New cowl hood problems

[1971ChevyTruck]

I installed the cowl hood on my truck and it seems that it is twisted or something. The hood wants to hit the fender on the back passenger side corn but the fron passengerside corner has a big gap between the fender and hood. Any ideas??

[Fldawg]

Your not the only one with this probelm, my doors and fenders had to be aligned to get the hood to work was not easy, the quality control on these hoods are not very good

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by Fldawg

Your not the only one with this probelm, my doors and fenders had to be aligned to get the hood to work was not easy, the quality control on these hoods are not very good

Yep, the initial fit of my 68' cowl hood had me looking for a stock hood. I ended up keeping it and fought to make it look right. It's still not correct but it's close.

[VA72C10]

Just making sure you had a stock hood adjusted and on before swapping to the cowl? If not, the rad support can have something to do with this....

if it's definitely just the hood, I watched a body man grab one corner of a hood and tweak it on purpose twice and it lined up perfectly after the second time....so all is not lost

[AusTx68]

So what about the aftermarket stock hoods? Do they have the same problems?

[ZombieWeinerDog]

i actually had to shave some of my hood to make it fit, it would hit the grill shell and not close at all.

[custom1970]

Originally Posted by Fldawg

Your not the only one with this probelm, my doors and fenders had to be aligned to get the hood to work was not easy, the quality control on these hoods are not very good

I also had the same problems with mine, PITA

[Zoomin]

Is the gap on the driver side consistent all the way down?
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[6772owner]

My PO installed cowl hood fits like crap as well, unfortunatly they painted everything with it fitting like crap, so the truck would need repainted to fix it at this point. (I think at least)

[Autoblueprint]

Had a body and paint man do my hood ( along with all else ) and EVERYTHING needs to be in alignment ( fenders, rad support and bushings, CAB MOUNTS, etc. ) for the cowl hood to fit properly. Hood hinges need to be good too. It is a tedious process but it can be done. Speak with some body guys at body shops in your area and see if someone works on the side who can get it done for you at a reasonable fee.

http://www.autoblueprint.com/1971_pa...dypaint_1.html

[big_al_71]

Mine is also not aligned perfect two body men later and it still not perfect..

[CaptRMW]

I bought a "Goodmark" = (Badmark) cowl induction hood for my '70 CST and removed a perfect fitting original hood and installed it, the big surprise was a 5/8" gap (probably closer to 3/4") between the hood and back corner of the fender on each side. A lot of massaging with the Porta Power and a couple of 12 packs later it fit great. 3 years later it rusted through where the rice farmers "foamed" the front to back braces with no rust preventive underneath. I found it a new home for 1/4 the original price and now have the original where it belongs. Aftermarket sheetmetal should stay in the scrapyard where it originated. To those that think you will have a "new" part fitting properly, dream on....Roger

[68GMCCustom]

mines a tri-plus and looks like 6772owners. fit is terrible but my old hood was garbage and I really like the cowl hood look.

[bigsnookmaster]

Mine fits very well,......but it took alot of metal work! I don't believe there is a bolt on aftermarket piece that fits like it's supposed to!

[AusTx68]

Originally Posted by AusTx68

So what about the aftermarket stock hoods? Do they have the same problems?

Anyone know if stock aftermarket hoods have the same problem??

[ATrain707]

heres mine, it lined up the first try. paid 350

[Jeffs70]

my hood did the same as 1971ChevyTruck's hood and I had to modify it to get it correct.

[ATrain707]

were did you order your hood from/maker?

[AusMarty]

My original stock hood has exactly the same problem gap too wide at right front !!, lines up perfect on the left

[Zoomin]

You ought to take two measurements diagonally from corner to corner on the engine compartment and then again on the hood to determine which is the real culprit. If the two measurements on the engine compartment aren't equal, then it's off - ditto with the hood. Could be both are off, but until you determine which it is, you won't get it to fit.

[Boog]

Body panel alignment isn't exactly science as some might think. Any good bodyman will tell you the best panel fitments begin at the doors. Check that. Starts with the cab on the frame. Get it square. Get the doors right then move on to the fenders then the hood. As said measuring helps a bit.
These trucks were designed with a good bit of panel adjustability. It helps since many of us find used or new replacement doors, fenders etc don't fit like the ones we are replacing. Even panel gaps was not a priority when these trucks were designed.
As for the fitment aspect of aftermarket body panels I can't say as I don't buy them. But even the oe parts sometimes require a bit of tweaking.

[trevorrhine]

yes. the aftermarket stock style hood has the exact same problem you guys are describing...I'm fighting trying to get mine to fit decently...My cab is square, but I'm just gonna have to keep tweaking things until I get it as close as possible.

[special-K]

The problem we had with the 67/68 cowl hood we had (other than fender to hood gap/different radius) was at the back edge of the cowl scoop it was shaped completely different on one side from the other. One side dropped down square and vertical and the other side cut back with a slant (about 1/2-3/4").I mean,they were completely different and it would be obvious to a mole!

[bamafrost]

Bought a "Goodmark" aftermarket hood (their "better version at $500 w/shipping). After countless hours of metal work it still fits like S@%t. My advice...buy the best OE hood you can afford and make it work. Repop stuff is crap. Had the same problems with Goodmark fenders and doors...junk.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by bamafrost

Bought a "Goodmark" aftermarket hood (their "better version at $500 w/shipping). After countless hours of metal work it still fits like S@%t. My advice...buy the best OE hood you can afford and make it work. Repop stuff is crap. Had the same problems with Goodmark fenders and doors...junk.

X2
Good advice^^^