72 Hood Height Question

[Geoff C.]

[Mike Geary]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

The hood can be lowered by shimming the aft hinge bolt on the inner fender panel. If you think about it, this has the effect of tipping the hinge pivot point down and slightly forward. Not sure if this approach will solve a quarter inch problem, but it's very effective for slight mismatches.

The same idea can be used to lower the rear of the convertible top cover if it's above flush. You just shim under the forward hinge bolt.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

In addition, if the car hasn't been hit and/or repaired, I've seen similar mismatches on untouched cars. As you well know, they weren't all perfect in 1972...or most other years, for that matter.

Take a look at the fit of the rear valance on a C5, just aft of the rear tire, if you think they've got it right even today.

Patrick

[Harmon C.]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

The inter fender was bonded to the fender too high causing the hinge pad to be too high. I belive their is only one way to fix the problem. You can cut the inter fender loose with a 1/16 wheel from the hinge to the rear about 24"s. Then shim the fender up 1/4" +(on a 73 their is a bracket from the metal headlight brace to the interfender, shim above it) and rebond the seam with lord fuser T-21. This cut will be high enough you won't see it when looking at the fender with the hood open. Don't try to cut the hinge down as the hood will hit the vacum headlight pods. Lyle

[George Romano]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

On my no hit 72, as well as a lot of other Vettes I've seen from 70-72, there seems to be a constant with regard to this right side hood alignment problem. The hood on the right side does indeed sit slightly higher than the left side. You can even see it in photos of these cars if viewed from the front. Perhaps the assembly jig was off slightly at the factory when the body was being assembled. My car has a half shim (I believe it is factory) under the right side hood hinge, rearmost bolt. This does help some, but in my case, the hood is only off by about 1/8".
If the rebuild of this basket case car included a new air dam seal, that will greatly raise the front of the hood and aggrivate the situation until it has had a chance to squash. Also, if the original hood hinge is worn at the pivot point, and there is play in this area, any contact with the air dam seal will push the hood up higher than the surrounding body panel. He should look into these variables before attempting to modify the fiberglass panels.

George

[Larry Clain]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

Your front fenders are supported by the radiator support. and they bolt to it downt the sides of the inner skirt. When I ran my body shop I seem to remember looseing up the all of the bolts that hold the rad support to the inner skirt and using a 1x6 about a foot long 1" thick block of wood (w/shop rags between the underside of the fender and the block of wood) to distribute the load under the fender. keep as close to it as you can and using a floor jack with a short 2x4 to reach the block of wood I just described to lift the entire side till it was a little higher and tighten the support bolts back down tight (Be sure they have a good size washer under the heads to spread the load and hold the skirt tight) You can even elongate the skirt holes a little, to get the adjustment you want. No need to cut it apart and mess with it. Fiberglass will flex that much with out damaging it. done this many times.

I know it sounds clear as mud but you can lift the fender as close to the radiator support where the skirt bolts to it and it is easy to get the 1/4" you need to get the alignment you want.

[Harmon C.]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

The fenders and the interfender(wheelwell) are bonded together with the hinge platform on the inner fender. Any adjustment on the radiator support makes the assembly go up together. I see no way the distance between the top of the fender and the hinge platform can be changed other than rebonding the fender higher as the radiator support will move them up at the same time.The way I see it the problem is above the radiator support bolts. Lyle

[Larry Clain]

Re: 72 Hood Height Question

It has been a long time ago (83) when I did that. It seems that I had to do that to get that side to line up and perhaps the boss where the hood latch bolts to, was also ground down with a sander to get it to line up. Been too long ago. I guess the inner fender was loose when we did that. I was putting a entire front end on a 76 at the time.

[george romano]

Your welcome........... *NM*