Painting and bodywork random questions.

[morganater]

Ok, I am retiring my truck for the winter, so it will give me some good time to work on the bodywork. A few questions. I have a custom flip-forward hood that gets really annoying for a few reasons. One is, at the very front of it, it pushes down in the top/middle of the grille. there are dents there because if u push the hood all the way forward to put the support in it's place, it hits the grille. I can fix this(with bondo) and by repositioning the support mount. My question is, are chrome 67-69 grilles highly coveted and hard to find and rediculously expensive, or is there a chance of finding one? I want my grille to be chrome because i am going to paint every thing else. Would chrome plating at a shop be a valid option for my grille?

Also, my hood wavers when driving, such as it SHOULD be supported in the middle, but is kinda 'floppy' (catch my drift?). I am wondering if this will affect the final paint job, and if it will mess it up or chip it or whatnot??? There is also a dent in the center protruding part in the front and center of the hood that i want to bondo. I am guessing if the hood even has a little floppiness, that the bondo wouldn't stay for long. Does anyone else experience this with their hoods?
I also wonder how to weld on a roll pan, like how do you position it before welding it on, or position it even before tackwelding to position it more?

Another random question is, I am seriously considering some 99+ Ford Lightning rims on my truck, and tires. What I am wondering is: Will this bolt pattern fit my '69, and will they rub in the rear. I am running 295/50s which are pretty damn wide, and they look like they are rubbing mildy in the rear. I dont want the 18s to be rubbing, if I can even get any to fit.

thanks for everyone's help. I am pretty serious about all this stuff so help a fellow foridfication member make a 67-72 damn PRETTY!

[FORDification]

If you watch E-bay, you'll see that the aluminum grilles are going for BIG bucks, unless you're willing to get one with a few dings and dents in it and straighten/polish it up yourself. But still, you're not gonna get it with pocket change. Everybody and their brother wants to replace the steel grilles with the polished aluminum versions, and since they aren't being reproduced by the aftermarket, there's only so many to go around.

As for your hood flopping....is your hood steel? There should be underbracing on it to give it rigidity...was yours removed at some point? The hood is probably the worst place to put body filler, since the extremes in temperature and the constant flexing made by opening/slamming it is going to make long-term adhesion a challenge. However, I don't see why a very thin coat couldn't stand up, as long as proper preparation is done beforehand. Filler really has come a long way.

I don't believe the '99 wheels will fit...from what I understand, Ford trucks changed the bolt pattern in '90 to a metric pattern.

[bumt72]

Have you thought about chrome powdercoating the grill? I haven't seen an actual example but I have seem a number of trucks in the mags that have chrome powdercoated grills. It probably is a much cheeper way to go and unless your building a show truck it might be worth looking into.

[crazy larry]

the only way to properly position and place a roll pan( that i know of) is to have a helper. get it in place, then tack it in place, then weld it in.

[NM5K]

Does anyone else experience this with their hoods? >>>>>

Not mine. It's all stock, and has all the bracing underneath. Does not visably flex, or vibrate that I notice. My hood is in real good shape compared to many. Not much rust, even underneath, or along the back edge. MK

[NM5K]

I just noticed that 396 in a f-250....Hummmmm.....

[oldschoolrods]

its a 390 bored over, trust me larry wouldn't put a chevy in a ford.

[crazy larry]

its a 390 bored over, trust me larry wouldn't put a chevy in a ford.

but i'd surely put a ford in a chevy. :twisted:

4.08" bore

going down the highway at speed, i get a little deflection in the top of my hood, not enough to get me excited though.

[morganater]

Yeah, I guess the hood isn't as bad as I originally thought, but it is still denting the grille and i cringe everytime it happens . When i get the truck painted, I am going to take it down to bare metal first, take out all the dents, and then bring it to a pro to be primered and painted. Is there any recommendations on anything to take off before hand, or disassemble. I really want to learn how to put on a rollpan myself, too bad nothing is free nowadays

[willowbilly3]

You would probably cause less confusion and have less explaining to do if you just called it a 390. Most people probably don't much care if it is bored 30 over to a 396, and afterall 396 IS the name of a chevy so that's what any gearhead will think.