1930 Hood Out of Alignment Just a Little.....

[leo]

The hood on my 1930 coupe fits and lines up the way it should on the drivers side but on the passengers is just a little off (goes forward beyond the indent) at the bottom front corner where is sits on the radiator shell welting . I can push it into place, hook it and it will stay but that forces the back of the hood off of the cowl welting slightly. It appears that the problem is the top panel on the passenger side, however the panel does not show any signs of distortion. Is there a polite way to force a slight correction without doing damage that will require body work and repainting?

[Aerocraft]

It has been my experience that sometimes I have had to loosen the body bolts and "nudge" the firewall (and body) a bit one way or the other. There is a lot of slop between the bolts and the holes in the frame which allows some body movement to improve the fit of the hood. Gar Williams

[Peter J]

Do you have an original shell? I've got a repro. on my 29 and I'm having one hell of a time aligning the hood also.

[HoarseWhisperer]

Leo,

Assuming you've played with the adjusting nuts on the rods from the rad to the firewall?

[leo]

Hey, thanks for the input. Original shell, yes and restored correctly by someone who would have known a repro from an original. Move the body, OK but what I gain on the passenger side will be lost on the drivers side, no?

[1931 flamingo]

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No, shouldn't affect it. You might just need a thin shim. JMO I think it's marco's site that has detailed inst starting at the front
Paul in CT

[Marco Tahtaras]

First, take a VERY critical look at the gap across the top rear. If it is truly dead straight then you will need to compensate for a sag in the right frame rail. Take a very close look at that and the two corners as it makes the bend and report back. Also don't be fooled by the cowl band. I can't cover all possible scenarios so we need to narrow the focus!

[leo]

Hey Marco, thanks for checking in. My inspection indicates that both rear edges of the driver and passenger hood top pieces appear to have the same contours and both lay well on the cowl welting. However, the passengers side front lower corner lays about 3/8 of an inch forward of where it should. Then if I push the hood back to make the front of the hood fall onto the welting indent on the radiator shroud the rear right corner of the passenger hood top panel moves up off the cowl welting as does the rear side of the passenger hood bottom panel.

[1931 flamingo]

Adj the radiator shell??
Paul in CT

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by leo

My inspection indicates that both rear edges of the driver and passenger hood top pieces appear to have the same contours and both lay well on the cowl welting. However, the passengers side front lower corner lays about 3/8 of an inch forward of where it should. Then if I push the hood back to make the front of the hood fall onto the welting indent on the radiator shroud the rear right corner of the passenger hood top panel moves up off the cowl welting as does the rear side of the passenger hood bottom panel.

I understood that from your original post. However my question regarded the gap between the rear edge of the hood top and vertical ridge along the gas tank which can be obscured in places by the front edge of the cowl band. Pretend you are suspended directly above and looking straight down at the rear gap. How true is it from left to right. You could measure it in several places but would need to do so just below the edge of the cowl band as most bands slide too far forward in places (generally approaching the tighter radius near the end of the tank).

[V4F]

its so shinny its hard to make out detail ........... LOL ............. steve

[Vanspeed]

Yeah wow, nice looking paint! try moving the radiator a bit to one side. My roadster has the same problem, but I know the hood did not come on this car from the factory so I know I am going to have to make some adjustments. Can you post a picture of your problem?

[pat in Santa Cruz]

is it possible the lower radiator shell mount tab is too far back? On repro and re cored radiators, mis aligned shell mount tabs are common.

[leo]

As Marco said, I've gone back and positioned myself above the rear end of the hood, taken measurements on both driver and passenger side. This was done the hood hanging in place with the overlap at the front lower corner. The rear edge is straight all the way across and the belt accent (where the pin stripe is) lines up straight too. When I push the hood back so that it falls into the radiator welting indent the rear top of the hood rises but still retains it's straightness across the back and the belt accent also moves up and as you follow the rear edge of the lower hood panel from top to bottom the gap between it and the cowl becomes larger. Pat said something about the lower radiator mounting tab for the shroud being out of place.....maybe?

[Tom Wesenberg]

I was wondering about the same thing as Pat said.