[dsraven]

the X bar under the hood gives stability to the hood so it doesn't flex so much and so it will fit between the fenders properly. maybe you can make a modified version. on my 57 it is in there but the brackets it attaches to are not actually attached to the hood. the hood can easily be twisted up on one of the front corners so closing the hood isn't just a "drop it and it latches" motion, it is more like a "close it slowly and adjust it to not smack one of the front fenders on the way down" motions. is your hood latch installed and does the hood close on it properly every time?
open the hood slightly so it's just above the fenders, grab each front corner and apply some torque, you'll see pretty quickly what i mean if the X brace is removed.