Need a hood measurement please.

[Toad455]

Hello again, welcome to my newest prob: I need a few hood measurements to compare with. For 73-80 hood, across the rear from side to side, measured right in the center of the louvers. I get 69 13/16. I have a wide gap only on one side with doors fitted and fenders fitted to door with a very good, consistent gap. The hood is new from Holley, I bought it about 3-4 years ago. Hood had a nice gap all the way around except the wide gap at rear on one side. My cab and rad support is still loose so I can scoot around but nothing works since the fenders are adjusted in and there just not enough hood. Maybe a bad stamping since it's aftermarket. I would have went with AMD but at the time Holley I believe was the only source for a hood with the smooth 73-78 front. Please don't anyone scratch paint for my sake, maybe measure an old hood that did fit good. Thanks.

 

[Toad455]

Hello again, welcome to my newest prob: I need a few hood measurements to compare with. For 73-80 hood, across the rear from side to side, measured right in the center of the louvers. I get 69 13/16. I have a wide gap only on one side with doors fitted and fenders fitted to door with a very good, consistent gap. The hood is new from Holley, I bought it about 3-4 years ago. Hood had a nice gap all the way around except the wide gap at rear on one side. My cab and rad support is still loose so I can scoot around but nothing works since the fenders are adjusted in and there just not enough hood. Maybe a bad stamping since it's aftermarket. I would have went with AMD but at the time Holley I believe was the only source for a hood with the smooth 73-78 front. Please don't anyone scratch paint for my sake, maybe measure an old hood that did fit good. Thanks.

I have all new cab/rad support bushing, all loose. I just learned of the hole next to the cab bushings for a pry bar and played with moving the cab and rad support around and got the gap a lot better but still about .150 wider than the other side. I'll play with scooting everything around some more but would still like to know what other hoods measure. Thanks.

 

[bucket]

Hood width doesn't effect the gap on just one side. It's just that more time needs spent with adjustments.

Also, your .150 difference is well within factory tolerances of the era.

 

[Toad455]

Hello again, welcome to my newest prob: I need a few hood measurements to compare with. For 73-80 hood, across the rear from side to side, measured right in the center of the louvers. I get 69 13/16. I have a wide gap only on one side with doors fitted and fenders fitted to door with a very good, consistent gap. The hood is new from Holley, I bought it about 3-4 years ago. Hood had a nice gap all the way around except the wide gap at rear on one side. My cab and rad support is still loose so I can scoot around but nothing works since the fenders are adjusted in and there just not enough hood. Maybe a bad stamping since it's aftermarket. I would have went with AMD but at the time Holley I believe was the only source for a hood with the smooth 73-78 front. Please don't anyone scratch paint for my sake, maybe measure an old hood that did fit good. Thanks.

I have all new cab/rad support bushing, all loose. I just learned of the hole next to the cab bushings for a pry bar and played with moving the cab and rad support around and got the gap a lot better but still about .150 wider than the other side. I'll play with scooting everything around some more but would still like to know what other hoods measure. Thanks.

Hood width doesn't effect the gap on just one side. It's just that more time needs spent with adjustments.

Also, your .150 difference is well within factory tolerances of the era.

Thanks for the reply, Yes I know they were sloppy. I was just thinking that maybe the hood was stamped short on one side being it's aftermarket. I'm still working on it. I'll post up some pics when I get it as good as I can.

 

[legopnuematic]

For reference here is what the service manual says for gaps and tolerances.

 

[Keith Seymore]

For reference here is what the service manual says for gaps and tolerances.

That's way tighter than we built them.

I would have said our fixture was about a quarter inch.

I watched my guys put on about 1.8 million fenders (900,000 trucks x 2 per truck) with that setup.

K

 

[Rustisbest]

Mine is more narrow than yours. I just replaced this fender with another factory one from the junkyard and had to adjust the hood and the door to get it good enough.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Toad455]

Mine is more narrow than yours. I just replaced this fender with another factory one from the junkyard and had to adjust the hood and the door to get it good enough.

You must be registered for see images attach

Mine is more narrow than yours. I just replaced this fender with another factory one from the junkyard and had to adjust the hood and the door to get it good enough.

You must be registered for see images attach

Thanks for the measurement! I guess that was taken in the same location in the middle of the louvers? That's about .060 shorter than mine is. I'll keep shifting around till I get it as close as I can and even on both sides and call it good.

 

[Grit dog]

My 77, never been apart, original paint as well, could stick your finger in the gap in one side and the other is about half as much. Perfection in body gaps is not my goal, well, at least until a bunch of other life goals are accomplished and leave me searching for more things to be OcD about. Part of what I like about these old trucks. They generally weren’t that consistent to begin with and generally have large or small gaps. So getting it “factory correct” is not too tough.

 

[Rustisbest]

Yep, I put the tape on there as close to how you had it as I could

Thanks for the measurement! I guess that was taken in the same location in the middle of the louvers? That's about .060 shorter than mine is. I'll keep shifting around till I get it as close as I can and even on both sides and call it good.

 

[Toad455]

Yep, I put the tape on there as close to how you had it as I could

Sounds good, thank you sir!

 

[Toad455]

My 77, never been apart, original paint as well, could stick your finger in the gap in one side and the other is about half as much. Perfection in body gaps is not my goal, well, at least until a bunch of other life goals are accomplished and leave me searching for more things to be OcD about. Part of what I like about these old trucks. They generally weren’t that consistent to begin with and generally have large or small gaps. So getting it “factory correct” is not too tough.

Yes sir, they were anything but tight. My 78 was my dads, he bought it new, I was with him when he bought it when I was 11. The A Pillar gap on the driver side where it meets the door/fender was over half an inch different from the pass side, I've never seen another one that bad. It drove me nuts for years but I "fixed it" so it matches, ha.

 

[Grit dog]

^ That’s a lot for sure.

 

[peats]

My blazer just came back from restoration. So many parts and gaps needed correction during the process.Present body lines are now better than original. Do not expect to get perfect body lines without professional bodywork tactics and methods. It all depends on the level of your build.

 

[electoqute]

Got an original 73 measures 69 7/8" across.