Having trouble with fiberglass hood fitment

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PostPosted: Sat May 07, 2016 8:08 pm
Hey how's it goin! I built a fiberglass hood for my 70 Torino. I saw a good instructional video on power nation tv and went at it.

I felt it turned out pretty good... Until I tried to fit it.

Now the issue I'm having is that it is not lining up flush with the fenders.

On 1 corner on the back right it's completely much higher than the fender.
Then on 2 spots it's lower than the fenders.

To be honest I'm not 100% sure on how to adjust it so that it fits right. I believe the issue may have occurred during the time in which I added the reinforcement bars. Which I didn't do correct... I used aluminum bars, as where mentioned in the video, now that I've done more research I guess it's not good to use aluminum and fiberglass? I know in my case it did not lay down flush on the bars but began to raise up on the bars, like if there was an air bubble underneath.

I was thinking of removing the aluminum bars that I added on the side and instead use foam. I went to my local fiberglass shop and bought that blockish, flexible foam? What I was thinking about doing is laying down a decent amount of blue tape on the top of the fender edge, then lay down my foam and resin over it. That way it can harden in the shape of the fender where it will meet with the hood. Then carefully remove the foam and place it on the hood underside and glass it in. Therefore taking the shape of the top of that fender edge.

This is just an idea, if anyone has any input.
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PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 8:22 am
Well, first, congrats on making a decent looking piece there.... And now you are finding out there's a lot to this making parts thing. Although I am a big fan of adding metals for strength in noses/bumpers... You've found the problems with doing it to something like a large hood like this. As your glass dries and cures it shrinks and can easily "pull" in different directions. You should be fine with your current thinking process on making adjustments. Your adjustments are so minor so I can't seek hacking stuff up to bend and reinforce that way. Trust me, on old fiberglass I've had to pull panels as much as a half foot to get them back to shape. Old glass Cobra bodies don't age well with a half a tractor setting on them....
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 3:19 am
Thanks man! It took a lot of work to get it there!

Seems upon my research that fiberglass hoods never really seem to just, sit in perfect on the first try... Always needing some modification.

I removed my aluminum bar reinforcements and went with my foam idea.

As soon as I removed the support bars the hood become a bit flexible. Which is good.... I then fiberglassed the foam pieces while resting on the top of the fenders, but simply laying down 1 pass of fiberglass mat was not strong enough for the foam to maintain the shape that I needed, it was still a bit flexible. So I layed down fiberglass on the underside of the foam and laid it back down. I added it to help strengthen and reinforce the foam on both sides. To help it stay strong and maintain the form of that fender angle.

I will find out tomorrow if it is strong enough. If not I have decided to get it the best I can and then just use it as support for the hood. If still not where I want it I will use dzus style fasteners on the hood. Going to find a way to keep it on hinges though... In case I have to lift up the hood when I'm alone.

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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 8:33 am
As part of metallurgy sciences I took in college we had a full professor that made sure we understood the properties of other materials that would react or be in contact with metals. When he mentioned fiberglass he would roll his eyes and say this material was "unstable" and that careful planning was needed when incorporating it into any project. Dzus fasteners are definitely an option however you might also think about making some interior "clips" underneath that would allow the hood to slide back maybe a 1/2 inch to grab them. Clips at the back like that and nostalgic hood pins at the front maybe.....
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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 10:48 am
What type of clips are you referring to? That sounds good!

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PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 1:38 pm
I wish I had taken pic.s of them when I made them but, oh well..... I took 1 inch wide mild steel bar stock about 3/32" inch thick and made like 4" long strap with a slight u bulge in the center. That was glassed in place on my hood. I just took a straight section of the bar to act like a "tongue" that would slip into that as I slid the hood back. I had the entire drivetrain pulled on the truck back then so I was actually working up under the hood to make standoffs where the tongue mounted. I could then just pick up my entire hood start to slide it in from the front, the tongues would align into the clips as I slid it back and I had hood pins at the front on each side.
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 2:15 pm
Well my new foam support bars worked better. But still not where I would like, so I'm going with dzus fasteners as well.

Can anyone recommend what size SHANK to go with?

Thanks
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PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 10:42 pm
I usually pick them up at my local Jegs. The ones I normally use are the 3/8 " quarter turn ones.
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PostPosted: Thu May 12, 2016 3:12 pm
I just bought the 7/16 fasteners!

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PostPosted: Thu May 12, 2016 4:07 pm
Close enough.....
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