Another Build Thread - My '32

[53 Chevy5]

I think I would like a steel hood better anyway.
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[40FordDeluxe]

Jim, very nice work! I got the same style ball socket for my 40's steering column lower mount. I'm not looking forward to installing it. I'm betting the bondo will work fine. A lot of top custom interior builders mold and glue a lot of things with bondo. I was really surprised the first few times I saw it used that way. The AC issue stinks. I have the same kind of luck. That hood looks great and the car is looking so sweet!

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[J. Robinson]

I started mounting the battery tray last Friday, but didn't get it finished. Then I had family obligations over the weekend, so I didn't have any "shop time" then, either. Anyway, I already made the shelf for it to sit on (see previous posts), I just had to mount the tray in a manner that would hold the battery in case of some catastrophe. I began by cutting a short piece of 2-inch angle iron, drilling a hole and welding a nut under it. Next, I drilled a hole in each end of the battery tray and bolted the angle iron bracket to one end. I used a 3/4-inch spade bit to drill a hole in the wooden shelf to make clearance for the nut and bolt in the battery tray. I put the tray in place and welded the angle iron bracket to the steel structure in the body. At the other end I simply drilled a hole through the floor and bolted the tray down with a large fender washer underneath. All I had left was the tie-down, so I finished that today. The one that came with the "universal stainless steel battery tray" was made to fit an unknown battery of enormous size. I poked around in my scraps and found a piece of chrome plated 3/4 inch square tubing, cut it to length and drilled a couple of holes and the last piece is done.

[J. Robinson]

Next on my long list of "to do" is mounting the hood. I live in Florida where it rains frequently and abundantly. Running with no hood is just asking to be stranded with a wet ignition system and a louvered hood isn't much better. I could have gotten a one-piece hood top, plain or louvered, but I opted for a stock two-piece hood top. Why? I have a stock hood top on my Model-A coupe and I simply like the convenience. If I want to service the air filter, fuel filter or distributor I can just open the appropriate side of the hood and do it. I don't have to deal with Dzus fasteners or bolts and I don't have to hunt for a safe place to put the detached hood while I'm working on the car. Yes, I'm aware there are some really nice latch-and-hinge mechanisms available for a one-piece hood, but those things cost more than the hood itself! Remember, I'm an old retired school teacher on a budget here...

On my Model-A I made struts that attach the grille shell to the firewall on each side. The hood latches down to them with toolbox latches. The center hinge strip is bolted to the firewall and grille shell, so even if both sides of the hood come unlatched it won't blow off. I am copying that design here.

The struts are made from 1/2-inch square tubing. With the grille shell held at the correct location (with the help of some 2-inch masking tape) I measure and cut the struts to length. Then I used some 1/8 x 1 flat steel to make the end brackets. The front bolts to the grille shell where it also bolts to the radiator. The back bolts to the firewall with 1/4-20 Nut-serts I installed in the appropriate locations. I didn't put any dimensions here because it's a bunch of "cut-and-try engineering". I did use my measuring tape to make both sides the same. After bolting the struts in place, I laid the hood on temporarily to make sure the struts are hidden.

[J. Robinson]

When I went into the shop today I noticed a couple of telltale orange handprints on my new hood... RUST! OK, I know what nice new metal does in this climate, so it was no surprise. The areas where I had handled the new hood with my bare hands had attracted a bit of moisture and it was letting me know. A wad of paper towel and my trusty jug of Ospho took care of the situation. Most of the rust wiped right off; the stuff that didn't turned dark immediately. The clean steel turned dull which means the problem was averted. It won't rust now - I love that stuff.

My next step of hood installation is the brackets that hold the center bar of the hood in place. On my Model-A the hood has a rod in the center. I was able to make brackets for it using some flat stock and a couple of scraps of brake line tubing. This '32 is a completely different arrangement. The center strip is a stainless steel channel with curled edges. The hood halves have a rolled bead on the edge that interlocks with the curled edges of the center strip. To anchor it to the car I needed flat brackets with a T shape attached to the top (the pictures make sense of what I said).

I began with a scrap of 1/8 x 3/4 flat stock. It was still a bit wide, so I ground down one edge until it fit in the channel easily (about 5/8 inch finished width). The front piece fits in about 3/4 inch, the rear fits in about 1 inch. Next I needed some kind of spacer to hold the top tab up off the bracket; I dug around and found a piece of 3/16 keyway stock. I cut the pieces and welded the ends of the tab and key stock to the bracket material. The problem was I couldn't weld down in the slots and I knew that the little tack-weld on each end wasn't going to hold for long, hmmmm, what to do? I needed it to stick together with almost no buildup. AHA!! I braze it! I haven't brazed anything in a few years and almost forgot how.., but I finally remembered; ya have to heat the base metal until it's almost orange hot for the brass to stick. When that was all done I removed any buildup of brass from the pieces with a bevvy of grinders and files. I drilled the appropriate holes and cut the brackets to length. Finally, I bent the brackets to fit the crown of the grille shell and firewall lips and gave them a coat of spray-can primer to keep the rust away.

[rspears]

Jim, you're much more energetic than me! I ordered mine from Speedway! https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Searc...hood+retainers

[53 Chevy5]

Keep plugging away at this thing Roger, when you get it done I'd like to drive down south and pay you a visit. Maybe even before you're done, you could possibly use a extra hand for an afternoon lol

[rspears]

Keep plugging away at this thing Roger, when you get it done I'd like to drive down south and pay you a visit. Maybe even before you're done, you could possibly use a extra hand for an afternoon lol

Seth, this one is Jim's coupe with quality build features compared to mine! I'm sure he'd welcome a visit but it'll be a longer drive for you to Titusville, Florida! On a plus side, you might catch the launch from the Cape!

[53 Chevy5]

Lol, wrong thread, my eyes are getting worse looking at this small phone. Well I guess I'm coming down Jim, I love Florida!

[J. Robinson]

DARN!!! Duh! I really feel dumb. It never occurred to me to look for these stupid things online. I could have saved a day's work! Now I have to decide whether to use these or get those pretty polished stainless ones...

Seth, you might want to wait for this Covid 19 crap to pass, but you're welcome here. The hot rod scene here in Florida is pretty active year-round and, yes, you might see a launch. There is something going up about every 10 - 12 days.

[rspears]

DARN!!! Duh! I really feel dumb. It never occurred to me to look for these stupid things online. I could have saved a day's work! Now I have to decide whether to use these or get those pretty polished stainless ones...

LOL! Jim, you had the advantage of knowing what they looked like! I had to find pictures, then found it too easy to just click "Add To Cart!" I like the ones you made!

[J. Robinson]

OK, my time was not wasted after all. I just checked and the ready-made hood retainers are on backorder. I'll go ahead and use these.

[36 sedan]

DARN!!! Duh! I really feel dumb. It never occurred to me to look for these stupid things online. I could have saved a day's work! Now I have to decide whether to use these or get those pretty polished stainless ones...

You did a mighty fine job of making them, I'd use em if for no other reason than that! Nice work!

[J. Robinson]

Thanks. I agree and I decided to go ahead. I checked 3 different outlets for those things and they were all on back order. I'm not one who likes waiting on someone else, so forge ahead with what I have! With the hood in place and centered, I marked the tape where the center hinge goes. At the cowl end I drilled the lip and installed #10-24 nut-serts (see pic). At the front I just drilled holes and used nuts on the inside (no pic).

For the latch mechanisms I copied the ones I made for my Model-A. They've been in use for a little over 15 years with no issues. The pics below show the latch in closed position and an open hood close-up of the "stand-off" made from 1/8 x 3/4 flat steel.

With the hood on the '32 open on one side, I reached through with a ruler to determine the amount of stand-off needed. Then I did the same with the opposite side. Apparently I did something right when I installed the hood and the strut bars because both sides measured exactly the same! Using 1/8 x 3/4 flat stock again, I bent both ends at 90 degrees to achieve the 9/16 stand-off needed. Then I positioned one of the latches so I could mark the length; it turned out to be 2 inches from the first bend. After cutting, I used the vise and a pair of large channel lock pliers to curl the end slightly so it fit the curvature of the hood. Then I welded the tool box latches to the stand-offs. Although they look like brass, they are actually made of steel and they weld easily.

[J. Robinson]

The next step is to attach the stand-offs and latches to the hood. I did this with the hood off the car. It was just a matter of positioning them where I wanted and welding the ends of the stand-offs to the hood. I used a series of overlapping tack-welds here to avoid warping the sheet metal.

With the hood back on the car, once again I opened one side and reached through with a Sharpie to mark where the hook half of the latch needed to go on the strut bar. I repeated the process on the opposite side. Then I removed the strut bars, one-at-a-time, attached the latch hooks using pop-rivets, and re-installed the bar. With the strut bars back in place, I made some final adjustment on each side by bending the hooks and latches with a screw driver and pliers.

The next-to-last pic shows the latch from inside in closed position. The final pic shows where the weld penetrated the sheet metal which will be an easy fix; the hood is not warped. It also shows that the latch mechanism is completely hidden from view when the hood is closed.