Ubiquitous Hood Problem

[nyamwegi]

I'm brand new to the forum. My Grandad died three years ago and left a '75 Scottsdale behind. My uncle was driving it but some kids in his neighborhood let the water hose run all night into the gas tank. He sorta stopped trying to get it running because of health problems.

Anyways my dad and I siphoned all the water out, rebuilt the carb, got it running and drove it home.

It has the hood issue of buckling up on the passenger side and not sitting down in the back. I've read through the previous posts and haven't found a way to fix it. Could I just straighten out the bend and put a brace to fix it? Has anyone done this with homemade stuff? As of now I'm waiting till next year when I'm out of college to drop big money into it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[VileZambonie]

You need to get the hinges well oiled. Use some PB blaster or something and get them working right. You can try and straighten out the hood. You can buy the braces for the hood.

[80stepsideguy]

Is the hood rotted in the fornt like they always do? If the hood isnt saveable i look into getting another hood and i think like some of the aftermarket companies sells the hood braces and i buy them and bolt them on when you install your new hood.If your hood is solid do like vile said and give them hinges some penetraiting oil and tweak the hood some to try n get rid of the bend.Sucks that chevy made these hoods like this but if you get a cowl induction hood you wont need the hood hinge supports cause the scoop actually give the hood more of a rigid structure .

thanks
pat

[Dragon]

I'm brand new to the forum. My Grandad died three years ago and left a '75 Scottsdale behind. My uncle was driving it but some kids in his neighborhood let the water hose run all night into the gas tank. He sorta stopped trying to get it running because of health problems.

Anyways my dad and I siphoned all the water out, rebuilt the carb, got it running and drove it home.

It has the hood issue of buckling up on the passenger side and not sitting down in the back. I've read through the previous posts and haven't found a way to fix it. Could I just straighten out the bend and put a brace to fix it? Has anyone done this with homemade stuff? As of now I'm waiting till next year when I'm out of college to drop big money into it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

First off, Welcome to the Forum!

Second, is the actually bent to the point that you notice it while the hood is open, and not just in the closed/latched position???  Generally when these hoods bend, it is where it is clearly no ticable both opened, and closed...   If it's not noticeable when open, then Follow Vile's suggestion with the hinges.... Afterwards, you will need to add the braces that sandwich between the hood and the hinges, to prevent any further damage....

If the hood is bent to the point of it being noticeable when open, sometimes it can be straightened with the addition of the braces, and following Vile's suggestion....  Although, if the bend is severe enough, the hood will need to be replaced, as the structure has been badly weakened(If it goes on long enough, the hood will attempt to fold itself like a Paper Airplane).....

The cause of our hoods bending in such a way, is due to the springs being High-Tension, and will bend/warp the Hinges with Age or Long-Term Improper Use.....  Most cases, the effects have been sped up by someone improperly closing the hood on one side, causing it to shift to the opposite side(Ie standing on the drivers or passenger side, and pulling down on that side only to close)....  When Closing the hood, one should always close from the center, when doing one-handed style...  Although the best way, would be to have a hand on each side, and pulling down evenly between the two sides(This problem is quite common with any Manufacturers Cars/Trucks/Etc, whenever the hood or trunk lids are improperly closed, or with age)......