Hood skin grafting

[5.7 hemi]

Ok, I know this for an A body, but check it out!!! I'm grafting a 68' Super Bee bulge hood to a flat 69' Dart flat hood and this is where I ended up today. Still need to do a tad bit more final fitting, but it's getting there. Now all you guys that think I butchered an original Bee hood, I didn't. The hood was toast, but the center was good and will live on!!! Enjoy!!!!

 

[gdrill]

I can't believe you butchered a perfectly good '69 Dart hood!


LOL, just kidding. It looks good. I will be interested in seeing the finished product.

 

[snakeoil24]

Do you have enough gap for the tig weld?

 

[5.7 hemi]

I'm gonna mig weld.

 

[snakeoil24]

Tig with be a whole lot cleaner, easy to grind. Your going to need an air nozzle to cool after each tack.

 

[5.7 hemi]

Yeah, it's gonna take me a few hours just to tack it, but I'm a patient man, lol!!!!

 

[Gpuller]

I like what your doing. Be slick once your done.
Saw this Dart at a car show in South Dakota last year. 70 Bee hood grafted on to a Dart. Really liked the way it looked.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

i love it. i'm looking for a 1971-74 challenger hood to graft the scoops to the hood of my 67 coronet.

 

[conv67bdere]

Looking good 5.7Hemi . . . I think it is going to turn out looking great ! ! I am thinking about doing something like that to my 67 Belvedere convertible too . . . but what ? ?

 

[mike71ssp]

myself, I crimp all around the opening and bond the piece in with a few sheet metal screws, and finish with alumilead.. no welding and much stronger... BONDING!

 

[GITEX]

Show off

 

[Ghostrider 67]

Hmmm.... never heard of alumalead. Will research for my own grafting plans. Thanks! Gotta love this site.

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Do anybody have any pics of this stuff in action?

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got pics of it in use?

 

[satman72]

myself, I crimp all around the opening and bond the piece in with a few sheet metal screws, and finish with alumilead.. no welding and much stronger... BONDING!

Is that similar to JB Weld?

 

[coloradodave]

myself, I crimp all around the opening and bond the piece in with a few sheet metal screws, and finish with alumilead.. no welding and much stronger... BONDING!

An opinion from a member of 'jalopyjournal':
"This product has been around for forty years that I know of. Aluma-Lead, All Metal, Metal to Metal are some other names. It's ground aluminum flake mixed with polyester resin and some talc, nothing very exotic! It was sold as a cure-all for rust outs and for use as a lead filler replacement. I'd invest in some sandblasting, high build primer, and some premium plastic filler long before I'd part with good money for a gallon of this."

No personal experience with this product so I had to look it up. Didn't see any good things said about it other than what mike71ssp said. Maybe you could expand on your experience with it?

 

[Propwash]

What have you done!!




Just kidding...Looks pretty cool man. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[5.7 hemi]

I finished the 1.5 million tack welds real late today and will start the grinding in the morning, pics will follow.

 

[5.7 hemi]

Pics

Here's where I am at. I'll start leveling the 1.5 million tack welds today. You can see the center line on the graft, and also the hood which didn't change at all as I start to weld. The hood had a few low spots and those will be addressed after grinding the welds and blasting the bottom side. I will need to tack in a couple of support tabs on the underside to help support the new top skin, but not a big deal.

 

[gdrill]

That looks really good. You actually have a lot of natural lines, angles and slopes that blend well between the two pieces. Nice work and good choice in the parts mix.

 

[coloradodave]

Zack, that looks really cool. Having to make 1 1/2 million tack welds is your punishment for your comments about the Giants....lol.
Dave

 

[5.7 hemi]

I guess what comes around, goes around, lol!! I managed to get the welds ground down and will be leading around the entire welded area just to make sure any and all pin holes are filled in. After that, it's the usual body filler to get it straight/level. I'm going to blast the top and bottom first, then move on to leading/bodywork.