1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

[Steven L.]

I'm hoping a member can supply me with a close-up reference picture of the area on the right side skirt where the hood hinge and hood support attach. At some point during its life prior to my buying it, my '66 had been in an accident, during which this area of the skirt had been damaged. A poor repair had been made with sheet metal, and I'm in the process of doing a proper repair with fiberglass. The flat area where the hinge attaches is intact, but the area right behind it where the hood support attaches is completely broken out. Also missing is the portion of the skirt below this area where the flap is stapled on. If someone could supply me with a close-up of this area, or direct me to a source, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Steve

[Richard M.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

I'm hoping a member can supply me with a close-up reference picture of the area on the right side skirt where the hood hinge and hood support attach. At some point during its life prior to my buying it, my '66 had been in an accident, during which this area of the skirt had been damaged. A poor repair had been made with sheet metal, and I'm in the process of doing a proper repair with fiberglass. The flat area where the hinge attaches is intact, but the area right behind it where the hood support attaches is completely broken out. Also missing is the portion of the skirt below this area where the flap is stapled on. If someone could supply me with a close-up of this area, or direct me to a source, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,

Is it a small or big block? Major difference in that area between the two as a SB mounts the hood support there. BB support is on the opposite side.

Rich

[Steven L.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Hi Richard,
Yes, I know that the big block hood support is on the driver's side. Because of the missing chunk on my car, I'm trying to get a detailed reference picture that shows the hood support mounting point so that I can fabricate one. Since the support is on the other side on a big block, I've looked at quite a few big block cars on ebay since that area won't have the support there to obscure the view. I've seen quite a few, but the problem is that none of the pictures show that area close up. The main things I'm trying to determine are: 1. Is the hood support mounting area on the same plane as the hinge mount area, or is it slightly lower? If so, how much lower? 2. How far in from the angled side is the top hole for the hood support bracket?

I'm hoping someone has a car, with the hood on, or preferably off, who can get a picture showing that area.

Thanks,
Steve

[Richard M.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Steve, Here is all I have from a '67 which IIRC, are the same for the '66 cars. I had to do much repair on the pass side due to prior owner mods and holes everywhere. The Driver side was okay but needed refinishing too.

Some of them will give you a side profile to help see the relationship of the hood support to the hinge mount area.

Rich

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

I had the same issue with my 67. My fix was to buy piece of an inner fender from a corvette shop , cut out a piece that was a little larger than the broken area of my inner fender and graft it to my inner fender. The repair was relatively easy to do and looks great, almost unnoticeable. Hope this helps.Jeff.

[Steven L.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Hi Jeff,
Thanks for the suggestion. Did you have to buy a complete skirt in order to get that piece, or did they sell you a section? Also, can you tell me what vendor sold it to you?

Thanks,
Steve

[Steven L.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Hi Rich,

Wow, those pictures are super helpful! After looking at all of the pictures of these areas on ebay cars, I didn't realize that the area where the hood support mounts actually angles slightly downward from the hood hinge area. Can you tell me the approximate width of that particular area?

Thanks,
Steve

[Richard M.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Hi Rich,

Wow, those pictures are super helpful! After looking at all of the pictures of these areas on ebay cars, I didn't realize that the area where the hood support mounts actually angles slightly downward from the hood hinge area. Can you tell me the approximate width of that particular area?

Thanks,
Steve

Steve, Sorry but that car isn't here any longer. I restored it about a year ago.

I'm thinking even with photos and measurements it will be difficult to replicate. I'd suggest getting a paper and cardboard template if possible.

Even better for a better result, a mold. I think what I'd do in your shoes is to find a candidate car or original skirt to play with. I'd lay aluminum foil over the entire area to create a form, then a layer of wax over it as a release agent. I'd lay in a few layers of a mixture of fiberglass mat and resin. It doesn't have to be pretty, just thick enough to be used as a mold later.

Using the mold, I'd create the actual final filler piece using several layers of heavy duty mat and resin. Probably 2 or 3 layers, with a short but solid cure time between layups to match the correct thickness. Your new piece would have a similar appearance to the press-molded piece on top where you want it. Underneath would be covered with undercoating so not a big issue.

To attach this new repair piece properly, I would make it's outer edge profile a bit smaller than the prepared hole in the skirt, about a gap of apx 1/4" or so. I'd bevel all edges of both skirt and repair piece, then scratch it with a X-Acto knife in a crosshatch pattern to give the bond surfaces some teeth to aid strength. With it firmly held in place I would create a joint using wax-papered backup plates on the inner side for a smooth press-molded look. Wheel side not important and a grinder would get it where you want it before undercoating it.

I'd lay in strips of mat & resin into the joints from the wheel side to fill the joint seams. After curing it would take some time but it could be dressed out to appear invisible with the proper look. The original skirts have a grainy appearance. At the repair joints you can use 80 grit paper and scratch it erratically to emulate the look.

Here is a collage of photos of some examples of my methods to repair/join flat area pieces as I described. Some are of a one-piece nose I put on a sad droopy nosed '59 I did about 5 years ago. It shows how I made my own under-repair bonding strip and then bevel the joints, fill and finish. Others are of some methods I used to created the inner skirt hole repairs in the previous pics.

There are probably dozens of ways to make repairs like this. This is my way and it seems to work out okay and is strong. Just keep in mind resin will shrink, so allow plenty of cure time before final finishing. Vinylester resin, my resin of choice, shrinks less than polyester resin.

Rich

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Hi Steve. I bought a used inner fender that had come from a crashed car. The people have since closed shop. All you need to do is locate a used part, maybe easier said than done, and graft the pieces together, that way you get all the detail of the inner fender w/o the hassle of trying to create it with raw glass and resin. I did by the entire inner fender but it was cheap as most of it was trash except the area I needed. Ask on this site maybe someone has what you need. Hope this helps Jeff.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

I'm hoping a member can supply me with a close-up reference picture of the area on the right side skirt where the hood hinge and hood support attach. At some point during its life prior to my buying it, my '66 had been in an accident, during which this area of the skirt had been damaged. A poor repair had been made with sheet metal, and I'm in the process of doing a proper repair with fiberglass. The flat area where the hinge attaches is intact, but the area right behind it where the hood support attaches is completely broken out. Also missing is the portion of the skirt below this area where the flap is stapled on. If someone could supply me with a close-up of this area, or direct me to a source, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,
Steve

If you can't find a used inner fender here try on the corvette forum, lots of members and lots of parts. Hope this helps Jeff

[Steven L.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

Thanks Jeff, I'll try posting that I'm looking for the front half of a skirt.

[Steven L.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

It appears that there had been more than one repair to the skirt, as there was a splice at the top of the arched area. I was able to separate it at that point and remove the front half of the skirt. Per another member's suggestion, I hoping that a member might see this post who has this same chunk of skirt available. Here are top and bottom views of it. Also, I tried to post a "part wanted" ad on the online classifieds, but didn't see any button to click to create a listing. I filled out and submitted a help ticket and am awaiting a response, but if someone can help me in the interim, I'd appreciate it. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

[Stewart L.]

Re: 1966: Right side skirt-hood hinge/hood support area

You may consider a new aftermarket press moulded one from Corvette Image. I have used them, they work fine.

[Ronald L.]