Body / Glass: Repairing kinked hood corners

[Pat Dilling]

My Conestoga has the typical old Studebaker bent/kinked hood corners. I have done a search about repairing hood corners and have not found very much. I do not have a lot of body work experience, but am brave enough to try a repair myself if I have some advice to follow. Would one or more of you body working gurus give us the benefit of your experience making this repair? Pictures of the process would be greatly appreciated, but even a verbal description would be nice to have. Once my hood is straight I plan to install the CE anti kink braces as well.

Thanks!

[Commander Eddie]

Pat, I will be watching the responses to this very good question as well. The hood on my Champ has the suspect kink and I would love to know if it is a fix easily handled by the owner. Body shops want lots of money just to take the hood off. Is there an anti-kink braces for Champ hoods as well?

[sweetolbob]

If you are gutty enough you can cut out the corner braces and work the metal. On my 54, apparently I wasn't gutty enough, I have a HF stud welder/puller http://www.harborfreight.com/stud-we...kit-98357.html that I used to pull the low area and then shrank the high areas with a torch and cooling in very small areas. I don't know if I was just lucky, but ended up with almost no filler in the end. IIHTDIA, I'd remove the braces and body work it.

Then add bracing to keep it from happening in the future, which are 1/8" metal shaped to match the hood sides and plug welded to the inside of the hood sides.

[PackardV8]

Is there an anti-kink braces for Champ hoods as well?

As mentioned,the CI hood stiffeners are just strips of metal. If one has the skill to install them properly, he has the wherewithall to make his own stiffeners.

[cdn56J]

I did a repair on my '56 GH hood. In a previous life(before me) it had flipped up and gone over the roof, it ripped one hinge bracket off and kinked both corners. This is a one year hood so I wanted to save it. I drilled out the spot welds and then did the metal work and replaced the brackets and installed CI stiffeners.

[ddub]

Years ago an old time Stude person told me if the corners are kinked, throw it away, it can't be fixed. When there are no replacements, people find a way.

[PackardV8]

Years ago an old time Stude person told me if the corners are kinked, throw it away, it can't be fixed. When there are no replacements, people find a way.

Yes, because years ago, a new hood was about $25 over the dealer parts counter. The dealer is gone, the NOS are gone and today, we're pulling junk out of yards and building those which were thrown away.

jack vines

[SN-60]

I did a repair on my '56 GH hood. In a previous life(before me) it had flipped up and gone over the roof, it ripped one hinge bracket off and kinked both corners. This is a one year hood so I wanted to save it. I drilled out the spot welds and then did the metal work and replaced the brackets and installed CI stiffeners.[ATTACH=CONFIG]27525[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]27528[/ATTACH]

A '56 Golden with cowl and belt mouldings? Or, You used a '56 GH hood on another year Hawk?

[Jeff_H]

Here is what I did:

The channel bracing on the inside was bent too. So, I cut that brace in a couple spots at the bent area with a cut off wheel in my angle grinder. Did not V cut it, just a straight thru cut. Then, I got some small turn-buckles from the hardware store and tack welded them across the cuts on the inside side. Put the hood back on the car (w/o any hinges in place) and trial and error lift the corners up to get a wrench on the turnbuckle to adjust the bends back out as best I could so the hood would lay flush to the cowl again. Then I tack welded the cut with the turn buckle holding things in place. Grind off the welds holding the turnbuckle in place and re-check the fit of the hood and if OK then finish welding the cut brace back together.

I could have put more work into the sheet metal after this than I did as it needed a bit of filler and its certainly not perfect. I was able to use the original hood on my car and it was in sad shape with both corners badly kinked and a 4" jagged crack on the driver side.

[Swifster]

Buy another hood...

[cdn56J]

It is a '56 GH and the cowl was badly corroded(pine needles) I replaced it with a "62 cowl because I wanted the cowl and door mouldings.

[SN-60]

It is a '56 GH and the cowl was badly corroded(pine needles) I replaced it with a "62 cowl because I wanted the cowl and door mouldings.

Wow!.....Replaced the cowl?......BIG job!

[mmagic]

As mentioned,the CI hood stiffeners are just strips of metal. If one has the skill to install them properly, he has the wherewithall to make his own stiffeners.

Classic Enterprises hood stiffeners are more than just a strip of metal. They are a formed "U" channel I wouldn't even consider attempting to replicate their product on my small sheet metal brake. They are well worth the $85 investment if you aren't inclined to do the job again.

[hawk58man]

Have used Classic Enterprises older stiffners on my 58' Silverhawk .Was straight application, welded in, works very good. If there is a next time for another Hawk, I will purchases new and improved longer one's from Classic. Good Luck..

[Pat Dilling]

Thank you everyone. Please continue.