69 hood hinge cracking fiberglass

[John K.]

Hi I am new here. One of the hood hinges on my 69 has cracked the fiberglass hood "tube". The hollow tube probably has a metal
plate tapped for the two bolts to secure the hood. The fiberglass has cracked across the top, bottom, and part of one side of the
hinge plate. If we glassed over it the hood would not fit properly. I would appreciate your help, Thank You - John

[Terry M.]

Re: 69 hood hinge cracking fiberglass

You need to find someone skilled at fiberglass repair. The "nut plate" can be replaced with a stainless steel plate, drilled and tapped for the hood hinge bolts. Cut open the tube (as you call it. I would call it the hood reinforcement) and glass in the new stainless nut plate. Glass it back up, paint with the proper black out paint and no one will be the wiser. Don't ask how I know.
The guy who did the repair on my 1970 has passed, but there are many more skilled fiberglass people around. Join your nearest NCRS chapter to find them. It used to be friends & beer, now it is called networking.
Terry

[John K.]

Re: 69 hood hinge cracking fiberglass

Thanks Terry ! , John

[John S.]

Re: 69 hood hinge cracking fiberglass

John, one of the last things the original owner of my '73 did back in '91 was to back the car out of the garage with the hood up and ripped it off the car. Miraculously the top surface of the hood was untouched but the hinges and the hold open were ripped out of the tubular section of FG you are referring to. Because the original paint was so important to me, a new or replacement hood was out of the question. I purchased a donor hood and was able to graft in the two tubular sections from that hood to my original. That was two years ago and my repair still holds true, even I have a difficult time finding the lines of the so called "graft". A process not for the faint of heart but I do have photos of the process and can walk you through it. PM me if your interested.

John