buying 54 coupe

[t walgamuth]

Oops I managed to get carried away with the pics...oh well, its a little like saying I have too many pictures of Marilyn Monroe!

[StudeRich]

You would have to Install quite a Lot of expensive hard to find Trim to convert it to a C5 Regal like that from a C3 Deluxe.
And it still would look like a Taxi with those Black Tires.

[Mark L]

Everyone got so carried away with the discussion about the wheel covers, no one remembered to answer Mr. Walgamuth's questions in posts #6 and #7. Can anyone give him advice to fix the problem with his hood?

[t walgamuth]

You would have to Install quite a Lot of expensive hard to find Trim to convert it to a C5 Regal like that from a C3 Deluxe.
And it still would look like a Taxi with those Black Tires.

What do you really think? The wide whites just don't do it for me. They look good, but not on my car.

Thanks for thinking of my hood.

[Blue 15G]

IIRC, his hood has a bent corner in the back (or both corners?) and a hinge problem. My '54 had bent hood corners when I bought it and the body man I took it to was able to straighten them before the repaint and the hood still looks and works great all these years later. I would definitely seek out a good auto body man to do this job before replacing the hood.

[t walgamuth]

Yeah, probably makes sense. I am guessing the hinges are too tight. It appears to have some nut and bolts which could be tightened too much.

Comments?

[Son O Lark]

I put the Classic Enterprises hood stiffeners on the Possum Smasher. I used pop rivets and it took less than a hour to do it. I am sure welding them is preferred but I did not heat up the paint and have confidence they will be fine. If I repaint the car, I will weld them during prep. Until then, I will keep an eye on them.

[t walgamuth]

How did you attach them please? Do the rivits show?

[Flashback]

Yeah, probably makes sense. I am guessing the hinges are too tight. It appears to have some nut and bolts which could be tightened too much.

Comments?

Sorry, I didn't notice the comment s on the hood earlier. I just got caught drooling over the beautiful example of a 53. From my experience with the hood hinges , you need to have the hinges on the car and free. Then put the little torsion looking bar (connector between hinges on . If it is bent and the two sides are not in sync, you got a hood problem. Get this done and then put the hood back on ( might have to take one end loose on bar) and adjust by hinge to cowl bolts being (almost tight), so you can bump a little before final tightening. Do remember that the nuts on the hood to hinge, DO NOT GET SNUG ! They are castle nuts with a cotter pin for a reason ! This has worked on several 53's for me .

[55coupe]

I used the long hood stiffeners now I can grab that hood any old way and pull it up. Well worth the money and time.

[Hallabutt]

Well that really changed the look!

[Son O Lark]

How did you attach them please? Do the rivits show?

I put the rivets right along the edge.
They are not very noticable. I can always dab some blue paint on them.

[t walgamuth]

I used the long hood stiffeners now I can grab that hood any old way and pull it up. Well worth the money and time.

Can you say how long they are please?

[t walgamuth]

I guess that looks ok. If I find a good hood later I can install it then.

[55coupe]

I believe there some 19 inches look up Classic Enterprise repair and replacement parts for Studebaker.