Wrongway

Yeah man, franks has one for $300. With shipping it'll be over $500. VFN has a fiberglass hood for $525, after shipping its justa over $700 and I can't find one local yet. So here's how I set up today. Feel free to offer another way. I flexed the hood a full 1/2" on one side and almost 3/4" on the other side. Both sides sprang back up after releasing the jack. After replacing the hood, the only permanent change seemed to be about 1- 1.5mm lower. Maybe try a smaller block in a few places tomorrow instead of one long block.

Sorry to hear about your loss brother.

I'll give it a try in justa couple of min. Did you notice the patches welded to the front? You can see them in the 4th pic from the bottom. I don't think the factory would have done something like that?

So I pulled out the jack and wood then backed up my truck. Justa's words kept echoing in my head. "Did you put a straight edge on the fenders?" So I stopped and straight edged the fenders. I'm guessing its factory because the bow on both of the fender's measure to be almost exactly the same. So I'm guessing the fenders are good. But you know how we do, I got pics! I also got pics of the underside of the hood since you asked kiwi, and I included pics of the dame to the nose. Sorry in advance for all the pics. lol

Uncle Bob! Thats justa cool man!!! Sorry to hear that you got screwed Frosty. Thanks for the great pictures.

Hadn't thought about using the hitch on my truck. Good idea. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks guys

Won't be as much fun as bouncing on it Kiwi. Probably a lot safer for the hood though I'll give your way a try buddy.

Yeah Kiwi, there is damage to the nose. I've got pics So I figured I would have a go at straightening it. Any thoughts on how to straighten it justa jump in. My thought was lay a 2x4 under each corner. Brace under the sides and leave a 1/2" gap. Then walk or bounce on the sides of the hood where its bent. If it can only flex a 1/2" then it shouldn't be able to bend to far the other way. I know that's probably the right way but I'm not sure how else to go about it.

Ok bro, I'll get under the hood pics tomorrow. It's raining here today and the car is tarped. I'm thinking that both inner and outer are bent since there not separated. My only guess as to how it got bent was from people pulling down on the hood with those hard hinges all these years.

. Yup, but I can get Vernors down here at Meijers. I made Boston coolers one afternoon for my wife and kids and they thought I was crazy for mixing ginger ale and ice cream. We just watched that link you posted. Man, it's crazy to see how much has changed. Seriously guys, thanks for sharing your pics.

Hell yeah!!! Honestly bro, that picture of Duggans really brought back a lot of memories. Man I could sure go for a rock n rye right now. lol

Damn Justa, you've had some luck here lately brother! Glad there was no damage to your goat. Great pics.

I raised the fender adjustment another 1/8th" today before that picture was taken. The door to fender gap is now 5.1mm on top and 4.8mm on bottom. I'm not sure if there are any more adjustments that I can make. Please correct me if I'm wrong but, there's 1 bolt underneath on fender behind the tire that raises the fender up and down at the door. There's 1 bolt on top by the cowl. One inside the door jamb that moves the rear of the fender in and out. 2 bolts in the middle that justa bolt the inner wheel well to the fender. 2 bolts at the top front that adjust the front side to side and the 2 bolts at the core support that raise the front of the doghouse up or down to adjust the door gaps. Anymore that you know of? I'd love for it to justa be an adjustment that I missed or didn't know about.

Looking to buy a 1963 Pontiac Grand Prix hood.

Well, I finished the passenger side door to fender gap. As you can see the corners are more or less flushed out but in middle off the hood still sits about 1/2". Guess I'm looking for a new hood.

Wow, looks like a great day guys! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thats awesome bro! In case nobody's mentioned it, we love pictures around here!!!

I agree bro. I did order a set of hinges this morning. They've been sand blasted and painted. Looked good. I also laid a straight edge on the hood. Now, I'm not sure how much if any factory bow there should be or if it should be perfectly flat. So this info may not help.

Well, I raised that yesterday about .25 inch to get the door gaps even. The driver's side is really close. Passenger side I'm still trying to get right. I was actually thinking of adding another 1/8" shim to the passenger side chassis to see if the helps. The bottom by the rocker has a bad fitting patch from somebody before me that I still have to replace.

Yeah bro, the only thing I can figure is they cut that hole to try and adjust the hood lower. But I don't know. The hinge to fender hole on the passenger is cut or modified also. I don't understand why its cut that way. I did find 1 set of hinges on ebay though https://www.ebay.com/itm/165388185649?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GWtJVqlTTqK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=DYh10Qa8TtS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=EMAIL

Ok, thanks guys. I'll try to locate another set of hinges and take a look at the hood skin. I'm not sure if it can be flattened out again. There's no gaps between the outer skin and inner hood panel. But I will take a look in the morning.

So you're thinking replace or try to straighten the hinges? The driver's side is lower today. Normally both sides of the hood sit up about 1/2". I was able to push it down today to where the opening in the top hole was even with the bolt. So, if the hinges are bad wouldn't the hood sit flat on the car if the hinges are taken off?

Ok, so since the last post I have discovered somethings. I went and removed the hinges completely. The first 2 pics are with the hood back on with no hinges. The hood still sits up. You can see there are differences in the hinges also. Now, with that said, the hood has always been really hard to pull down and close. I mean really hard. I justa figured the hinges were old and hard. Is it possible that all the excessive pulling on the hood actually warped/bent it in the middle and that with the different hinges are actually causing the problem?

Thats justa awesome Last Indian!

Great ride!