I plan on going with a small block Chevy with a blower. I want the engine sticking out of the hood as far as possible. The fenders of the notchback bolt on just like beetle fenders do. In order to make more room under the hood, I am going to cut all that out and make a one peice tilt up front end.

I bounced around the idea of making the front end out of the original metal peices, but the apron has been wrecked (and filled with bondo) so I will either need to deal with that or buy a new apron. Also, I will need to figure out how to deal with the gap between the hood and fender peices and how to make it look good from the top and bottom once all put together. I measured the gap at 3/8". Another problem is making a way for air to get into the radiator.


So, I've just about convinced myself to go for the $500 fiberglass front end and be done with it. The gaps will already be accounted for. Cutting air slots in fiberglass seems a lot less daunting than cutting them into the sheet metal. An all-metal front end is certainly not impossible but I can see it taking a lot of time and energy.