1939 Chevy coupe

[SuperBuickGuy]

I'm contemplating another option. I'm thinking the least amount of work and finances spent would be to simply chop the hood away from the fenders, and then mount the fenders and nose as a unit to the body. I'd need to fabricate brackets up front to attach the nose to the frame, but that shouldn't be tough.
Then I'd just buy a stock hood that's been on CL locally for months at $250 and mount it in the stock location. I'd likely have to also fabricate and glass in an edge on the inside of the fenders for the hood sides to latch to, but that wont be tough either. Doing this will of course lose the one piece frontend that I thought would look cool and make engine work much easier if needed. But it will sure save me from pulling out all my hair too!

to be honest, with body glues, epoxy (like West Systems), and a diamond, metal cutting blade on your death wheel (and baby powder)... fiberglass isn't that terrible. If you can find more fiberglass strips, you can simply glue them on. I'm barely qualified to be an amateur at fiberglass work, but cutting, moving, and filling wasn't hard at all on the fender of my Corvette (outside of the cutting a very expensive fender)....

so directly, cut at the line, glue strips to lower the body line. fill the low area with West Epoxy (and filler), sand smooth and tell people those are braces to keep the hood from flopping where you lowered it. Glue aluminum strips to the low spots on the hood with 3m 8115 epoxy and your hood is ready to paint in less than one day. While you're at it, glue mount points to the hood. 8115 works amazing at gluing plastics (including fiberglass) together.

[1946Austin]

to be honest, with body glues, epoxy (like West Systems), and a diamond, metal cutting blade on your death wheel (and baby powder)... fiberglass isn't that terrible. If you can find more fiberglass strips, you can simply glue them on. I'm barely qualified to be an amateur at fiberglass work, but cutting, moving, and filling wasn't hard at all on the fender of my Corvette (outside of the cutting a very expensive fender)....

so directly, cut at the line, glue strips to lower the body line. fill the low area with West Epoxy (and filler), sand smooth and tell people those are braces to keep the hood from flopping where you lowered it. Glue aluminum strips to the low spots on the hood with 3m 8115 epoxy and your hood is ready to paint in less than one day. While you're at it, glue mount points to the hood. 8115 works amazing at gluing plastics (including fiberglass) together.

You must have read my mind since I was wondering what to use to glue mounts to the frontend today. I went over to the steel yard and bought 20 ft' of steel tube to bend up my framework for the tilt and to brace the frontend with. I was planning to try Duraglass with fiberglass cloth over it, but I'll look into the 3M 8115 instead.

As far as cutting the sides to lower the body line. That would get the line aligned, but the hood would still be warped and sit way too high. I cut a cardboard template today and ran it across the hood where it's sagged down, and it looks like I'd need to raise the low spots on both sides of centerline an inch at the worst spot. The total area is probably close to 18" long front to back, and maybe 10" wide at the worst. Might be able to just cut the extremely low areas out clear back to the cowl, and then it might drop down and let the body line align properly.
I also wondered if once I removed the brace I might thin the whole warped area out enough to make it flex better? Then I could push it into place and glass the inside again? If I just built up the top side, I'd have to still grind off thickness on the bottom side to let it drop down, or it would sit an inch above the cowl!!

[1946Austin]

Spent a couple hours on the fiberglass before the dust and just putting the front clip on and off finally got to me. But it is beginning to move a bit!
I started with my cutoff disc and cut through the brace. It turned out to be what my wife calls "floral foam" that florists use. The floral foam was covered in a thick layer of fiberglass to form the brace. Then I made cuts about halfway through the hood to give it some relief, but also so I could judge how deep I was going while sanding.





After the cuts I cut through the brace, and removed all of the horizontal bracing. Then I used a flapper disc to begin to grind away the surface too thin it down and allow it to flex more.





Didn't want to go too much without checking, so I put it on the car again to see if it released enough to move. The first time made little difference, so I removed a bit more and tried it again. I got to about 3/16" thick and it's beginning to pull down into shape.
As this image shows, it still needs to be thinned more to allow it to drop. It's sitting tight on top of the cowl and the sheer thickness is too much to allow it to flex, and the thickness is greater than the stock hood, so it just sits higher.





I need to remove more fiberglass from the inside corners of the hood to let that area relax more. But my rear was dragging, so I quit for the day. I did test fit the grille also, and that area needs work too. The lip they have inside the opening is too thick, and the wrong angle. It may need to bee completely cut off and reattached. Or maybe a a metal lip glued along the edge so the grille sits in the opening better. Right now I have to squeeze the grille width together just to get it to sit in the opening. It's just sitting in there, so a bit lower than the finished mounting will be.



Put the bricks back on the fenders so they keep working to help it settle down hopefully.

[STINEY]

That moved a bunch. I am on the edge of my seat hoping you can pull this off without cutting that front up. (hoping for another flip front)

[DanStokes]

It's coming along!

Dan

[fatguyzinc]

heat gun, heat gun, HEAT GUN.....
while the bricks are sitting on it.

i had hood fitment issues similar to superbuicks vette
on my 78, i spent a few hours with the heat gun
and various blocks propping it up/ weight holding it down.

hood eventually took correct form without any cutting,
and it was off by 3/4" height in some places....

try a heat gun. dont got one? borrow or buy from amazon.
you may save yourself days of frustration.

[1946Austin]

That's my next step before removing any more fiberglass, a heat gun. Since I spent 30+ years as a licensed electrician, I do own a heat shrink gun I use for wiring. So that and my infrared thermometer will be used to heat the surface and not overheat it. Hopefully the heat will do the final shaping, and bring it into place.
I'm at least beginning to feel this frontend is fixable now, and I can have what is likely to be the only one piece fiberglass tilt frontend on a '39 Chevy. I wish I knew which maker built this? It being a one year design, I'm puzzled that any company ever thought it was a profitable item to offer? Wecott's is right here locally and has been doing fiberglass work for decades. I've wondered of someone had them make this frontend custom for them, and nothing else ever got made off the mold. Dee Wescott did a fair amount of custom glass work, and I might call them and ask if they have any history of ever making a 1939 one piece glass front clip?

[Captain]

Just another Idiot Idea,
Do you have a Electric Space Heater, a Old Milk House Heater, or something in that nature?
Leave your weights where needed, put the heater on a "STABLE NON COMBUSTIBLE" item under the hood, let it heat it from the inside out.
Also throw a moving blanket or old quilt on top.
I highly recommend doing this "Under Supervision" while you are working on something else in your shop!! As you say you were a electrician, "Space Heaters Have Burned Way Too Many Buildings Down" !!

Just Here too Help, Not saying you're doing it Wrong.
Capt

[fatguyzinc]

Just another Idiot Idea,
Do you have a Electric Space Heater, a Old Milk House Heater, or something in that nature?
Leave your weights where needed, put the heater on a "STABLE NON COMBUSTIBLE" item under the hood, let it heat it from the inside out.
Also throw a moving blanket or old quilt on top.
I highly recommend doing this "Under Supervision" while you are working on something else in your shop!! As you say you were a electrician, "Space Heaters Have Burned Way Too Many Buildings Down" !!

Just Here too Help, Not saying you're doing it Wrong.
Capt

thats a really good idea too... im from
hawaii so a space heater is not something
ive ever seen or used, but i bet it would work great..
and yes,stay around somewhere close to monitor
just in case......

[1946Austin]

Just another Idiot Idea,
Do you have a Electric Space Heater, a Old Milk House Heater, or something in that nature?
Leave your weights where needed, put the heater on a "STABLE NON COMBUSTIBLE" item under the hood, let it heat it from the inside out.
Also throw a moving blanket or old quilt on top.
I highly recommend doing this "Under Supervision" while you are working on something else in your shop!! As you say you were a electrician, "Space Heaters Have Burned Way Too Many Buildings Down" !!

Just Here too Help, Not saying you're doing it Wrong.
Capt

It is a good idea, and by chance one a friend mentioned today while we were setting up at the swap meet. He worked with Gene Winfield back in the 60's-70's, and later for Dee Wescott at Wescott's Fiberglass shop here, so he's got a lot of experience with troublesome bad fiberglass. He reiterated using the heat gun, but also encouraged me to generally heat the whole shop up to a toasty 75-80 degrees, as he said it will also help. He mentioned putting a portable electric heater under the hood also, which will be fine since I have no gasoline or other issues a completed car would have. But he did say to keep a close eye and a thermometer, or my hands on the clip to monitor how hot is was getting. He told me to keep a bucket of cold water and rags handy to cool it quickly once it moved into position.
So your idea is close to what he suggested, and I'll be doing all of it until something works like I want.

I'm also going to build up my skeleton framework inside the clip that will support and be my tilt mechanism. It will start at the frame horns and extend up on ether side of the radiator. Then it will run the length of the fenders resting against the junction of the inside corner where hood meets fenders. I'll attach the tubing with the 3M 8115 that Aaron suggested along the length, so it will be well secured. Then I'll also have 2 or 3 cross braces to tie the two main tubes together. I want those braces to be very close to the underside of the hood to support it, and I'll shim between the hood and the cross tubes wherever it might need a slight push up to adjust the final fit.
At the pivot point of the front clip I'll weld 1/2 NF bungs in the tube, and use 1/2 heim ends threaded into the tubing to adjust the final height, so I can get it leveled and aligned perfect. This whole clip and the tubing will probably be as heavy as the original sheet metal would be, but I'm more concerned with strength than weight, so I don't mind it being a little heavy. I'm using 1" OD tubing with .090" wall. I bought a 20' stick yesterday, so I could begin making up the skeleton and hope that will make the final adjustments easier with a frame inside.

[1946Austin]

Swap meet was a huge success for me today! I set up Sat. and immediately sold a lot. Then came back this morning 1 1/2 hours early and began to sell again! By noon everything in my space was gone, and instead of waiting to drive in and load tables, etc. I paid one of the kids with a cart to load up and haul it out to my truck. So luckily an early end to the day!
So more funds to go into the car kitty that may help fund body and paint supplies!

[1946Austin]

A friend pointed out this '39 coupe for sale locally. Not to buy, but maybe to copy the hood and frontend setup off? His is all steel, but no reason I couldn't do the same with my fiberglass. It has the fenders and grille as a one piece tilt, and hood pinned inside to the grille plate and pinned to the cowl at the rear. So hood can be removed, or left in place to tilt it.

http://classicvehicleslist.com/chevrolet/26912-1939-chevrolet-coupe-gasser-hotrod-streetrod-project.html

I like the open sides, and also the option of running with or without hood, but still being a tilt frontend. I think this is the way I'll look at going. I will not only cut the hood loose, but also cut the lower fender drops loose and attach them to the body so tilting it open wont drag on the cowl. I can use the 3M 8115 to glue in blank plates on the fender drops to get the finished look.
I've got my two main tubes bent to fit the inside curve of the fenders, and be my pivot points. Waiting on 1/2" weld bungs to put in the tube ends for my pivot point, and to fine adjust the height. Those will also be glued to the fenders with 3M 8115 panel adhesive.
By separating the hood from the fenders it will allow me to run with or without a hood, and by pinning the front of the hood inside to the grille plate (like the red '39) I can tilt it open without removing the hood, or with the hood off. A bonus might be if it all fits better by opening up the sides of the hood, and also runs cooler by letting the heat exit the engine bay.

[fatguyzinc]

A bonus might be if it all fits better by opening up the sides of the hood, and also runs cooler by letting the heat exit the engine bay.

always a bonus, most hotrods tend to get a little, um-"uncomfortable"
inside on a hot traffic clogged day. i would do this solution even if the
ONLY benefit was getting more heat out.......and plus now you get to
show of that purdy motor.

[1946Austin]

Yesterday I began the dissecting of the fiberglass frontend. I marked out the area on the side panels I wanted to remove and then cut back from that line a good amount. I'll use a flapper disc to take it down to close, and then block sand the last part to get exactly where I want it.
Today I ran for parts and got the correct starter for the engine and bolted it on. Then played with setting up the frontend on jack stands to see how much more trimming it needs. The fender drops need a good 1/4"-3/8 taken off the inside surface where they meet the cowl to allow them to pull in. Plus it can't all be the same amount as the shape is up and down so it needs to be removed more at some spots, and less at others.
The hood fits good to the grille on driver's side, but passenger side hangs out. So I may rethink the radius I cut and make it smaller to eliminate the tail hanging out. You can see it bent out a bit at the bottom here:



Top edge of the opening just needs sanding lightly, but I left the bottom pretty tall to trim to fit.:



Driver's side is a good fit all around now.:



These are the two tubes I bent to fit the curve of the inner fender edge. They get glued to the glass with 3M 8115. The weld bungs will be welded on first to the ends once I get a feel for the height, and trim the tubes to fit.

[1946Austin]

Gorgeous day here today at mid 50's. And my 1/2" heims finally arrived too, so I got busy fabricating the slide and tilt system for the frontend. I'm using 1" OD tube inside 1.25" OD tube for the slides. Just a piece of heavy angle iron welded to the end and the heim joint and weld bung on the end of my main tubes. I drilled and tapped for a 1/4-20 stop screw to limit it sliding open, but will allow me to pull it easily also.
The outer tube will get welded to the frame with a mounting plate, and it will sit on top of the frame lip, so wont need much of a weld to hold it.



Just tacked for now as I'm still waiting on my dual caulk gun to arrive so I can apply panel adhesive. I also bent up the cross brace for the rear that will tie the fenders together when they're open. I'll have two hood pins holding the back of the fenders, and two pins holding the back of the hood. Front of the hood will be held to the fenders with Dzus fasteners for easy removal if I want to run without the hood occasionally.