Regarding the inner structure, my plan is to replicate the factory structure with aluminum as closely as possible and bond it to the skin. Welding would create too much distortion. I will use the factory hinges in front but I’m going to ditch the rear cable rod lock in favor of 60s type rubber dog bone straps as used by many BMWs and Porsches in period. I’ll see how it goes when I get there.
The biggest initial hurdle to this hood (besides starting at zero on coachbuilding knowledge) was how to make the grill sections. My 79 year old father is far more clever than me and figured out that it would be easier to machine those holes rather than try to perfectly press each hole on a curve with a custom die.
The solution was to start with 1/8” plate aluminum and mill radiused holes at full depth to create the illusion that they are punched, and then flipping the piece and having the machine mill down the backside to a finished thickness of 0.050”. We had a CNC machinist friend make these it took him a few days and several chewed up test pieces (the machine cutter would sometimes grab the backside and want to tear corners). Anyway, that was a rabbit hole but every single aspect of the hood project has been that way 🤣
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