Another Build Thread - My '32

[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.