a question about cutting a hood for a blower

Hi i have a question, i know this is paint tech but i dont know where else to ask this, its more of a body work question. i have done my fair share of bodywork and it always comes out really good im no expert by any means though. anyway i have a 71 monte and it has a 6-71 blower on the motor i just put the motor in and i knew i was going to have to cut the hood to make it fit and i have a pretty good idea on how to do it but i figured id ask some guys who have done this thing before and are more experienced at it than myself. so, i am open to any suggestions that you all may have any help would be greatly appreciated, id hate like hell to ruin my hood!! if anyone needs some pics i can provide whatever is needed. Thanks alot in advance,Joe

Are you sure you really want to cut the stocker? I would opt for a 'glass hood and cut that... Put the stocker in the rafters and let it acrue value...
Mark

You know i was thinking about that but how much do you think that thing will really ever be worth? I dont know, a glass hood is like 450.00 thats some big bucks just to cut it up.

Here's a couple of thoughts.

I just got through making a scoop and the opening in the hood on my 57 Plymouth. I used an air powered cut off tool. It worked really well without warping the hood and although the cars is going to be repainted, going slow it didn't even really damage the paint next to the cut. If I had actually cared about the paint I would have run masking tape around the outer edge I was going to cut.

To finish off the opening, I used a die gringer with a round stone to curve the corners instead of leaving them at right angels (you can't cut curve with a cut off wheel).

I then took a fine file to to the cut edges to smooth them a little. To finish off the opening, I bought a roll of door edge guard
to slip over the edge of the opening.

Thats cool thanks. I also need to know how you measured it? or what the best way to measure the blower to clear the hood you know what i mean? i dont want to be too far off to one side and not far enough on the other or make it off center or something? i measured it out pretty good with about a 1/2" all the way around but before i cut it i want ot make sure i measured it right before i go and cut it.

Ok you can try this open your hood, take four pieces of string, run a piece of string from your cowl to your grill on each side of the blower. mark where they end so you can see the marks with the hood closed. do the same across the front and back of the blower to each fender. remove the strings , closed the hood as much as you can. put the strings back on over the hood and you should be able to tell where the blower lines up in most cases.

Thats a pretty good idea!! i went and measured it with a tape measure and a straight edge to make the lines straight i am going to match it against what you just said. thats sounds good. thanks alot man!!

i cut about 10 of them over the yrs, and the best way is get you a big piece of cardboard and cut it to fit the blower first and then mark the hood. keep the cut as close to the blower and belt as you can. if you gonna drag it, they may make you put a belt guard on it also. something you might want to check on. look at the pic. in the gallary, maybe you can get an idea there. the top pulley is not in the center of the hood. :cool:

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Originally posted by lt1s10
i cut about 10 of them over the yrs, and the best way is get you a big piece of cardboard and cut it to fit the blower first and then mark the hood. keep the cut as close to the blower and belt as you can. if you gonna drag it, they may make you put a belt guard on it also. something you might want to check on. look at the pic. in the gallary, maybe you can get an idea there. the top pulley is not in the center of the hood. :cool:

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Wow thats an awesome idea!! i will do that i will post a pic of what i came up with so far, i didnt actually cut the hood yet, but i did outline where the blower is with measureing from the fenders at several areas and then measuring from the cowl where the hood closes and then measuring from the very front of where the hood closes to the front of the blower pully and then the front of the blower body. im gonna do the cardboard thing though thats a really really good idea, now i just need to find a piece of cardboard thats gonna fit the size of this damn hood :HMMM:

Quote:

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Originally posted by lt1s10
i cut about 10 of them over the yrs, and the best way is get you a big piece of cardboard and cut it to fit the blower first and then mark the hood. keep the cut as close to the blower and belt as you can. if you gonna drag it, they may make you put a belt guard on it also. something you might want to check on. look at the pic. in the gallary, maybe you can get an idea there. the top pulley is not in the center of the hood. :cool:

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I was looking at your gallery, thats some really nice cars you have/had in there. do you still have them all? i bet that s10 is pretty damn fast huh? I like the El camino's, really nice. I really like the cardboard idea, im gonna do that i just need to find a piece or a couple of pieces that will match up to the size of the hood. Thanks alot, Joe