Bow in hood

[Jim and Jutta]

My car has a slight bow on both sides of hood in which the hood is slightly above the fenders at a small section. I've seen in it in other 71-73's, is this considered normal for our cars? If not is there a solution?

Jim

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I won't say it is normal, but it is common.

I used some body shims under the fender bolts to reduce the appearance of the gap. I have heard of people de-arching the hood a bit by setting it on a concrete pad with appropriate paint protection and lowering weight onto the hood and I believe they were talking hundred of pounds, in order to slightly flatten the hood, but I am not willing to try that.

 

[mdan575]

Mine is that way also, thought about de-arching but the possibility of catastrophe scares me.

 

[Kit Sullivan]

Very common. The shims under the fender bolts is the easiest way to fix the appearance.

When Dynacorn introduced thier repro ram-air hood several years ago, they actually "fixed" this issue. Thier hoods fit much better than an OEM hood.

 

[73 MACH 1 MAN]

Very common. The shims under the fender bolts is the easiest way to fix the appearance.

When Dynacorn introduced thier repro ram-air hood several years ago, they actually "fixed" this issue. Thier hoods fit much better than an OEM hood.

Well that's good to hear! I have a new one boxed up ready to install!

 

[caspianwendell]

As kit said "shim the fender"

 

[luxstang]

Yup, mine does that too.

I always thought it was because there´s so much power under the hood that it will simply not lie flat.

 

[Qcode351mach]

As others have said you can shim the fenders..There are actually supposed to be shims installed from the factory..in conjunction with a foam tape seal along the top of the fender apron..There is only so much you can shim though before you start affecting other areas of alignment...It's always a compromise when aligning body panels..shim too much & it changes the fender to door gap.. fender to rad support, or both. If your car is already painted then shimming is the only option..If it's not then this is why it's so important to assemble a car fit all the body panels PRIOR to paint..a step most shops fall short on. On my qcode even though the fenders are shimmed it still took bending the hood for a perfect fit.. It was a simple matter to prop up the hood with a block at the front between the hood & rad support then using a flat spoon & hammer to contour the hood edge into alignment. The spoon prevents hammer marks in the sheet metal. The after market hood isn't welded where the skin meets the frame which made it very easy to contour since the skin can move on the frame..Of course after I contoured I did weld the skin to the frame..The result is what you see in this picture perfect gap & perfect contour

 

[[email protected]]

My 71 had that problem, bodyman with 40 yrs experience fixed it not the shim way. I wouldn't try myself

 

[Qcode351mach]

My 71 had that problem, bodyman with 40 yrs experience fixed it not the shim way. I wouldn't try myself

I bet mine fits better Just kidding I bet he did a great job

 

[Totalled]

Hey Q, do you have aftermarket fenders on your car, and if so, how well did they fit?

 

[Kit Sullivan]

Another thing that makes the problem worse is when the hood hinges get dry or rusty. Pulling down to close the hood makes the bow worse because of sticky hinges.

 

[imusa76]

I have 2 flat hoods, one is more of a arch than the other, I have the better one installed.

but it is very common.