Center hood hinge cracks - pics

[burner31]

The center hood hinges on my '31 TS has cracks at each hinge (5 higges per side, two cracks per hinge) what have others done to fix this?
A good MIG welder and a support plate welded in?
Is this common?
I've welded the cracks in my running boards and fenders but a hood is entirely different, I can weld but not that good to do a hood that I will be looking out over every time I sit behind the wheel.
I've blasted the hood cleanand primed all but the hinge areas.
There are about 20 cracks in all.
Any suggestions?

[Kevin in NJ]

Two choices in my book and neither are MIG.

Mig would be a very poor choice unless you are a super excellent welder. Even then the MIG welds always tend to be a bet harder and I could see the weld breaking again. The biggest issue with the MIG is too much heat close to the edge will likely cause a burn back. This would be a nasty thing to fix. Again the issue will be the hardness of that MIG welds seem to always have and in an area with a lot of flex.

I TIGed mine. I was super surprised at how well I could control the heat and get right up to the edge. I also got full penetration. The other important point is you need to do some hammer on dolly work to stretch the shrunk weld point. I did have a piece of copper behind the weld to help keep it all level.

You MIGHT also be able to do it with a micro oxy-act torch. You would have to be real good about getting the heat to just flow all way to the edge.

TIG is the best way to go and it has enough technical reasons in my book you should seek it out even if you have to pay somebody.

[wrndln]

I agree with Kevin, TIG welding the cracks would be the way to go. I had a hood that had a number of cracks, not quite as long as yours. There is a retired commercial aircraft TIG welder in our local club in the Twin Cities that is an excellent welder (you have to be very good to weld for an airline). I had him TIG weld the cracks and the hood turned out well. The fellow does a lot of critical welding for many club members.
Rusty Nelson

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

A friend did 3 cracks with Silver Solder. I don't know if it held up or not???
Bill W.

[Big hammer]

Stop the cracking with small drill bit! I was thinking silver solder or brazing. But I would take it to my son to Tig, after all I paid for his schooling :-)

[Bruskie]

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use stainless hood rods after you repair it. less chance of it happening again

[Kevin in NJ]

Braze or silver solder would fail and cause other problems.

A brazed joint would still create a shrink in the metal at the point. You can not fix the shrink with hammer on dolly work. Braze is not very flexible and may crack faster. You can also get paint problems in time from the flux.

I do not think silver solder would do the job either. Not enough overlap on the metal for strength.

Just remember it needs hammer on dolly work to correct the shrinkage.

[rogerkb1936]

i believe these cracks are caused by rusty rod in hinge, causing undo strain on that area when opening hood. i now use stainless rod in this application, which also eliminates rust stains there. letting the hood flop all the way over when opening hood probably aggravates the situation. i have successfully gas welded quite a few, but i'm sure mig would be better. indeed, i did mean tig. wish i could afford one. thanx tom

[Tom Wesenberg]

Roger I'll bet you meant to say TIG would be better, instead of MIG. MIG leave a very hard weld. I repaired a broken and missing chip from a 1935 generator pulley by using my MIG, and my file couldn't even put a scratch in the weld.

Gas welding or TIG welding is the way to fix those cracks.

[burner31]

Very good information...and I thank you all.
Point of fact is the hood hinge rod was a bear to get out due to the rust, and Roger, you hit the nail on the head. And no more flopping the hood, I have a hood support going in.
I will be picking up new stainless rods tomorrow along with some other parts.
TIG never crossed my mind but now it will be the repair I seek. Makes sense.
Once again, Thank you all.
And this is why I love the Ford Barn.

[Bill Underwood]

Agreed mig is low on the list for this specific
However, mig is best for the inexperienced
A method that can be used with mig is to "slug" it
Back it up with a piece of copper or carbon.
It will allow you to get closer to edge and not blow thru.
Experienced welders will laugh at slugging!
But it will work on sheet metal

BTW never use brazing around paint and body work IMHO

[Tom Bellfoy]

I would suggest finding a good welder that is familiar with TIG brazing with silicon bronze rod to repair the cracks, less heat and very good strength along with some elasticity . You'll surely have some grinding to do but the silicon bronze is no where close to the hardness of MIG welds.

Do a search on youtube for TIG brazing of body metals with silicon bronze rod.

I would definitely not use the old method of brass/bronze rod with oxy-acetylene as that material had played havoc with bodymen where paint and body fill material not sticking the the brass material over the years.

[Bill Underwood]

One other, be sure if you get a stainless center rod that it mics to the original. Most stock stainless is not the same as original. Also note, the original hollow rod is less apt to sag than a solid rod.
If you are like most, the original rod was damaged upon removal.

[burner31]

Original rod was completely mangled getting it out, the side rods are still in, they seem to be rust welded in place but no damage in the area and they still work fine, I'll lube them up real good and leave them.
I'll update on the method and results of the repair.
I'll get with the welder on Friday.
Hollow rod is less apt to sag than a solid rod? That is surprising, I would have thought the other way around

[bart78]

With stuff like that. I like to use my torch and fuse them together. It requires very little heat. Just do a little at a time. And use your hammer and Dolly.

[John Duden]

I ordered a new reproduction set of tops for my truck, they fit the original sides very well
John

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by John Duden

I ordered a new reproduction set of tops for my truck, they fit the original sides very well
John

Good idea John. That might be the cheapest and best solution to several cracks. My hood has some slight dents that I'll have to work on when I get time. I'm not a bodyman, but will try.

[Bill Underwood]

Often, to get the rods out, I soak with Kroil and sit for a few days then do it again. If I can get a rod to move at all, I will weld a small fitting on the most protruding end to allow attaching a slide hammer. The small strokes and blocking down the hood will slowly move the rod out of the hinge. Often tedious but sometimes it does allow to re-dress the rods and reuse. Since the center is hollow, it often is mangled...but not always! And, it does not swell the hinge folds as hitting with a hammer on one end can.

[John Duden]

The dents in a hood are very hard to get out of the hood, and if filler is used it may crack since the hood flexes a bit

[Bill Underwood]

I agree with John. Plus the heat of the engine dries out too much filler and primer.So keep it thin, IMHO