Early hood on later car?

[burgandy81]

Hi all,

The hood on my 80 is damaged and I have been looking for a replacement on Vancouver Island. Locally, one of our forum members has one from a 72 (flat hood).

My car has early bumpers so the hood might look good.

Also my car has had the stock FI removed (no intake hose over the valve covers). Were the bumps on later cars to provide clearance for the FI equipment?

Has anyone put an early hood on a later car? What is involved?

Thanks,

Jordan

[So Cal Mark]

you'll need the hinges with the early hood, your distributor will have clearance issues and you'll have to do some fabrication in order to have the hood stay open

[burgandy81]

Thanks Mark!

No distributor, I have gone electronic.

A hood prop is not so bad.

I'll check and see if the hinges are included.

[azruss]

You may need to shorten the neck on your radiator if you are looking at a flat hood. You will find a mild rub spot between the center hood frame and the cam belt cover. The latch pin will be different as well.

[burgandy81]

Thanks azruss!

I have an after market rad so I will check that out carefully.

My can wheel cover is gone so I will check that one as well.

Do you know if an earlier latch mechanism will not on?

[azruss]

Here are some pix of the mods i did to get the flat hood to fit. Reducing the radiator neck from 1.75 to 1" was easy. Took it to a radiator shop and the 1" was a standard size. Not sure I needed the FI hose clearance. Did it since I was already making the mods. It may not show in the photos, but I shaped pieces with the mods, cut away what i needed on the original brace and place the mod pieces over the top and glued them with epoxy. The mod pieces act as a doubler to keep the strength at the cut spots. They look great 4 years later with no signs of cracking. You may have to do some dinking with the hood to get it to match the contour of the fenders and cowling. Not sure why the pix are coming out so small. I set the width at 700 pixels. If you want more detail photo, PM me.

[burgandy81]

Thanks azruss!

Great description and photos. I am waiting for some photos and will make the next step.

Once I get it I will probably reach out for some more pointers.

Cheers,

Jordan

[carl]

Modeling clay is your friend. Put small columns of it in places where you suspect possible interference and CARFULLY lower the hood. The clay will crush down to indicate what your clearance is. Also, the motor torques clockwise so any tiny clearance on the intake side will get smaller when the motor tries to rotate.