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How did you fix your bent hood?

colbystephens

colbystephens

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Well, I got a bunch of mud and sh1t caked into my hood springs and when i went to close the hood recently, the passenger side hinge didn't want to move and i bent the hood fairly bad. This is on a '73, so it's the older style of hood hinge mechanisms. I was kinda bummed. I don't care about having a straight truck, but the hoods and grilles on these trucks really set the look of the rig... :o

Ideas?
 
Mine was tweeked pretty good too. I just blocked up the "low side" of the hood and put my weight on the high side until it started to look right. Start out blocking it a little at a time and keep going until you like it. Might need two people.

General rule of thumb with steel is bend it back the way it was bent. Best way in MOST situations.
 
sounds like we have different types of tweaked hoods. mine is bent just at the edge right where the hinge ends. i'll have to snap a photo.
 
My '74's hood is far from straight, especially after laying it on it's side. Didn't know if these would help with your problem http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/bzc/full.aspx?Page=26
I had something similar to those on my '77 k5 but that was just to keep to hood from completely folding in half, the metal was already torn on the sides from all the years of pulling it down with stiff hinges.

I eventually plan to put a fiberglass hood on mine, found a company that makes a lightweight version that's only like 7-8 lbs.
 
thanks for that link. it might be exactly what i need. looks like i could probably build it for cheaper tho. definitely gets my mind thinking in the right direction!!
 
colbystephens said:
thanks for that link. it might be exactly what i need. looks like i could probably build it for cheaper tho. definitely gets my mind thinking in the right direction!!
Click to expand...
Yeah, not sure if they're worth $20. You could probably just make something like that with some 3/8 plate for $5.
Unfortunately the way the underside of the hood is shaped it would be kind of hard to do a whole lot except using a flat piece of metal to support that outer hollow section.
 
5280k5 said:
Yeah, not sure if they're worth $20. You could probably just make something like that with some 3/8 plate for $5.
Unfortunately the way the underside of the hood is shaped it would be kind of hard to do a whole lot except using a flat piece of metal to support that outer hollow section.
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Thats what I did, 1`/4" plate to span that valley. looks fine, and cheap.

If you want, Ive got a hood up here I'll send you home with next time your up!
 
no thanks, i've got plenty of access to hoods down here. i'll just fix the one i've got - it's not that messed up. there's no wrinkle, so it should flatten out okay.
 
I take those springs off and run a hood prop, it saves stress on the hood, fenders, etc. If my hood goes all the way up w/ the springs on, it will bend if you dont stand on a tire and manually push the hood back and down at the same time on each side. The hood prop i made from round closet rod.
 
that's a good idea, but what do you replace the hinges with? i think, and i could just go look... but i'm feeling kinda lazy, i think that the spring is an integral part of the hinge?
 
colbystephens said:
that's a good idea, but what do you replace the hinges with? i think, and i could just go look... but i'm feeling kinda lazy, i think that the spring is an integral part of the hinge?
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It is, the spring keeps the hood from coming forward. I lost the passenger side spring and my hood can do some crazy things now
 
I have the LMC parts on the GMC pickup i just bought. They seem to do a pretty good job. Agreed that you could accomplish the same thing with something to the effect of 1-1/2"x1/4" flat stock.
 
It does need to be stated though, the hood is weak there for a reason. With that small weak area, the hood is supposed to bend if it gets in an accident, instead of coming through the windshield and cutting you and your passenger in half.

So you are taking a risk by removing that engineered weak section from the equation.
 
interesting point. probably not that much of a risk on a lifted vehicle - particularly one with a stout stinger/bumper (which mine doesn't have yet). however, i've got a full roll cage with windshield spreader bars, so a windshield would never make it through to me or the passengers.

good advice for non-cagers tho. :)
 
That is a good point. I should probably look for a good one and look into getting it color match painted.
 
i bet that in almost every case, the bending of the hood would simply be transferred to teh front of the brace. it would take a REDICULOUS amount of force to push that hood through the windshield/a-pillars and that simply is not likely to happen. most common vehicle you might hit would be a car, and your rig would likely crush it and hardly be scratched.

guess it's a gamble i would take - the likelihood of it smashing thru the window is SO small. if you're in a wreck bad enough to push it through, you might prefer loss of life. :yikes: i think i'd do the brace either way, save some time, money, labor.
 
This thread should be a good remidner to lube your hinges! 99.9% of these bent hoods are from messed up old hinges that take too much effort to shut.
 
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