Hood release plate cracked

[rocky]

The sheetmetal around the hood release plate cracked on my '74 GTV yesterday. The hood will no longer latch closed. I haven't seen this problem before. Is this a fairly simple repair with welding? I really don't want to get another hood. I want to be able to tell the body shop how to approach this repair. Thanks.

Greg
'74 GTV

[Chsmadden]

Ooh, that looks bad.
It looks like the area around the latch rusted.
I'd say cut out the affected area, weld up the cracks and breaks, then weld the cuts back together.

Don't try this unless getting a new hood is in the cards, it might not quite work.
You might though find a copious amount of rust behind it.

[rocky]

Chris,

Thanks. I am hopeful that it isn't as bad as it looks . I'll have the body shop look at it. These guys are pretty good. In the meantime, I'll try to source another hood.

Greg
'74 GTV

[elite38868]

Greg, that's too bad, and a really odd place for it to happen too. You might consider another hood if you can find one as who knows where there might be more hidden rust...

[alfavirusnz]

For the life of me I can`t see any rust there there is not usually such a clean break as that either when serious rust is present-seems like fatigue to me probably on the site of a previous repair. Your repairer wil be able to ascertain whether it is a previous repair site or not but if it is and there is fatigue present best repair is to remove that area and replace with new metal-welding up again along those cracks I suspect will not effect a permanent repair. I would also look at your latch mechanism to make sure it is properly adjusted as I think that may have been a contributor to the damage.

Richard J

`65 Giulia Ti, `69 GT Junior, `74 GTV 2000, `76 Alfetta GTV, `77 Alfetta GTV, `84 GTV6

[rocky]

Richard,

After closer examination of the break, it does appear to be metal fatigue rather than rust. I have not experienced any problems with the latch mechanism, but the alignment may be a little off and contributed to the cracks. Let's see what the body guys have to say. Thanks to everyone for their comments.

Greg
'74 GTV

[Andrew Stevens]

I had the same problem a few years back with my GTV - it's metal fatigue - my case wasn't as bad as your example however!
Be careful when you weld the bonnet (hood?) back together as the alignment of the latch mechanism can be critical otherwise you'll have problems closing the hood properly in the future!

[Andrew Stevens]

Make sure the wires in the latch mechanism are not broken either - otherwise you'll need to replace that too!

[rocky]

Andrew,

The release cable is fine. I'll take the car in tomorrow and see what happens with this. Still gonna source a hood, anyhow. I guess I'll give APE a call.

Greg
'74 GTV

[rocky]

Just got the car back from the body shop. They welded a new piece of sheet metal. We discussed how they would proceed with the repair. The guys could not duplicate the original shape of the sheetmetal without a lot of work. We compromised on this as it would be more robust. Not original but it beat the heck out of getting a new hood and having it painted. Probably not going to win any originality awards but it works, didn't cost a fortune and it can't be seen.

[Chsmadden]

Good to see you got it fixed!

[rocky]

Chris,

Thanks. I am so glad to get it back. As it turns out, the release is much smoother. Very little effort is required now when pulling the handle to release the hood. As a bonus, the guys also cleaned the engine.

Greg
'74 GTV

[Chsmadden]

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[rocky]

Chris,

Check out 3 posts up for a pic of the repair. No pics of the clean engine, if that's what you are asking.

Greg
'74 GTV

[Chsmadden]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocky Chris, Check out 3 posts up for a pic of the repair. No pics of the clean engine, if that's what you are asking. Greg '74 GTV