4 tab hood fitment

[jammer729]

Guys,
I recently had my 57 bug restored. Well needless to say nothing on this thing lines up. Well anyway I learned my lesson and now need to tackle this thing one piece at a time. 1st is the hood. It has a nice 4 tab hood however it doesn't fit right. It's flat on the top and bulged up on the 2 top corners. I noticed the brace on the inside is separated from the hood? Is this how it is suppose to be?

I took a ratchet strap and put it around the hood and squeezed it together a little and the gap still didn't touch the hood but the hood looked to fir way better. Any ideas on how to fix this issue? Spot weld? The bug is getting repainted anyway. I just need to get everything lined up 1st.

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57 Babyrag

[splitjunkie]

That is not a '57 hood. It is a '59 - mid '63 hood which is why the center brace is not attached to the main part of the hood.

Post pictures of how the hood fits for better advice on how to get it fitting correctly.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[jammer729]

Yeah I didn’t know if it was a 57 hood or not. I just told the guy I wanted a 4 tab hood. So is that cross bar on the inside supposed to have a gap??
Here are pics of what I need to correct.

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57 Babyrag

[VW_Jimbo]

Loosen the hinge bolts at the hood and push it where you want it Togo. Then tighten it. Repeat till acceptable.

Getting everything perfect would be done before paint.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[jammer729]

I had already tried adjusting it that way. I can’t get the sides to come down. The only way I can get the hood to form with the body is to strap the hood.
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57 Babyrag

[motofly196]

Show us some pictures of the hood hinges. Good thing you got that car away from the previous painter. Looks like he was painting in the dark, in the middle of a patch of dandelion weeds. Damn....
If the hinges are kinked, it can raise the hood like your pictures are showing

[jammer729]

Here is a pic of the hinge. They look fine no kinks.

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57 Babyrag

[VW_Jimbo]

Why are there springs on the hinges?
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[jammer729]

I didn’t want to use the original kick stand. Here in Oregon your not allowed to pump your own gas and I could just see someone not knowing push the hood down and wrecking it. I do have the original hinges so I could go back but they matched up so shouldn’t matter. I did disconnect the springs and it didn’t make any difference the way the hood sat.
It just seems odd that if I squish the hood together with the ratchet strap only about a half an inch it fits pretty darn good.
It’s almost as it the hood sat on the ground for many years and it relaxed to that position?
Well whatever it was I really need to find a way to fix it. Could you possibly cut a slit in the center brace, squeeze the hood together and weld it?? Don’t know just a thought.
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57 Babyrag

[splitjunkie]

Have you loosened the hinge bolts just a bit and closed the hood? This will allow you to shift the hood around and push down over the hinge area to see if you can get things more in alignment. I suspect you have a combination of poor alignment of the hinges and a partially tweaked hood.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[jammer729]

Yeah I have tried that a few times.
Seems to be a tweaked hood.
Any idea how to fix a tweaked hood?
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57 Babyrag

[Snort]

[VW_Jimbo]

You can cut a hood up anyway you want to and weld it back together. You need to be methodical and patient. Welding it too fast will warp it!

Really feel like something is bent. I have seen the hood pivot points bent from a front collision and cause your exact situation. It changes the shape of the hood.

Good luck and remember to weld s l o w.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[splitjunkie]

The fact that this car has a later hood on it would make it probably that it had a front end collision at some point. It could have been minor or major or somewhere in between.
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Chris

You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld

[TinCanFab]

[finster]

surely (in oregon) you are allowed to open the bonnet so the attendant can pump gas and close it for them after? otherwise just stand back and watch them look for the filler flap!
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"we're here on Earth to fart around" kurt vonnegut

nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect...

[ZENVWDRIVER]

YES, in NJ also, one doesn't pump their own gasoline - I used to open my own hood and close it after the attendant was done, on my '50 standard - after you've been to the same station, a few times, they know you and expect you'll get out to open and close, yourself - that's not breaking the law...

… i'd put that '63 spring loaded hood in my stash and get a period correct 4 tab hood with prop - just keep a look-out for one and when you see one - BUY IT, while you have the chance - they stopped making them and are not easier to find - get one, while the gettin' is good.

I had a 3 post front hood on my '54 - just used the hood with NO spring hinges - and for an emblem, I fabricated a solid type of emblem (that's a 4 tab with a cut-out round piece of aluminum, behind and 4 tabs bent-over the round pc of aluminum and taped in place) and used double-stick tape to apply it... - is okay to go earlier is my motto - I think, that looks awesome

Get rid of those silly spring-hinges..

Here's a 1961 hood, with fabricated emblem on my old '60 Euro with prop nd correct (none-spring hinges)

a solid emblem on a 3-post 1963 hood, with original hinges and prop

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[jason]

Bend it with your hand, how I do it. Do it slow, it bends easier than you think. If there’s filler it may crack.

[jammer729]

Well guys I finally got it. I noticed the rod in the spring was locking up. I don’t think the bottom mount was located in the correct spot. So I swapped out hinges and still wasn’t quite perfect so I strapped the hood and over bent it a little at a time and it sits pretty darn nice. I did end up with a few dimples on the top surface but nothing that worries me to much since it needs to be painted again. Now I need to get a hood prop.

So next will be the rear deck lid. I will get pics and create another post for that.


Thanks guys

Any of you guys near Portland? Would be nice to get to know some vw guys nearby.
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57 Babyrag

[Major Woody]

I am in SW Portland. I have a 56 bug in pieces.
Kick your painter in the nuts for not preassembling that car before paint.
No comment on the splatter paint/undercoating on the bottom side of the hood, since I don't know whose idea that was.