you'll see how it stiffens the hood some.
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