48 chevy truck

[kb426]

O&S says that some days you find what you don't want. I spent the afternoon with the original hood. I cut, bent, manipulated and still ended up with not much useable. Nothing I tried ended up in a smooth transition to the grille. More thinking ahead but probably starting from scratch.

[jaybee]

As I see it, this is going to be like chopping the top on a barrel-roofed car...very cool when it's done right and an enormous amount of head scratching and visualization to get there. Here's how I see it, just my impressions. As always, I could be wrong and on some of it I probably am.

• You're not too far into the nose of the hood, which is good because you'll want basically a straight line from the cowl to the hood.
• The arching line along the side view of the hood could be a really interesting detail.
• Getting that line will be complicated, since the forward portion of the hood flares outward on the stock hood. It needs to flange under like it does at the rear in order to look right.
• Moving to the transition from the top of the hood to the side, that part is pretty well make or break. The radius needs to tighten, move inward, and upward smoothly from back to front. By upward, I'm referring to the midpoint of the curve. That midpoint is higher at the radiator than at the cowl.
• Oh, and you have to be able to open and close it. I think the side view arch needs to meet the radiator shell right where the curved top of the radiator shell meets the straight sides.

To accomplish that, I think your side fill pieces are going to need to start way back on the hood, probably clear back by the end of the Chevrolet emblem.

What if you start by deciding what your side arch should look like? Maybe stretch the vertical side of an angle, tack it to the hood at the back, clamp it to the hood edge at the front, and start rolling a sheet to fill in the blanks. That way you have the 4 edges of the hole you're trying to fill defined. Shrink the horizontal leg of the flange toward the back end to make a gradual transition and help avoid a kink from the existing hood to where it narrows toward the grill shell. Once you have your hood skin defined, flange the bottom edge and plug weld it underneath the flange so you won't have to deal with keeping it all straight as if you butt welded the whole length of the hood.

[idrivejunk]

There are those who attempt to plan, and those who just walk up to the vehicle and do. Guy in the next stall at work is the latter and is currently building up the Stude truck hood. No measuring, no idea how it will look, just build. I have forgotten what fabrication is because I don't get that work anymore. Any I have done normally gets cut away or smashed by a coworker. Or just never leaves. Although the Model A job's hood is now painted. Quite hacked up since my involvement. So I quit offering solutions or conjuring possibilities or referencing prior work. Because it has no effect and is unwanted, I try to keep my nose out of other peoples' project designs these days. They prefer to struggle through in their own way and are best left to do so. Any input I may have had for this one was probably expressed long ago and any thought sharing now is moot. I do know you are not a metal shaping person, Bill. Wishing you luck solving the puzzle you made and just consider me a spectator or student.

[idrivejunk]

If I could take the snark outta that and just say I wish I could help but don't know how... well that'd be the root sentiment. The hood in the next stall is at seven butt welded pieces and still growing and I just have to think that a dab of advanced shaping trickery could go real far in reducing headaches from this type of challenge. Jealousy of such opportunities is my own fault. Eyes open  

[kb426]

All of the above comments have validity.
This was a real short day for O&S. I was out of town for much of it. I bolted up the hood hinges to use as a locator. I did some trimming on the front to get it to sit on the grille shell. It's just not good. I'm brain dead enough that I will reserve my comments until I have a plan of action.

[jaybee]

That's...a lot wider at the back than the front. Doesn't make it easier...

[idrivejunk]

The above comment definitely has validity. And the angle shown in the above pic may never look natural in a factory way due to the abrupt width bottleneck.

I just thought what if a guy was to snip out the filler section of grille shell below radiator (leaving radiator where it is), flip it over and put it up top... then he might be able to locate the outer shell higher and establish a straight hood line from cowl angle to grille. Wouldn't that, in profile, generate a hood line that jives with what the eye expects behind a deuce grille?

Then I thought just turn the grille over. Gives a nice formed bottom to the nose and on top... there would just be the v shaped, rounded strip around the grille. A hood nose could tuck behind that maybe, or a favorably contoured transition panel could be butt welded onto that back, ex bottom edge to extend it to meet a new custom flat fronted hood gap. You'd have more freedom to blend shapes that way, adding a little header panel to the shell, than being locked onto the 32 shell top contour.

I don't think it would really lose any of the deuce-ness, the grille itself makes that statement but how many are upside down?      Its a topsy turvy world after all.

There I go.    Turn the page.

[kb426]

Matt, that's an interesting thought. I'll add that to the idea stack. Thank you.

[idrivejunk]

Zag while others zig. Where will Dodge parts work their way into the build?

[kb426]

^^^^
Soon.

[kb426]

O&S made a road trip this morning. I now have metal to play with. Back in post 69, Matt posted a pic that had a straight line from the rear hood line to the floor. I'm leaning towards that. I took some cardboard to mock up a truck box. That would be quick and simple. Not sure I'll do that. Lots of thinking, not many decisions. LOL.

[kb426]

O&S had an interesting day. It started off with a decision being made! I took the original hood and wacked it close to the firewall. I welded the center seam together, top and bottom. I aligned it best I could and started tacking. I had to make some pie cuts to get it to cooperate. I cut it to match the front of the firewall to the best that I could. I bent up some 1" x .125" strap to give it some strength and add a lip for the hood. I quit before starting the welding. Tomorrow, I will be fresh and not as prone to blind and stupid. LOL.

[jaybee]

No hood...probably the smartest decision, given the challenges of making a hood that would gracefully make the transition between the very wide cab and much narrower grill shell.

[enjenjo]

I'm not sure where this is going, but I think you are on the right track.

[idrivejunk]

That ^^^ is what I think too. 

Bill while you were doing that or before I saw the day's progress, well I was itchin to run a pic through the idj mill and see something.

My findings indicated that what is pictured below is possible IF you were to go like that one cardboard on cowl side pic shows...

all the way back to a small flange left at door gap then following the bead across the top. Everything ahead of that goes away and the new straight hood line starting there appears simplest. I approximated the position of the hood gap over firewall and added burnout haze.

Turned out not far from where you are headed. I would just caution you to experiment with tape because if any cowl sides are left they really get in the way of this view / shape and I'd hate to see you having to pinch down the cowl sides aft of hood or something. I don't think you'd need to lose any toe board, just go straight from door gaps forward and in this view its the top half of door providing all the curve.

Just trying to help and hoping this might.