40 Owners: How did you remove the dents in your hood?

[spdwaver]

I am almost certain that at least half of all the 40 series owners out there have a hood that had been damaged when it met the windshield for the first time at a high rate of speed.

Having searched through paint and body, tech links and FAQ, I did find some helpful tips in general body repair, but I was surprised that I did not find anything having to do with this particular type of damage, which is a fairly common custom mod. I say "particular" because the dent is almost always in the same place with the same end result - a crease where it hit and stretched metal in the surrounding area of impact.

So, what did you do to repair yours?

 

[apeterson]

easiest to find a new one... depending on the dents... unless you are real good at body work

 

[spdwaver]

easiest to find a new one... depending on the dents... unless you are real good at body work

Both my current and new one are dented in the same fashion.

Edit: Since this is a very common occurrence, I figured it needed to be addressed.

 

[apeterson]

Both my current and new one are dented in the same fashion.

sorry to hear that... but not all hoods out there will be... so keep looking or start using bondo and feathering it out... if it is in the middle part of the hood that has flex to it... good luck ever getting it to look right, unless you are real good... not that it can not be done..

 

[Poser]

So, what did you do to repair yours?

Purchased a replacement hood that was not damaged......




That is what I did...



Mine have been damaged from rollovers, not from failure to secure with the latches.....

 

[dgangle]

Anything can be fixed but is it worth it? X1000 on the find a good replacement. If you can't find a better replacement, try to broaden your circle.

This happened to me on a previous 40 some 20+ years ago. I was so pissed at myself as it was the only panel that wasn't bent or rusted. Part of my pre-flight/walk-around today includes a quick glance at the latches.

 

[spdwaver]

Purchased a replacement hood that was not damaged......




That is what I did...



Mine have been damaged from rollovers, not from failure to secure with the latches.....

I did not damage mine either - that was the PO's doing - haven't rolled yet though...

I just can't see throwing away two hoods (one was a gift by a fellow mudder, which I plan on repairing) simply because they have been dented. Of course, I can just live with it, but I want to help others with the same problem.

 

[spdwaver]

Thanks guys - I got all the answers I needed.

 

[ohrly?]

buying a new one from that damage sounds like a waste of money, if you want it to look pretty smear some bondo on it.

its a landcruiser, **** it

 

[Degnol]

Did you try a pick hammer and a dolly? I've never had any luck with dents on the front corners.....especially on the older, thicker metal.


Ed

 

[bsmith123]

Hammering

I know this wont be completely practical without experience but
If you dont like bondo it is possible to make things better with some hammer work even as a novice.

Google hammer off dolly method and shrinking hammer. Also read up on heating and quenching to shrink stretched metal.


A shrinking hammer looks kinda like a meat tenderizer hammer and puts little dings in but it pulls metal back into the stretched area

with the hammer you work the excess metal from the crease into the low spot, the dent will never go away unless you work the crease and "push" the metal back where it came from

I am not experienced but I know the techniques and was able to do a passable job without resorting to Bondo

My personal preference is that I'd rather see some slight imperfections than the Bondo---especially if the BONDO is done badly

A cheap hammer and dolly set is not much and handy to have anyway

good luck with it

 

[Poser]

Just cave and pave....

 

[Degnol]

Just cave and pave....

X2
And to this I add.........there is nothing wrong with 1/8" (or less) Bondo. Why would anyone hate Bondo?

Ed

 

[bsmith123]

Bondo

Bondo vs Steel---let me put it like this ...
it's like Ta Ta's, only in this case only steel is real

 

[lc69hunter]

I currently have two extra hoods I have picked up over the years. None with dents, but I had to do a welding job on one where that evil 4 blade metal fan came apart while I was driving on the freeway and lodged itself with one blade sticking up out of the hood.

Scared the crap out of me.

 

[Degnol]

I currently have two extra hoods I have picked up over the years. None with dents, but I had to do a welding job on one where that evil 4 blade metal fan came apart while I was driving on the freeway and lodged itself with one blade sticking up out of the hood.

Scared the crap out of me.

I've seen that pic! Post it up again.....................P-L-E-A-S-E

 

[Degnol]

Bondo vs Steel---let me put it like this ...
it's like Ta Ta's, only in this case only steel is real

Oh, I get it!..............SMITH......................beat on that steel!!!

 

[Dusty 66]

evil 4 blade metal fan came apart while I was driving on the freeway and lodged itself with one blade sticking up out of the hood.

Scared the crap out of me.

Thats a classic, That happen to me I launched a fan blade through the fan shroud on my 71 40 The next week my buddy took out his hood in the same fashion in his 72 40 A week later We found a 40 hood in the Desert that had three bullet holes in It and the same color blue the bullet holes just had that cool factor.

 

[spdwaver]

I've seen that pic! Post it up again.....................P-L-E-A-S-E

I second that! Let's see it!

 

[amaurer]

How common could this possibly be!?!? This would be a somewhat greater sort of screw up than, say, forgetting it was in gear when starting or something...