854 split hood

[jb4249 135]

First this is not my hood, it is listed on Ebay. BUT my hood has a similar split. Any ideas on how to fix this. I had thought of drilling the hood and bolting a small plate behind it, but that doesn't really sound like a proper fix. Jut looking for ideas.

jb4249

Attached Image

[Coadster32 793]

Mine was split similar to that. I had it welded from the inside, and hand worked anything that came thru.

[Kelly 1,033]

That is a very common problem with the round hoods, if you look on the inside you will see that it has a bent lip that is welded under the nose piece, I think they stamped them to hard and made the bend thin. and prone to braking with 40+ plus years of vibration, welding from the back is the best fix, unless you want to fill the seem with weld and make it smooth.

[joebob 45]

Im with kelly and coadster, weld it from the inside, It has work the best so far for me , use a mig welder so you control the heat and reduce some of the melt thru of the bead.

[B-8074 20]

I agree as well, weld it. But don't try to weld it all at one time. Use a mig welder and spot weld it. Get it set and tacked then move from one side to the other with your spot welds. That will minimize any warping of the metal.

[littleredrider 409]

Wish that would fit an 854, he is only 20 minutes from me!!!!

[Aussie 98]

The 3/4/5 hoods are made in two pieces, the nose and the hood top, not sure if yours is the same. There is a flange where the two pieces join and the lap is spot welded. My 416 has split on the left side and the PO simply drilled through both pieces and put a small bolt in. This is fully functional, but not real pretty so I am going to have a go at welding it from the inside. You can see the bolt on the bottom silver part of the stripe in this picture.

Sorry about the big image, I don't know how to zoom in to a section.

[buckeye 5]

I welded my round hood from the inside, bondo on the outside. Now it looks like all one piece, nice and smoothe :banghead:

[rickv1957 73]

I agree with small welds from the inside!!

[littleredrider 409]

Something else to try is fuser. Body shops use this to put 1/4 panels on. Guess it's just as strong as a weld. I used it on an old truck I had, put cab corners on with it. Need some way to hold it in place till the glue dries, but once it does, it's on and sealed.

You need to buy a special gun, but even with the bigger one it's $50 IIRC. They make a smaller gun, but can only use the small tubes. The big gun comes with an adapter or something to use both big and small tubes.

I haven't used it yet, but want to try it on something.

[jb4249 135]

Thanks for the input. I have a buddy that is a welder, I am taking the hood to him on Monday. I am still torn if I am going to try to fill pits when I get it back. I might try spot puddy B 4 I paint it.

JB4249

[Coadster32 793]

Hey Littlered, could you post more info/pics on this other way of bonding? You definatly have my curiosity on this. $50 gun is alot cheaper than buying a welder, with all the extras.

[Kelly 1,033]

We use metal bond at work, it is great stuff but will not work for this app. the metal needs to over lap, then be squeezed tight and held for X hours depends on brand, it is strong stuff if used properly, NO your not supposed to glue the whole 1/4 panel on cars with it, you still need to weld alot to make sure it's safe and legal.

[littleredrider 409]

If you search for metal fuser on the net should find all kinds of results.

I've heard a lot of people using fuser to put 1/4s on and have no issues. And without any welding. But some do tach a couple welds to hold it in place.

I got my gun and Colours, dunno if it's a sales pitch or not, but they been in the business for years, but some car manufactures use this stuff on to put the bodies together.

I need to get some more of the stuff. It does have a shelf life. ..

[Kelly 1,033]

I've fixed cars that had panels glued on that got hit again, for the most part they held, but lots of the glue gave up, and pulled apart, the factory uses glue around the rear wheel wells, high rust area, and door skins, a few other spots also, Chrysler uses the most, when I fix a car, a major repair, people's lives are in my hands, if I don't fix it right, the next accident some one could die if I do a sloppy job, or use the wrong material, so I weld everything, not that the glue is not good, but I know my welds are good.

[JimD 3,347]

I used a different method on the 753 I had. The inside of the hood has that rolled edge that you can carefully pry out enough to get a stiff piece of shim stock into the fold. This drew the two pieces tightly together. The piece i used was about .030, and a half inch wide, by two inches long. It worked great, never came out, and no welds or glue. A true Redneck fix! I wish I still had it to get a pic, but it was sold.

[Coadster32 793]

I suppose some good old duct-tape on the inside would work also. Just re-apply a new peice every month. :banghead:

[JimD 3,347]

Yeah I suppose bubble gum would too.