I cant be the first to try this. Any tips

[Neal Zimmerman]

I traded this old RT hood for 20 of my old unopened model kits from my childhood stash. I was really into models back then.
Anyhoo the hood had been hit in the drivers front corner and some of the damage radiated into the bulge. I cut out the bulge and set to work with hammer , dolly and torch.
Using some cheap Ebay contour gauges I got this thing pretty even side to side. Only took six days.
So I have three options as I see. -1) Weld it right onto the hood 2) ,butt weld the whole thing in or 3) cut an opening and using a flange tool create a recessed flange all the way around, drop it in and weld it.
Butt welding seems the worst idea to me. Theres about ten feet of weld to be done and i know I will toast the hood.
The flange idea seems the best but im afraid when i cut the opening the hood skin will just go all slack and floppy.
If it doesnt work, I can always order a new AMD bulge hood and cut the opening and weld it into that into that. I'd like to avoid that as 1500 bucks is a lot for me.
Your thoughts? Am I crazy?

 

[eldubb440]

sometimes panel bond saves a lot of aggravation

 

[Neal Zimmerman]

oops forgot the photos

I traded this old RT hood for 20 of my old unopened model kits from my childhood stash. I was really into models back then.
Anyhoo the hood had been hit in the drivers front corner and some of the damage radiated into the bulge. I cut out the bulge and set to work with hammer , dolly and torch.
Using some cheap Ebay contour gauges I got this thing pretty even side to side. Only took six days.
So I have three options as I see. -1) Weld it right onto the hood 2) ,butt weld the whole thing in or 3) cut an opening and using a flange tool create a recessed flange all the way around, drop it in and weld it.
Butt welding seems the worst idea to me. Theres about ten feet of weld to be done and i know I will toast the hood.
The flange idea seems the best but im afraid when i cut the opening the hood skin will just go all slack and floppy.
If it doesnt work, I can always order a new AMD bulge hood and cut the opening and weld it into that into that. I'd like to avoid that as 1500 bucks is a lot for me.
Your thoughts? Am I crazy?

 

[Neal Zimmerman]

sometimes panel bond saves a lot of aggravation

Yes i considered that

 

[s/w theo]

Panel bonding is a good idea if you're not very good & very patient to do butt welding, (It takes a long, long time to butt weld panels correctly so they don't warp, especially thin sheet metal) which would be the best option. If you're not doing a super nice restoration, panel bonding is your best bet. 3M makes very good, very strong panel bonding adhesive as well as some others, I'm sure, but I don't think flanging the panels would be a good idea on a horizonal surface because of a better chance of moistier getting in the joints. Just my opinion.

 

[493 Mike]

Yes i considered that

My body guy talked me into glue. Turned out fine. The flange is on the outside too.
The scoop is from the original hood-the under structure was rotted out but, the skin was OK.
Mike

 

[fullmetaljacket]

Funny, I am thinking of doing the same with my '73 Dodge Coronet sedan's flat hood by adding a cut out bulge and seam welding it in place a little at a time so as to not warp the hood skin. Patience is a virtue. Nice work by the way Neal.

 

[70rrclone]

I tried it a couple of years ago with my 70 satellite. The Dutchman panel, left qtr, left trunk extension and left outer wheel house were all done by me with 08115 3m panel bond. The car has about 2500 miles on it so far with no issues. And yes good or bad I did the final body work and paint in my garage with an Amazon paint gun.

 

[70chall440]

As stated it comes down to skill and patience. You might want to check out this guy; he talks ALOT about welding sheet metal, especially big panels. He goes over controlling warpage quite a bit. Personally I would weld it, but I would probably tack it with a MIG but then come back with a TIG.

 

[Cuda416]

A lot of people underestimate the strength of properly applied panel bond adhesive. It's pretty close, if not the same stuff used on some aircraft. Modern epoxies are often times, far stronger than the material they are used to bond. Basically, done correctly, the steel around the bond will tear before the joint will.

Position the bulge, use clecos so it goes back where you want it between steps and removing it etc. Prep the area it's going to attach to and go to town using the clecos and sheet metal screws to "clamp" it down while the adhesive sets.

I'd expect that the give the least amount of drama and requires no 10 foot weld seams that you then need to properly planish out to fix the warping that will ensue.

Good look, should be awesome when it's done.

 

[Neal Zimmerman]

So how do you fill the holes from the screws /or/clecos? Just gush in more adhesive?

 

[Cuda416]

That's one way I suppose. I would just ironically weld them shut. That said I'm sure there's better way I'm sure there's way without doing rosette welds. There's tons of videos about it.

 

[70rrclone]

I used usc filler to fill the screw holes after the panel bond cured.

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

I cut the drip edge rails off my AMC Hornet and welded the rood skin back with the side of the car together using Silica Bronze with the TIG set at 37 amps max.

Most of the time I rarely went over 25 amps. I would butt weld it if you can get the amps low enough and you use some Silica Bronze rod or wire.

Tom

 

[Cuda416]

Now that I think about it welding them shut would probably be a mistake. Probably just fill with the adhesive?

 

[eldubb440]

I just fill the holes with a little more panel bond...... I used it a few times on the E body cowl seam, it seals the seam and funnels water to the drain. You ain't welding anywhere near the stuff, it melts into the weld and makes a mess.

 

[493 Mike]

So how do you fill the holes from the screws /or/clecos? Just gush in more adhesive?

The bonding should be set before the screws are removed so an epoxy would work fine. Less messy too.
Mike

 

[Neal Zimmerman]

Well no turning back now. The beak of the hood presents a bit of an unforeseen problem. Wish i had some reference photos of the v beak on one of an actual bulge hood. Im just going from far away photos online.