front end gaps
 

truck is a 67 suburban. i went with some grant hinges way back when because the stock hinges had to go for the air ride. after figuring a way to get the hood struts mounted, the hood sits a little too far forward for my liking. i installed new hood bumper stops in the front and those need a little adjustment as well. i know the gaps were terrible from the factory....and im not building a show truck by any means. but would this be "acceptable"? lol. the thing bothering me most i think is the cowl gap. i do have the cowl to hood seal that will help hide it some.....but not sure since its not on. all the panels still need some tweaking like the doors and cowl panel for sure....

what to do? the hood has absolutely no adjustment.....

Re: front end gaps
 

few more

Re: front end gaps
 

the cowl isnt bolted down at all, just sitting there. i did buy new fender shims but not really sure if they are needed. passenger side seems like they should be needed? im not good at all at lining up body gaps but i would like to at least get them decent

Re: front end gaps
 

I'm not familiar with the hinges you speak of, but how can they have no adjustment?..are the holes not slotted?.. the hood definitely needs to move back

Re: front end gaps
 

you can see some up close pictures in this other members build thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=365912&page=2

they are made to weld on the hood and the bucket welds inside the cowl section, although he made his bolt in...which I did not.

the hood has to come out anyways eventually to clean and paint the underside. I'm wondering if I can maybe section the arm a bit, weld it back together to suck it in?

Re: front end gaps
 

If the holes where the hood bolts go were slotted , would that help?
Hard to believe they'd build and sell something like that with 0 adjustment

Re: front end gaps
 

yup that's what I get for buying $80 hinges. they are completely weldnon no bolts at all. that link I posted, the guy made his use bolts, which I wish I would've done.

the only way to slide it back is to shorten the swing arms but cutting them and rewelding them, or maybe cut off the top mount ears and reweld them back a little.

I think I'm too deep in to ditch the whole setup and go porterbilt

Re: front end gaps
 

so, its welded to the hood and the firewall ?
and no way to adjust
that seems like a really odd way to do it... margin for error is very small...
even if you cut and section, its still a crap shoot on wether it fits right even after doing all that

Re: front end gaps
 

Cut your losses and buy some good hood hinges.

Re: front end gaps
 

yup...its a poor cheap design and a poor choice by me. im just trying to think of ways to remedy the gaps so trying to scoot the hood back is the first step. the front hood gap i guess isnt THAT bad but it does annoy me a little. same with the cowl gap, although that can be fixed with a welding rod welded to the back of the hood the same way the door gaps are fixed.

well, if i went that route i would at least be left with patch panels to cover up the current brackets. but im more worried about trying cut the welded on brackets off the hood without damaging the hood.

Re: front end gaps
 

I dont think I'd be trying to close up the cowl gap by welding a rod to the back of the hood...that could turn out even worse..
I'm not sure what would be involved with trying to fix it..
Just from what I can see in the pics, I think I'd cut the hood loose from the hinge and fix it so it could be bolted to the hinge, then you would at least have a way to adj it some

Re: front end gaps
 

I'll get some pictures when I get home from work....I think I'd destroy the hood cutting it loose.

trying to save a few bucks is either gonna cost me good gaps or cost me another $800 or so for some new hinges and a different hood:whine:

Re: front end gaps
 

heres how the hinge welds in. it follows the back contour of the hood...which would make cutting it off, without damaging the hood, a pain in the ass

Re: front end gaps
 

Is the piece under the cowl welded as well?..I see bolts for the struts go thru the firewall..
I think you could cut the hinge off the hood...there just wouldnt be anything left of it

Re: front end gaps
 

yup that hinge bucket is welded in too. that plate for the struts is actually from a different company called switch suspension. I bought that to bolt to the firewall to strengthen it some, and to add a strut option. it's for their own hinge kit but I made it work for mine.

Re: front end gaps
 

What I think I would do...
make a pattern of the hood side of the hinge,...cut that sucker off..without damaging the hood.. make a new hood side hinge, one that will bolt to the hood with slots for adjustment..
That's about all I got

Re: front end gaps
 

after staring at this gap all weekend i just cant leave it alone. i think what i will do is buy the actual switch suspension hinge kit that goes with the strut upgrade kit i bought from them that is bolted on there now. ill have to cut the welded hinges off the hood and make cover plates where the current hinge pockets are on the firewall...but oh well. i think its better than to run the risk of shortening my current hinge arm and screwing something up.

live and you learn i guess....thanks for yalls input guys!

Re: front end gaps
 

Sounds like the best option.... keep us updated on how it works out

Re: front end gaps
 

will do. getting back to trying to get the truck wired and maybe get a windshield in it if i can find someone around here that knows how.

then ill get to whackin at this hood

Re: front end gaps
 

Maybe weld up the hole in bracket under cowl, adding some extra "meat" on the backside towards cab. Re-drill hinge bolt hole the amount hood needs to be moved back.

Re: front end gaps
 

If it were mine I would cut here . Move it back till it lines up then tack it .

Re: front end gaps
 

the issue with going that route is that bracket is completely welded in there, up to the firewall and on top of that cowl area. it's not just welded at the bottom

Re: front end gaps
 

I see it now.

Re: front end gaps
 

You could cut out a section of the piece that's attached to the hood and re-weld it.

Re: front end gaps
 

that was the idea I wanted to roll with but unsure if it effect the integrity.