73 hood opening measurements

[dfayette]

Replacing left front frame rail and all fender aprons, both sides, and radiator support, cross members, etc.  Wondering if there are dimensions available to make sure my hood opening is correct.  Front end was damaged and I can't use measurements from the damaged parts and be sure they are correct.  The overhang on the ends of the radiator support seem to be different on both sides so it would be helpful to see pictures as well of each side of the radiator support where it welds to the front aprons.

 

[NOT A T5]

Replacing left front frame rail and all fender aprons, both sides, and radiator support, cross members, etc.  Wondering if there are dimensions available to make sure my hood opening is correct.  Front end was damaged and I can't use measurements from the damaged parts and be sure they are correct.  The overhang on the ends of the radiator support seem to be different on both sides so it would be helpful to see pictures as well of each side of the radiator support where it welds to the front aprons.

I am in kinda the same boat as you, if someone could give us some measurements to make sure everything lines up, that would be great!

 

[dfayette]

Replacing left front frame rail and all fender aprons, both sides, and radiator support, cross members, etc.  Wondering if there are dimensions available to make sure my hood opening is correct.  Front end was damaged and I can't use measurements from the damaged parts and be sure they are correct.  The overhang on the ends of the radiator support seem to be different on both sides so it would be helpful to see pictures as well of each side of the radiator support where it welds to the front aprons.

I am in kinda the same boat as you, if someone could give us some measurements to make sure everything lines up, that would be great!

Can't believe someone out there doesn't have these measurements.

They are pretty important when getting the lines of the hood just right, so I'd think someone has had this issue.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

In the Chassis section of the Ford manuals it has some of the measurements. If you cannot find doing a search and is not enough I have two undamaged original low mile cars I can get you some dimensions. You need to measure from known tooling holes that the factory used to get it right.

Don just posted a couple of the diagrams today so easy to find them.

Let me know if you want more and send me a PM I can measure and take pic.

 

[dfayette]

In the Chassis section of the Ford manuals it has some of the measurements. If you cannot find doing a search and is not enough I have two undamaged original low mile cars I can get you some dimensions. You need to measure from known tooling holes that the factory used to get it right.

Don just posted a couple of the diagrams today so easy to find them.

Let me know if you want more and send me a PM I can measure and take pic.

I have all of the underside measurements and have my car to spec using those.  What I can't find in any Ford manual, or any manual for that matter, are the upper hood opening measurements.  There are a few tooling holes on the top of the apron, but none down the upper rail until you get to the radiator support.  There are a couple on the outer edge of the forward aprons.  The measurements that would help me the most are distance from the upper tooling holes to the radiator support holes and the distance between the upper holes and the distance between the forward aprons at the radiator support.

I have the right corner of the front fender apron and the radiator support loose and I need to know where to weld it back so I have the proper opening dimensions.  I'm guessing there are some "X" dimensions in order to get everything squared.

Thanks

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

In the Chassis section of the Ford manuals it has some of the measurements. If you cannot find doing a search and is not enough I have two undamaged original low mile cars I can get you some dimensions. You need to measure from known tooling holes that the factory used to get it right.

Don just posted a couple of the diagrams today so easy to find them.

Let me know if you want more and send me a PM I can measure and take pic.

I have all of the underside measurements and have my car to spec using those.  What I can't find in any Ford manual, or any manual for that matter, are the upper hood opening measurements.  There are a few tooling holes on the top of the apron, but none down the upper rail until you get to the radiator support.  There are a couple on the outer edge of the forward aprons.  The measurements that would help me the most are distance from the upper tooling holes to the radiator support holes and the distance between the upper holes and the distance between the forward aprons at the radiator support.

I have the right corner of the front fender apron and the radiator support loose and I need to know where to weld it back so I have the proper opening dimensions.  I'm guessing there are some "X" dimensions in order to get everything squared.

Thanks

I will go down to garage this morning and get some measurements and take pics and send back. I know the old frame shops use to have a more intense manual. When my X crashed the 20 th. Ann mustang I had to cut the entire front off and weld new back. They gave me the dimensions to set the panels too from a book he had and everything worked fine.

 

[dfayette]

In the Chassis section of the Ford manuals it has some of the measurements. If you cannot find doing a search and is not enough I have two undamaged original low mile cars I can get you some dimensions. You need to measure from known tooling holes that the factory used to get it right.

Don just posted a couple of the diagrams today so easy to find them.

Let me know if you want more and send me a PM I can measure and take pic.

I have all of the underside measurements and have my car to spec using those.  What I can't find in any Ford manual, or any manual for that matter, are the upper hood opening measurements.  There are a few tooling holes on the top of the apron, but none down the upper rail until you get to the radiator support.  There are a couple on the outer edge of the forward aprons.  The measurements that would help me the most are distance from the upper tooling holes to the radiator support holes and the distance between the upper holes and the distance between the forward aprons at the radiator support.

I have the right corner of the front fender apron and the radiator support loose and I need to know where to weld it back so I have the proper opening dimensions.  I'm guessing there are some "X" dimensions in order to get everything squared.

Thanks

I will go down to garage this morning and get some measurements and take pics and send back. I know the old frame shops use to have a more intense manual. When my X crashed the 20 th. Ann mustang I had to cut the entire front off and weld new back. They gave me the dimensions to set the panels too from a book he had and everything worked fine.

Thanks.   The frame shop I went to had nothing, and he was the recommended one for these old cars.  He said he'd search for it, but nothing for the past several months.  Not many of the old guys running shops anymore - in fact not many of us old guys still doing this stuff.

I could probably make a guess and be just fine, but for some reason my gut is telling me to find some numbers.  I have a lot of metal to replace on this car and if I start out even a bit wrong on the front I could end up real wrong when I get to the rear of the car.

Appreciate your help.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

June 23 2017

Ok, I took some measurements of the 1973 Mustang convertible, 48,000 mile car with original paint never crashed. This was done using a metal tape measure and I never use the first inch I line up using inch 1. The written down dimensions are actual dimensions with the extra one inch subtracted.

I used the two oval shaped extruded tooling holes in the upper cowl on each side as reference. I measured from the edge of that hole.

The front radiator support I used the two holes for the hood bumpers measuring to the centerlines of them.

The measurements were taken on a diagonal as show in the pictures.

There are two tooling holes 5/8” diameter in the front inner fender wells I put a metal rod in to obtain a left to right spacing for the front inner fenders next to the radiator support.

[align=justify]The rear inner fenders also have a 5/8” tooling hole on top surface.

The attached scan is my rough sketch of the measurements.



















that was used for reference there. [/align]

I looked online and could not find a copy of a Vehicle Dimensional Manual for our cars. I did email one of the publishers to see if they have them. Mitchell is one of the companies that publishes the detailed measurement books for the new vehicles. They do cost like $250 for a new one will see if they have archive scans of the old ones.

So look at the attached scans and pictures and see it that helps you with your task.

Go slow check many times and tack weld everything before final weld and measure again before final weld.

73_Mustang_Inner_Fender_Measurements.pdf

 

[dfayette]

My measurements are exactly the same as yours, from where I guessed the radiator support and RH inner apron should be attached.  One other measurement would be handy.  From the 5/8 tooling hole on the rear inner to a 5/8 tooling hole on the radiator support (same side), but yours is probably covered up by the fender on the rad support.  So it would be handy to know from the 5/8 tooling hole to the front edge of the radiator support (same side).  That would give me the right fender length.

Also my front side to side at the tooling holes is about 3/16 narrower than yours (46 13/16), but my battery apron is an aftermarket and I don't have any faith it is correct.  I'm still looking for a Ford battery apron, but getting impatient to get past this front end.

But it looks good to go.  I may tack it today then measure again.

Thanks again for the help.  I feel better now.

Dan Fayette

June 23 2017

Ok, I took some measurements of the 1973 Mustang convertible, 48,000 mile car with original paint never crashed. This was done using a metal tape measure and I never use the first inch I line up using inch 1. The written down dimensions are actual dimensions with the extra one inch subtracted.

I used the two oval shaped extruded tooling holes in the upper cowl on each side as reference. I measured from the edge of that hole.

The front radiator support I used the two holes for the hood bumpers measuring to the centerlines of them.

The measurements were taken on a diagonal as show in the pictures.

There are two tooling holes 5/8” diameter in the front inner fender wells I put a metal rod in to obtain a left to right spacing for the front inner fenders next to the radiator support.

[align=justify]The rear inner fenders also have a 5/8” tooling hole on top surface.

The attached scan is my rough sketch of the measurements.



















that was used for reference there. [/align]

I looked online and could not find a copy of a Vehicle Dimensional Manual for our cars. I did email one of the publishers to see if they have them. Mitchell is one of the companies that publishes the detailed measurement books for the new vehicles. They do cost like $250 for a new one will see if they have archive scans of the old ones.

So look at the attached scans and pictures and see it that helps you with your task.

Go slow check many times and tack weld everything before final weld and measure again before final weld.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

My measurements are exactly the same as yours, from where I guessed the radiator support and RH inner apron should be attached.  One other measurement would be handy.  From the 5/8 tooling hole on the rear inner to a 5/8 tooling hole on the radiator support (same side), but yours is probably covered up by the fender on the rad support.  So it would be handy to know from the 5/8 tooling hole to the front edge of the radiator support (same side).  That would give me the right fender length.

Also my front side to side at the tooling holes is about 3/16 narrower than yours (46 13/16), but my battery apron is an aftermarket and I don't have any faith it is correct.  I'm still looking for a Ford battery apron, but getting impatient to get past this front end.

But it looks good to go.  I may tack it today then measure again.

Thanks again for the help.  I feel better now.

Dan Fayette

Dan,

I just finished mowing grass came in to cool off and get water. I will go check and see what I can get on the other dim.. Did you get the reinforcement that sits under the battery tray down on the frame? They were on eBay last year and is actually a really nice repo for a change. Nuts were even in the part. It is about the size of your hand.

June 23 2017

Ok, I took some measurements of the 1973 Mustang convertible, 48,000 mile car with original paint never crashed. This was done using a metal tape measure and I never use the first inch I line up using inch 1. The written down dimensions are actual dimensions with the extra one inch subtracted.

I used the two oval shaped extruded tooling holes in the upper cowl on each side as reference. I measured from the edge of that hole.

The front radiator support I used the two holes for the hood bumpers measuring to the centerlines of them.

The measurements were taken on a diagonal as show in the pictures.

There are two tooling holes 5/8” diameter in the front inner fender wells I put a metal rod in to obtain a left to right spacing for the front inner fenders next to the radiator support.

[align=justify]The rear inner fenders also have a 5/8” tooling hole on top surface.

The attached scan is my rough sketch of the measurements.



















that was used for reference there. [/align]

I looked online and could not find a copy of a Vehicle Dimensional Manual for our cars. I did email one of the publishers to see if they have them. Mitchell is one of the companies that publishes the detailed measurement books for the new vehicles. They do cost like $250 for a new one will see if they have archive scans of the old ones.

So look at the attached scans and pictures and see it that helps you with your task.

Go slow check many times and tack weld everything before final weld and measure again before final weld.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Ok guys and gals. My inquiry to Mitchell, current supplier of measurement data for frame work, paid off. They do not have anything older than in the 80's but gave me a contact. Here is link to their site and looks like they have all the old frame shop measurement data sheets. They are $35.00 each you can view some samples and you can pay and download the info also. They have about any car you want from 1950 up.

http://www.tru-way.com/product_p/1785.htm

You can spring for the manual that covers all cars for a particular year for $110.00.

This type data sheet should have much more data than the single sheet that Ford has in their Chassis manual.

I will probably get the 72 since I am going to be taking the 72 Q vert to frame shop to have it checked before doing any panel alignment.

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DEAD END THE DATA THEY HAVE IS SAME AS IN THE FOR CHASSIS MANUAL SO DO NOT PURCHASE. THEY HAVE NO MEASUREMENT DATA FOR OPENINGS JUST THE CHASSIS INFO.

 

[NOT A T5]

Would that be the same dimensions for all years 71-73? :goodpost:

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Would that be the same dimensions for all years 71-73? :goodpost:

Pretty sure but will not say 100%. I think the under body on all are the same. There are differences in the front and rear bumpers and outside sheet metal but I think the under body panels are all the same.

 

[dfayette]

Ok guys and gals. My inquiry to Mitchell, current supplier of measurement data for frame work, paid off. They do not have anything older than in the 80's but gave me a contact. Here is link to their site and looks like they have all the old frame shop measurement data sheets. They are $35.00 each you can view some samples and you can pay and download the info also. They have about any car you want from 1950 up.

http://www.tru-way.com/product_p/1785.htm

You can spring for the manual that covers all cars for a particular year for $110.00.

This type data sheet should have much more data than the single sheet that Ford has in their Chassis manual.

I will probably get the 72 since I am going to be taking the 72 Q vert to frame shop to have it checked before doing any panel alignment.

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DEAD END THE DATA THEY HAVE IS SAME AS IN THE FOR CHASSIS MANUAL SO DO NOT PURCHASE. THEY HAVE NO MEASUREMENT DATA FOR OPENINGS JUST THE CHASSIS INFO.

Hi David,

Dan Fayette here.

I installed the OEM battery apron into the car and now my measurement across the two front aprons is the same as yours.  47 inches.  All the other measurements are indeed the same, or nearly the same.

Were you able to get a measurement down the apron on each side?  From the tooling hole in the rear apron down to the edge of the radiator support?  or maybe to the center of the hood bumper hole?

The fit at the apron to the radiator support isn't exactly like the driver side so having a measurement of each side, in addition to the X measurements, to go by would be great.

Thanks for all the help.  I'm now getting my floor pans cut out but before I weld anything I'd like to have the front end welded up solid.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Ok guys and gals. My inquiry to Mitchell, current supplier of measurement data for frame work, paid off. They do not have anything older than in the 80's but gave me a contact. Here is link to their site and looks like they have all the old frame shop measurement data sheets. They are $35.00 each you can view some samples and you can pay and download the info also. They have about any car you want from 1950 up.

http://www.tru-way.com/product_p/1785.htm

You can spring for the manual that covers all cars for a particular year for $110.00.

This type data sheet should have much more data than the single sheet that Ford has in their Chassis manual.

I will probably get the 72 since I am going to be taking the 72 Q vert to frame shop to have it checked before doing any panel alignment.

THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DEAD END THE DATA THEY HAVE IS SAME AS IN THE FOR CHASSIS MANUAL SO DO NOT PURCHASE. THEY HAVE NO MEASUREMENT DATA FOR OPENINGS JUST THE CHASSIS INFO.

Hi David,

Dan Fayette here.

I installed the OEM battery apron into the car and now my measurement across the two front aprons is the same as yours.  47 inches.  All the other measurements are indeed the same, or nearly the same.

Were you able to get a measurement down the apron on each side?  From the tooling hole in the rear apron down to the edge of the radiator support?  or maybe to the center of the hood bumper hole?

The fit at the apron to the radiator support isn't exactly like the driver side so having a measurement of each side, in addition to the X measurements, to go by would be great.

Thanks for all the help.  I'm now getting my floor pans cut out but before I weld anything I'd like to have the front end welded up solid.

I measured from the center line of the rear tooling hole in the rear inner fender to the front of the radiator support and it is 45 7/8" same on both sides.

 

[NOT A T5]

Thanks David, you're too kind!