alas, after sanding down the original hood, the years have taken their toll, my '54 hood is shot, mega bondo and rust, especially around the hinge area and nose. I could easily invest $500 + in welding in new reinforcing steel.

or buy new - I'd like to stay with steel - a heavier gauge if there's a choice - I'm in NJ - any thoughts of where to buy? (typically i buy from mid-fifties.)

 

You can try Hot Rod Trucks in Ohio or Dennis Carpenter or Carolina Classic in North Carolina. I know Hot Rods and Dennis sells them. I am not sure about Carolina Classic. Give em a try.

 

Most of the catalogs I have show the hood for sale. I suspect the hoods come from the same supplier, so you might as well shop for best price.

 

There is a third option...buy a good used OEM hood. I have seen the repop hoods and they are definitely not the same gauge as the original FOMOCO hoods.

 

I thought I saw where Mid Fifty is now selling a repro hood? Call them and ask.

 

Mid Fifty is GREAT.

 

I second finding a good OEM hood, you could save a lot of money and frustration, not to mention shipping costs. Try posting a want ad in craigslist and give it a little bit, most people who would have them for sale wouldn't be posting to sell them. I find a lot more by posting want ads over just searching ones posted.

Being a '54 a lot should work for you. The only thing I can think of would would the side holes for the emblems being different, but even thats a 10 minute fix if you need to. Best to my knowledge 53-56 will work, and F100 to 250 or anything else should fit as well.

Course living where you do shipping isn't as big of a problem as it is for me (I usually pay the same to ship something as the item cost generally, it sucks), but even a quick check on craigslist in NJ had a '54 hood for sale for $250, you could do better if you're willing to wait to find it.

 

Just FYI measure across the back of the hood you have now. If you decide to buy a used one, some hoods are wider at the rear than others. I bought a hood from out of state sight unseen its risky, I believe it came off of a big 55 F series, its very ill fitting.
I have tried to shim it out at the cowl but it wont shut correctly, I'll figure it out some day. Good luck.

 

good info, thanks - I'll keep an eye out

 

This is a good point, not because there are different hoods but because many truck owners do not realize how deformed a hood can become when the stock hinges bind. It is the hood hinge mount/crossmember that is the culprit. The simple solution to this problem is to pull the hood sides back into alignment by bending this crossmember. To do this remove the hood from the truck, place a bolt into each side where the hinge mounts, and use a comealong or a cable with a turnbuckle to pull the sides back into alignment. The real problem comes when one side is good and one is tweaked; in that case I use a tool that I designed that bolts to the two center holes (the ones where the stiffener rods mount) and then pulls against the center to draw in just one side. Hope this helps...

 

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a try.

 

If you lived close to Waco, TX. I have a new hood from Mid-Fifties that I would let you have for $500.00. They say it is the same gauge as OEM. But, I dont think so. Good luck in finding a stock hood that does not need a lot of work.