The Ford Barn

Mitch · 10-13-2012, 03:12 PM

I've got several sections of the original hood (30-31) and a well worn complete one. Thinking about a repro hood. My question is how far off in looks is the repro compared to an original?

Kevin in NJ · 10-13-2012, 03:40 PM

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

The repro is nice and not a bad thing.

The major difference is it is flat on the sides and you might have to re-shape the upper section.

The original hood is a compound curve on the sides including louvers. The front is curved to match the shell and the rear is curved to match the cowl. The whole panel had a curve to it. This is something that you have to understand when restoring the original, it must lay flat front and rear naturally.

The repro is flat. You can bend the front and rear to get close, but the whole raised louver section is flat too. So when you look down the raised louvers they are flat. I do not believe that you can make this area curve without causing issues with the louvers.

How bad it this flatness? From what I have seen the repros are very workable. You will need to spend a bit of time matching curves at the front and rear, but I do not know if you can get them perfect. A lot of originals do not lay down right either- this is a tough panel to make right.

The other issue is the rivets. The repro rivet heads are a bit wider and come down to a shaper edge then the factory. When I put the original handles and catches on my original hood I reworked the repro rivets to look more like factory. This was easy. A few seconds spinning in my battery powered drill (running at a lower rpm) with a file and I too the edge off and got the factory size. I also took advantage and sanded the head with 400 grit for better paint adhesion.

A hood with well balanced louvers and no cracks in the corners of the louvers and no other major issues is very repairable by applying some intermediate metalworking knowledge. The worn rolled bottom edge is fixed by putting a copper wire inside to prevent welding up the roll solid. Then I TIG weld in a patch the is curved to fit. MIG welding might be a bit more of a pain, but can be done.
The top, hinge, edge tends to be curved inward (toward the engine) because the tight hinge pin stretched the metal. The longer metal and the Z shape causes the bend. This is cured by shrinking. This is done by lots of careful heating of just the edge area, keep the heat from getting past the 90* bend of the Z. (hope that makes sense).

I was afraid to tackle my side panels. I was timidly trying to work out the upper bend and I realized what was happening. Once I realized the problems I realized hoods with good louvers are fairly repairable. Messed up louvers might get tricky if you do a misstep in your repairs.

Hope this is not too much info..

10-13-2012, 03:12 PM	#1
Mitch Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 182	Repro Hood I've got several sections of the original hood (30-31) and a well worn complete one. Thinking about a repro hood. My question is how far off in looks is the repro compared to an original?

10-13-2012, 03:40 PM	#2
Kevin in NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: South East NJ Posts: 3,398	Re: Repro Hood Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) The repro is nice and not a bad thing. The major difference is it is flat on the sides and you might have to re-shape the upper section. The original hood is a compound curve on the sides including louvers. The front is curved to match the shell and the rear is curved to match the cowl. The whole panel had a curve to it. This is something that you have to understand when restoring the original, it must lay flat front and rear naturally. The repro is flat. You can bend the front and rear to get close, but the whole raised louver section is flat too. So when you look down the raised louvers they are flat. I do not believe that you can make this area curve without causing issues with the louvers. How bad it this flatness? From what I have seen the repros are very workable. You will need to spend a bit of time matching curves at the front and rear, but I do not know if you can get them perfect. A lot of originals do not lay down right either- this is a tough panel to make right. The other issue is the rivets. The repro rivet heads are a bit wider and come down to a shaper edge then the factory. When I put the original handles and catches on my original hood I reworked the repro rivets to look more like factory. This was easy. A few seconds spinning in my battery powered drill (running at a lower rpm) with a file and I too the edge off and got the factory size. I also took advantage and sanded the head with 400 grit for better paint adhesion. A hood with well balanced louvers and no cracks in the corners of the louvers and no other major issues is very repairable by applying some intermediate metalworking knowledge. The worn rolled bottom edge is fixed by putting a copper wire inside to prevent welding up the roll solid. Then I TIG weld in a patch the is curved to fit. MIG welding might be a bit more of a pain, but can be done. The top, hinge, edge tends to be curved inward (toward the engine) because the tight hinge pin stretched the metal. The longer metal and the Z shape causes the bend. This is cured by shrinking. This is done by lots of careful heating of just the edge area, keep the heat from getting past the 90* bend of the Z. (hope that makes sense). I was afraid to tackle my side panels. I was timidly trying to work out the upper bend and I realized what was happening. Once I realized the problems I realized hoods with good louvers are fairly repairable. Messed up louvers might get tricky if you do a misstep in your repairs. Hope this is not too much info..