oh bodymen!..help?

[69.5CUDA]

damn beeper XL put your clothes back on and go back to your rooms

now where was i..ohh yes

ok guys i got a delema here ..the hood on the lloyd simply will not do..the body lines dont line up with the car and theres no way to make them even remotely flow with the body as well as the 1/2 gaps all the way around the hood (its the hood not the fenders)...sooooo im stuck either building a hood from scratch or takeing useable pieces and makeing a hood...and i need some insight and ideas of how to go about doing it

the stock lloyd hood is a cross between a volvo, vw square back and a 49-51 ford(without the bullet)......the shape that i want is a mild 49-51 merc style with simply less and smaller..less bullnose less rise and what not..in fact the fender lines require something closer to a merc hood just to get the body flowing up front..kinda a cross between a 49-51 ford and a merc

someones going to pop up and say just strip the frame of the lloyd hood off and use it as a starting platform...well i have news for you..there is no frame the hood edges are rolled over and theres a brace across the back for hinges to mount to and a small brace up front for the latch

ive got a crazy idea to take a 51 chevy PU hood(i know where 3 are) and chop it down to size for the center shape and then worry about the smooth transition lines from the fenders to the bull nose

ive never tackled something this far from stock befor and need some tricks, tips, ideas, shortcuts and the overall experiances that im sure atleast one of you bodyguys has done some kind of fab work that will help point me in the right direction


btw the grill itself is still mildly up in the air for debate..i know what the grill will look like on the fenders but unsure about under the hood area...it will either be flat across or bow out like a merc

 

[69.5CUDA]

ohh yeah heres what im talking about

49 merc..note the bull nose hood and how clean the lines flow from fender to hood line with one smooth motion

49 ford...i love the raised edge rolls of the grill but even the fords hood flows well with the fenders but leaves it lacking something(the bull nose)

and now the lloyd..its hard to see in most pic's..but the lloyd fenders start to curve tward the ground about 3 inches out from the hood...the hood curves the same way leaveing a V shape that doesnt flow with any of the car..the fit/finish of the grill area is flat out imposible with large voids and mismatched body lines that well cane be corected without a hood and grill change

yes the that hood is correctly adjusted and latched..the gaps are actualy that bad

basicaly want to take a miniture cloned and toned down hood of a merc with the border edge of a non bulletnose ford grill and fit it into the lloyd and make the lines look like the belong there....the grill is easy 1 inch steel electrical conduit cut in half...this gives me the same half round line thats already found on the entire lower edge of the lloyd..1 90 deg bend cut in half 1 half for each fender then bend or leave straight the hood support/grill upper bar to match the hood...the idea is to blend the half round into the body and paint it to match the car

even if someone says that the bullnose from the merc wont work with the lloyd lines im fine with that..even the ford style hood flows better than the lloyd does

oh yeah heres what i was talking about for the 1 inch conduit

 

[69.5CUDA]

what no one has any input at all?

 

[69.5CUDA]

hmm deaf bastages

 

[BootHead]

you "called" for bodymen, i'm just a bondo slinger.
Looks like if you are going for the merc look you'll have to start almost at the top of the fenders. I keep thinking there's a trunk lid (yes trunk lid) that has the shape you are looking for in close proportions.

 

[XLR8R]

Mike may have some insight, as for me...sorry.

 

[restoman]

I'm on the run right now, but I'll get back to this as soon as I can - I've got some suggestions as to how to make it better.

 

[69.5CUDA]

anything to get me pointed in the right direction is exactly what im after...forgot to mention i need to add atleast a 3 inch cowl to the windshield frame for some strength for when i make the front windshield slide

 

[restoman]

I like your idea of the Chevy pick-up hood - that would look good.

Sure you don't want to move to Canada? You've got some pretty damn good ideas.

The heavier gauge steel of the Chevy hood should be easy to work with, but you'll be doing lots of cutting, fitting and trimming. Get all three hoods, just in case one gets botched up.
What kind of hinges are you thinking about? They'll need to be slop-free if you tighten up the fender to hood gaps.

Truthfully, what I would do is rough out a hood to fit, bondo it up smooth and then take a mold for fiberglass. With glass, it'lll be so much lighter and you can make some cross braces for strength. The lighter weight will also be easier on whatever you mount the hinges to.

 

[69.5CUDA]

honestly hinges never crossed my mind..got any idea`s?..proly leaning tward the style of a dodge truck hinge(72-80) as i like the "up and out" motion of the hinges....id like to somehow use the micro gas struts from a lincoln as well

dont matter to me if your a mud slinger or a steel bender it all ends in the same principals its just a diferent perspective of the same art

i must admit i was idealy looking for a 60`s volvo hood but theres none to be found around here..the volvo hood has the right proportions and alot les chop-channel-sectioning to be done

back to shooting rustprimer

theres 3 types of jobs ive always wanted..working in a hobby shop, working in a machine shop, or workin body on rodn customs...belive me if i could move your direction id be all over that

 

[Fishy]

...belive me if i could move your direction id be all over that

Might not be a bad idea. Mom and the wife would get FREE health care!! :giggedy:

 

[69.5CUDA]

Might not be a bad idea. Mom and the wife would get FREE health care!! :giggedy:

belive me we have talked about it and the health care is one of the primary reasons.....wife doesnt care to see any of her family and as far as im concerned my family doesnt exist...mom and the sheer cost required to move is the stopper

 

[Spawn]

you should make the hood to where it lifts up on either/both sides.... but also have it where you can open it from the front.... kinda like the model a fords.... that would be SWEET!