Bendy bonnet (hood with a hump)
 

My bonnet has a bend in it someone told me that it`s not uncommon,I think the last guy who owned it was a big hairy gorrila. The bend goes from one side to the other, it`s as if the hinges jamed half way down. How can i brace it until i get a new one:(

Paul in oz

It is a common problem...what happens is the hinges rust, and the people STILL try to shut them, thus bending them in the middle...mine has that problem aswell...

Welcom to the "bent hood club" members...

Just try to bend the hood the other way , it might work...:D

The Baron

I believe Mr Gasket selld "hood stiffeners" for our trucks...try an e-bay search...I see them on there all the time. Use 73-87 or 73-80 for your search.

-Jeff

My hood on my '77 did the same thing. To keep it from getting worse, I removed the spring on that side of the hood. Required less pressure on the front of the hood to close. I guess GM learned their lesson on this one, 'cause, my '86 has a better setup.

I've heard of guys using the hood stiffeners as well, but... The safety experts among us tend to be concerned about these. See, the good thing about the "bendy hood" is that it becomes a "crumple zone" in a head-on. If the hood is too stiff, it becomes a guillotine. :eek:

:canada: :bowtie: :flag:

They have recently come out with some stuff with a funny name called WD-40 that when sprayed on these hinges makes them work much better and keeps you from having to have the hood stiffeners. :p

Might ask around I am sure some stores near you could special order it. :D

I bought a 74 Blazer recently that has not been registered in nearly 20 years. Needless to say the hood was a chore to open and closing it took multiple applications of WD-40. Now it opens and closes pretty easily but it already had the bend in it slightly. :(

Brad

lol, nice reply smart ass ;)

Thanks its the only thing I excel at. If they gave scholarships for it I could have been a college graduate. :P

Brad

Brad...WD-40 won't do squat...once the hood is bent it is weaker than it should be...hence the reason why he is actually asking about hood stiffeners. :D

I agree, WD-40 does wonders...but it won't strenghten a already weak hood....but it will prevent it on future non-bent hoods. :)

Special order that brah! :D heheh

-Jeff

Has anybody thought about bracing the hood with flat bar and what success did you have?Here in Australia we have 04dw i think it`s the same as wd40 haha.

On both sides of the hood on my 77 a PO has welded a small peice of flat stock about 1-1/4" Sq, in the indentations where the hood would bend. The hood has a small bend in it but this strenghing has stopped the hood from any further bending, and WD-40 sprayed on the hinges once a month helps too.

The hood on my 78 did that, so we welded a little 1" across by 2" long piece of 1/4" thick cast iron on each side :D

Needless to say it dosen't move anymore.