Hood to cowl fitment

[stangtjk]

Is my hood/cowl bent out of shape or is it common for the rear center of the hood to stick up a good bit higher than the cowl. It can't be an alignment issue because where the fender/cowl and hood meet looks fine. Looking from the side the hood clearly has more of an arch than the cowl.

Not sure it matters but this is a 67-68 front clip on a 72

[Terrysch]

Know for sure that the hoods are different, so that might be the problem.
But still learning so don't know about entire front clip assembly.

I know on the hoods because I had to get GMC hood letters for my 72 hood, it was missing them. A forum member helped me and said there were two different sets of GMC letters because there were two different hoods. He even posted in the thread pics of the two different hoods.

The latter hood has a steeper angle/rake at the front of the hood.
But I don't know if the back of the two hoods that mate with the cowl.

[Classics Fan]

I have the situation with my 1971 Jimmy. I’m not positive but believe it’s the original hood.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Terrysch]

How are your hinges?
If they are worn, with ovaled holes where the rivets go through, that will also raise the hood higher than the cowl. I have this problem on one side.
But if it is that, you will be able to push the hood down in the back on one or both sides.
My hood hinges are being rebuilt.

[stangtjk]

Not sure if my hinges are worn. Seem solid to me but I'm pretty confident they wouldn't cause what I'm seeing. Not sure you can tell in these photos but the cowl is pretty flat across the center but the hood has a fair amount of arch to it. Fit is good on the sides but way off in the center. I have no problem doing the body work required to make them flush I just wanted to know if this is "normal" for these trucks. Kinda like how the front edge of the door curves inward and isn't flush with the fender.

I know the hood is not a reproduction not sure about the cowl but don't think it is either.

[notsolo]

Sides look ok from the photo, mine had some front end damage and the cowl was shimmed with some washers. I replaced the hinges with some decent used 1's and shimmed the cowl to it. Still not perfect but decent.

[stangtjk]

I guess the next question is which one needs reworked? Flatten out the hood to match the cowl or give the cowl more of an arch?

[hemi43]

I can't stress enough how important it is to have smooth working hinges. Make sure you lubricate them too, as that made a huge difference. As far as the hood to cowl, you will have to shim the cowl up a bit in the center to match the hood. The good part is that the shims can be hidden under the weather seal, so no one will ever notice. I can take a pic of mine if you wish.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by hemi43

I can't stress enough how important it is to have smooth working hinges. Make sure you lubricate them too, as that made a huge difference. As far as the hood to cowl, you will have to shim the cowl up a bit in the center to match the hood. The good part is that the shims can be hidden under the weather seal, so no one will ever notice. I can take a pic of mine if you wish.

^^^^I agree with this method as JJH and HEMI said, simple fix, but you will have to get longer sheet metal screws

[randy500]

All panels need work and massaging, put it on the floor and gently step on it to flatten it out a bit.