Front hood trim

[OMS]

HMMM??? Since the piece needs to be sanded down and repaint, does it pay to go this route or I've seen a number of sites that sell either a repo or orig tooling piece from $70-$110.

Might be cheaper in the long run with an aftermarket piece or orig tooling piece, but sometimes you can't beat OEM.

Thoughts?

Hi Mark,

My advice to you would be to get your hood molding sanded down, primed, and properly refinished and reinstall back on your hood.If you then choose to use the combination of double sided tape and glue on your acorn nuts as well, you will end up with a very secure way of keeping that molding on your car for sure.

In my case i bought a new repro Nasa style hood for my Vert and then reinstalled the original Ford factory hood molding back on. Believe me, it was a nightmare trying to fit the original molding to the repro hood. The holes in the repro hood didn't line up properly with the mounting poles in the original hood molding. The whole thing was not a good experience for me.

I assume your hood is an original factory one, i don't know, but you will have trouble trying to match up an original part with a repro part. If you can match up an original part with an original part, you should be OK.

So i wouldn't mess around here, and try to experiment with using other parts. The combination of using glue and double sided tape with your existing mold is the way to go here. As OHS Don has said, the acorn nuts cut their own thread as you tighten them up, and yes this type of fastener has always proven to be an inferior concept, as the more you attempt to remove and refit the acorn nut, the weaker the gripping or clamping power of the nut becomes. That is why you need that extra help with the glue on the nuts plus the double sided tape for insurance. Again, in my case, my acorn nuts were only installed once, and therefore gave me all the clamping power i needed to hold the molding on properly. So even if you bought a new oem molding for example, the same thing would end up happening to you if you started to fit and then remove and refit the acorn nuts on and off with the new mounting poles on the new oem molding part. You would be back to square one so to speak. That's my 2 cents worth anyway.

Greg.

Hi Greg,

Your 2 cents is worth alot more than that. But what are your thoughts on "original tooling"? I went for the extra bucks when I changed the top of the dash pad with original tooling and really didn't have any problem putting it on.

I can buy if necessary the molding as "original tooling".

Either way I'm going to bring the molding into the shop tomorrow afternoon and hopefully the cost to sand and paint won't be through the roof. But when it's going back on, double sided tape and locktite will be there.

Thanks again.

The first thing to do is inspect the studs on your molding.

If they are good I would stick with it

If they are badly gouged or very thin - replace it

I have the OE tooling hood moldings too

http://www.ohiomustang.com/store/order_page.asp?itemid=33

I also stock the strip caulk

http://www.ohiomustang.com/store/order_page.asp?itemid=3245

For the two sided tape just make sure it is outdoor closed cell - that 3M outdoor one should be

You may want to get 3m one for automotive emblems from the auto paint supply store

Lock tight on the cut in type threads won't help - David's idea of the strip caulk will though

Don

 

[mpbsr]

Hi Mark,

My advice to you would be to get your hood molding sanded down, primed, and properly refinished and reinstall back on your hood.If you then choose to use the combination of double sided tape and glue on your acorn nuts as well, you will end up with a very secure way of keeping that molding on your car for sure.

In my case i bought a new repro Nasa style hood for my Vert and then reinstalled the original Ford factory hood molding back on. Believe me, it was a nightmare trying to fit the original molding to the repro hood. The holes in the repro hood didn't line up properly with the mounting poles in the original hood molding. The whole thing was not a good experience for me.

I assume your hood is an original factory one, i don't know, but you will have trouble trying to match up an original part with a repro part. If you can match up an original part with an original part, you should be OK.

So i wouldn't mess around here, and try to experiment with using other parts. The combination of using glue and double sided tape with your existing mold is the way to go here. As OHS Don has said, the acorn nuts cut their own thread as you tighten them up, and yes this type of fastener has always proven to be an inferior concept, as the more you attempt to remove and refit the acorn nut, the weaker the gripping or clamping power of the nut becomes. That is why you need that extra help with the glue on the nuts plus the double sided tape for insurance. Again, in my case, my acorn nuts were only installed once, and therefore gave me all the clamping power i needed to hold the molding on properly. So even if you bought a new oem molding for example, the same thing would end up happening to you if you started to fit and then remove and refit the acorn nuts on and off with the new mounting poles on the new oem molding part. You would be back to square one so to speak. That's my 2 cents worth anyway.

Greg.

Hi Greg,

Your 2 cents is worth alot more than that. But what are your thoughts on "original tooling"? I went for the extra bucks when I changed the top of the dash pad with original tooling and really didn't have any problem putting it on.

I can buy if necessary the molding as "original tooling".

Either way I'm going to bring the molding into the shop tomorrow afternoon and hopefully the cost to sand and paint won't be through the roof. But when it's going back on, double sided tape and locktite will be there.

Thanks again.

The first thing to do is inspect the studs on your molding.

If they are good I would stick with it

If they are badly gouged or very thin - replace it

I have the OE tooling hood moldings too

http://www.ohiomustang.com/store/order_page.asp?itemid=33

I also stock the strip caulk

http://www.ohiomustang.com/store/order_page.asp?itemid=3245

For the two sided tape just make sure it is outdoor closed cell - that 3M outdoor one should be

You may want to get 3m one for automotive emblems from the auto paint supply store

Lock tight on the cut in type threads won't help - David's idea of the strip caulk will though

Don

Are you saying to use the 3M for the trim AND the strip caulk for the threads to hold the acorn nuts in place?

 

[Austin Vert]

Mark,

if it were me, in your position, i would get hold of a glue such as 5 minute Adaldite or Gorilla glue and glue the acorn nuts. I think that this alone(without using the double sided outdoor tape) will get you where you need to go.

So. you get your freshly painted molding in place on your hood. You then apply or dab some glue around the base of the mounting hole and the underside of the acorn nut. Then screw the acorn nut into position, being careful not to over thighten the nut. I assume your acorn nuts will still have some clamping power left in them. (If they haven't, then you WILL need to use the double sided tape as well.) Then, finish off with dabbing some more glue around the nut at the base to make sure you have plenty of glue to hold the nuts down and not ever come loose. Remember though, as Don said, if you feel that the studs are ground and worn away on your existing molding, you still have the option of buying your new molding from Don and start from scratch by respraying your new molding and use new acorn nuts. However, i would still use some glue on those nuts for insurance , just in case anything may go wrong, and they end up coming loose again in the future.

That would be my approach.

Greg.

 

[mpbsr]

Thanks for everyone's help here.

The threads on the original molding might have been cut a few times so might not be good to reuse. But I'm still willing to go with the tape and some sort of glue on the threads and acorn nuts.

The big decision will be what the body shop says if it's worth to sand and repaint the oem molding or go with a original tooling piece.

Mark

 

[Mister 4x4]

My advice: have the piece properly refinished, then secure it with the 3M strip-caulk along with some small pieces of strip-caulk to use as a 'thread-locker' for the studs. DO NOT use a 'permanent type' adhesive as thread locker.

1st reason: The repop piece I got was not even the same shape as the OEM hood - it had more angle, and would've required splitting it in the middle, straightening it out a few degrees to fit the hood, filling to bridge the new gap, and even then it was "thicker" that the original trim. I saved my original hood, but snapped off a stud during removal (the rust on the acorn nut was that bad), so I figured I might as well just get a new one. The new one was so far off, I just tossed it in the corner and went with the original piece, being very careful when putting it back on.

2nd reason: The trim pieces are basically cast in pot-metal, which is why the relatively flimsy acorn nuts will cut their own threads. If the studs are thin or worn-out, using Gorilla Glue and the like as thread-locker will effectively snap-off the studs when you go to remove it again at some point in the future for whatever reason: another repaint, rock chip repair, etc. Using the 3M strip-caulk will fill gaps in the acorn nut-to-stud fit, and remain pliable enough to allow safe removal if necessary.

3rd reason: Using some kind of double-stick tape (like they use to affix window vent shades, badges, louvers, etc.) will be an absolute nightmare to ever remove the trim piece - it'll most likely cause bending and distortion of the piece as you attempt to get something in between it and the hood to pry it up. The strip-caulk will remain pliable enough to allow removal, "squish" thinner than the double-sided tape, as well as "squish" enough to effectively seal the area between the trim and the hood to prevent water from seeping in and cause rust damage.

I'm not trying to crap on anybody else's advice... I just know what I've discovered when I was working with mine and some other pieces from a couple of parts cars I was working with as well.

 

[steves73]

I have found the threads on the trim studs to be worn and not effective. I was trying to think of a better way of mounting mine, as 2 studs were broken off when I bought the car.

 

[mpbsr]

All good advice.

The car is in the shop and the guy suggested using the OEM trim. Plus he'll be using some 3m tape and locktite for the threads to hold it in place.

Hopefully I never have to remove the piece again.

 

[Austin Vert]

Hope it all goes well for you Mark,

Greg.