Hood Gap Issues

[hondo100]

We put the hood and front grill on yesterday. It's gap city on both sides. Photos of the jeep before the resto show it had the gap 26 months ago when we stated......damn 26 months....

Any suggestions? the gap appears to be even from the cowl to the grill.



Hood to cowl:





front grill





Guy, your panels help resurrect this diamond plate catastrophe...

Thanks for any help.

Ralph

[rickf]

Do you have access to another hood you can set on there just to see if it is the hood? I can't see where it could be anything else. It is basically a straight line from the cowl to the top of the grill. They should all be the same. The grill appears to be setting in there perfectly. Have the front fenders ever been replaced? Even that would give an uneven gap from rear to front if they were done wrong so not likely. Hood is all I can think of. Especially since you mention it was like that before restoration. I will lay a strait edge across my hood and measure down to the fenders and post it here, see if your measurement is the same. If it is then the hoo has to be the culprit. I will also measure from the strait edge down to the hood edge. Have to do that tomorrow after appointments.

Is that an early hood or do you just have the early hood blanking plate on the air inlet? I don't think the early hoods are different but.......................................

[muttguru]

We put the hood and front grill on yesterday. It's gap city on both sides. Ralph

Ralph,
is that an A1 hood on your A2? Not that it should make that much difference.
Ken

[rickf]

Ha! Beat you to it!

[halftracknut]

I think the grill can come down a good bit....the fit at the bottom curve should be tight...the holes in the fender should be elongated...the back of the hood could be let down with a shim the size of the hinge....but that hood like it is short....

[m3a1]

Using Rick's suggestion I laid a straight edge across the top of the hood stiffening ribs as far forward as I could put it. From the bottom of that straight edge to the tops of the fenders is 5 7/8" on both sides.

I also used a metal tape measure and measured the hood skin, across the top and edge to edge, forward of the stiffening ribs. I came up with just under 50" +/- but it was hard to get the tape measure to lay perfectly flat....(hence the +/-)

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
TJ

[rickf]

Hey TJ, Go from the bottom edge of the hood up to the straight edge. That will give the distance from the top of the hood to the bottom side of the hood which is where I think the problem lies. And thanks, it was going to be no sooner than lunchtime eastern before I was going to be able to get to that.

[rickf]

I think the grill can come down a good bit....the fit at the bottom curve should be tight...the holes in the fender should be elongated...the back of the hood could be let down with a shim the size of the hinge....but that hood like it is short....

I don't know about that. The fenders would have to be pulled out a bit to get the grill down since it is tight against them on the angle. If you pull the fenders out then the gap at the bottom where the grill is straight up and down would open up and need work. I saw the gap at the bottom and was thinking the same thing but it is just too tight at all the angles. And shimming the hood would drop it below the cowl line. If it was only a tiny bit................... Maybe, but that is a LOT. And doing either one without the other would give a tapered gap.

[Mark]

I had a gap on the sides, I think I laid a sandbag on valve cover,closed the hood, then jumped/stood on the hood? Something like that, maybe someone can correct me in my not so good memory

[m3a1]

Ok, I just went out and laid that straight edge across the top of the hood, as far forward as it would allow and ahead of the longitudinal stiffening ribs.

As Rick suggested, measurement from the bottom of the hood on the driver's side to the bottom of the straight edge is 5 5/8". On the passenger side it is 5 1/2" the difference owing to the long years of the abuse my truck has had.

Corrected my earlier post regarding the measurement to the fender tops to read, 5 7/8". Sorry about the typo.

Hope this helps.

[raymond]

If you expect these vehicles to have the precision, fit, finish, high quality control and tight tolerances of a modern automobile, well,................ let's just say they don't.

[njjeeper]

Did you replace the fenders or are they stock?

[rickf]

If you expect these vehicles to have the precision, fit, finish, high quality control and tight tolerances of a modern automobile, well,................ let's just say they don't.

Precision no, but a little closer to stock, yes. That is a BIG gap which has no real reason to be there. There are no adjustment points like there are on most vehicles. Bending the hood like Mark said will work but then you will have a rounded hood instead of a flat hood. With a gap under the center of it on the grill.

[m3a1]

Let me be the first to say it. I can imagine how frustrating this must be considering all the careful work you've put into this truck so far. I'd be losing my mind.

I don't think this problem has to do with anything but the hood because that gap is fairly uniform all the way across on both sides and that strongly suggests the fenders are correct. If the issue was with the grillework being too high that gap would not be uniform but rather, wedge-shaped. Nope, that hood is highly suspect and that is why I provided a measurement from one edge, across the top to the other edge.

I cannot imagine a circumstance where hoods with improper dimensions were created but maybe this is one of those odd imperfect NOS parts that should have been destroyed but, unlucky for us, crept into use. Is this the hood you started with? If so, I'd examine the "before" photos carefully.

Cheers,
TJ

[hondo100]

Thanks to everyone for the replies. We replaced the front fenders with the fender kits that are out there. The previous owner had replaced them and had diamond plate welded to the fender tops...so it all had to go. I'll get the measurements for comparison. Working also on getting another hood.

How do you tell if it's a A1 hood?

Ralph