new truck with a taco hood

[justinburnett]

A friend of mine helped me build an engine for my truck and after seeing how easy they are to work on compared to new cars, he went and bought one this morning. 1977 Sierra Grande. Runs and drives great and has very little if any rust, but the front fenders are kinda dinged up and it has what I would all a slight case of "taco hood syndrome". Any suggestions on how to straighten it so we can weld a support bar in there? Like I said its not too terrible yet but its only going to get worse. You can see a little in the piture where it doesn't sit flush. Also, I love the hubcaps! Guy said they were original. Don't know for sure, but they're kinda neat.


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[Pop's C-10]

They are OG caps & maybe take tha hood off. Lay it flat, carefully straightin out & weld in the brace
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[CaliDude76]

This may help, or maybe you can just fabricate something... good luck

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cc/full.aspx?Page=25

[justinburnett]

That hood brace kit looks like it's supposed to pull the hood straight with self tapping screws? I don't know if I'd trust that. Think maybe we'll just pull it off and stand on it. Maybe then flip it over, wedge the back side under a tire and put a weight on the front, then tack weld some angle iron across the bendy part. Sound safe?

[cableguy0]

Lube the hell out of the hinges. Thats what caused it to bend in the first place. Open the hood and the push up trying to stay equal on both sides. It will straighten back out. I have also left them closed and stood on them at the fender.

[andy4x4]

thinking maybe a 2x4 under the front of the hood, on the rad support. then push down on the bent section.

[justinburnett]

If I can do it without taking it off that'll definitely be better. Will get on the lubin' tomorrow.

[willstruck]

Good thread, I have the same problem and wondered about fixing it. The back edge of my hood also catches on the cowl edge in the engine compartment.

[dmartin1]

i got a chunk of 2x4 on each side under the bended up parts,took a ratchet strap and ratcheted it directly on the bend,it straightened it out 100% straight.
i had 2 pieces of angle iron under the 2x4 on the hood, so once straight,i got it tack welded, undid the strap,and finished carefully welding the angle iron on nicely with little beads here and there on a lowwwwww voltage setting lol.

didnt hurt paint at all!

[BigBlocksRule]

The hood was built to bend there for safety reasons. Put a good, stiff brace in it and you're asking to be decapitated if you have a frontal wreck - the straight, stiff hood won't bend and will come straight back into you. If you're going to straighten it, don't use big braces, just a light piece of angle iron, tacked in place instead of fully welded so it'll work like it should.
Or scrap it and get another.

[RandyP]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

The hood was built to bend there for safety reasons. Put a good, stiff brace in it and you're asking to be decapitated if you have a frontal wreck - the straight, stiff hood won't bend and will come straight back into you. If you're going to straighten it, don't use big braces, just a light piece of angle iron, tacked in place instead of fully welded so it'll work like it should.
Or scrap it and get another.

So very true, and I am very glad others realize some of this stuff. Convoluted sheet metal is there for a reason, all the ripples and creases and holes serve a purpose. I would hope the hood brace kits sold to help the bending of these hoods still let some of the bend happen when it is needed. You can learn more by looking up "crumple zone".

If you've never seen it, find the video on youtube of the 2009 malibu vs the 1959 bel air in a front offset crash at 40mph.

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by BigBlocksRule

The hood was built to bend there for safety reasons. Put a good, stiff brace in it and you're asking to be decapitated if you have a frontal wreck - the straight, stiff hood won't bend and will come straight back into you. If you're going to straighten it, don't use big braces, just a light piece of angle iron, tacked in place instead of fully welded so it'll work like it should.
Or scrap it and get another.

That's a great piece of advice....I bought the LMC brace kit to put on my cowl hood when I got it but when I was at my buddies body shop he told me the same thing (Thank God I listened) and I never put the brace kit on.....and as for straitening...I just opened it up all of the way and then tried to bend it backwards.....worked fairly well

[justinburnett]

My 73 actually has the original recalled decapitation hood. Straight as an arrow after 38 years and way heavier than the new ones. Looks way better, but yeah, if I get in a front end collision I'm probably taking a steering column through the chest and having my head ripped off with a flying hood.... I could get a collapsable column, shoulder belts, and a new hood if I had a bunch of money laying around.... Guess I just pay attention to driving for now.

[justinburnett]

and now that I've seen that video maybe I'll just never drive my old truck again! Of course, that's not really going to happen, but it is a good illustration of the usefulness of the collapsible front end on new cars.

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by justinburnett

My 73 actually has the original recalled decapitation hood. Straight as an arrow after 38 years and way heavier than the new ones. Looks way better, but yeah, if I get in a front end collision I'm probably taking a steering column through the chest and having my head ripped off with a flying hood.... I could get a collapsable column, shoulder belts, and a new hood if I had a bunch of money laying around.... Guess I just pay attention to driving for now.

When did the collapsible columns come out? Just curious..I remember reading about them in an old brochure but I don't remember what year that was...

[cableguy0]

The column doesnt collapse its the steering shaft. They have been 2 piece for a very long. Back into the 60's and probably further.

[dmartin1]

i never realized that about the hood.i now feel guilty for welding small beads on the brace i put on,i feel the need to cut if off and tack one in.lol

[justinburnett]

More I think about it, the LMC one with the screws is probably the safest... Those would probably pull out pretty quick when it came to a collision.

[motornut]

It looks like a nice solid truck
i thought that piece with the big bolt sticking out (over the breather)was to catch the hood....and avoid losin body parts
can't fit my fancy air breather in till summer when i take it out

[justinburnett]

That would probably help some but I don't know that it would flat out stop the hood if you slammed into a rock wall at 60mph. on the other hand it probably wouldn't matter anyway at that speed.

On a slightly different note, putting his truck next to mine, it looks almost.... I don't know how to say it, but "dainty". I mean.... smaller. A lot. It's a '77 half ton and mine's a '73 3/4, both longbed, both 4x4, but it honestly looks smaller.... Is there any difference? It could also be the two tone paint on his vs the big dirty white beast I drive. Mine looks bulkier. Will all the body parts interchange and such? I need new front fenders and I'm not going to steal his, but I figured anything before '80 would be fine and now I'm wondering.

[87 chevy silverado]

size of the tires????? pic of them side by side?????

[Pop's C-10]

I think tha center thing is jus to support tha center of tha hood.To cut down on vibrations while driving.

And your eyes a playin tricks on you...lol..they are tha same size..

[willstruck]

As I posted before, my hood was also catching on the cowl. I lubed the hinges, tried to push up on the hood to straighten it. Now it catches on the cowl so bad it won't open all the way. Anyone have this happen? Can I just loosen the bolts holding the hinges to the hood, and slide the hood forward? It doesn't seem to be pushed back at the front of the truck.

[motornut]

Originally Posted by Pop's C-10

I think tha center thing is jus to support tha center of tha hood.To cut down on vibrations while driving.

And your eyes a playin tricks on you...lol..they are tha same size..

Cool i like shaker hoods
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[motornut]

Originally Posted by willstruck

As I posted before, my hood was also catching on the cowl. I lubed the hinges, tried to push up on the hood to straighten it. Now it catches on the cowl so bad it won't open all the way. Anyone have this happen? Can I just loosen the bolts holding the hinges to the hood, and slide the hood forward? It doesn't seem to be pushed back at the front of the truck.

Do youhave the pin like mine, minecatches on it a little wiggle left to right it it releases
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