hood/radiator problems

[crosby]

hi guys, a few stupid questions for you. I swapped noses on my truck this weekend, and the new one just isn't lining up right. How do I align the hood properly? I got the door gaps okay for now, but the hood shifts over to one side gradually as you move towards the front. I did end up switching hood hinges (springs and arms) as the donor clip's were rusted stuck (and I bent my hood ARRGGGH!!). Maybe the hood hinges are a little crooked where they mount to the fenders? I am afraid the truck frame might be a little bent because it was run into a tree, which is why it had the crappy nose on it after the "restoration" from the previous owner. Also, my radiator support has no nuts in the top plate where the radiator bracket (top piece) bolts to, so the only thing I can think of is to weasel my way up from behind the grill with a nut and washer for each. I really can't swing a new radiator support now, but what do you think of the Goodmark product? The whole nose was relatively tough to get lined up even remotely close, and it's still not right. Hope the frame isn't tweaked, although I am afraid that may be the case. Goes down the road good anyway. Thanks for any input guys.

[old Rusty C10]

well if you bent the hood that will cause the hood to look like its closing crooked but you have to make sure you use the proper hood hinges with the hood for the nose you have.. in other words you cant use 81-87 hinges with a 73-80 hood
If the nose is a tad off you can kinda build up the one side with a couple of washers if need be ( thats how we used to patch the cabs together after the kamikazie pilots we had driving them smashed em up) and as to the core support you can get a good quality one off of our board vendors here prolly alot cheaper than goodmark.. tri-pro automotive and Captkaos both sell on here those items
as to the no nuts problem you can either do as you say weasling up there with nuts and washers or you can see if theres some kind of clip from lowes they have different kinds of hardware for fenders and see if you can make one of them work
hope that helps ya dude

[f.monroe]

You can insert a collapsable insert in the holes on the core support . I bought some years ago and the bolt place I bought them at said they are called nutserts. I did not but the tool to install them . I used a long bolt and some washers to compress it . They insert in the hole and set themselves in place when compressed . I am sure any good nut/bolt hardware store should have them . Have you thought about shifting the core support over to one side or the other . They have a little adjustment where the core support bolts go through the frame holes . Use a tape measure and make sure it is squared . Frank

[crosby]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I am using sheetmetal between the same vintage, so that's not the problem. I think the truck was tweaked when it hit a tree (previous owner's son). I did manage to get the fender/door gaps reasonably close, but needed to use my jack and some wood to get the core support bolted in, and some fabrication was done on one side to the mount... the nutserts sound like a good idea for now. I might try and get a core support and paint the truck (cheapo like Maaco or something similar) in the spring just to get it all the same color. Anyhow, thanks for the ideas, really a big help.