Sounds like Ax's plan is the way to approach this problem..

Patience will pay large dividends..slow fitting and welding..

Also,..As noted in step 2 of Ax's recommendation, I also noticed the round bar/rod welded to the trailing edge of your hood. This may influence the fit or crown as mentioned ( I pre-bent and fitted that piece to the cowl before welding to it to the hood.)..but also, be sure and grind any extra/unneeded weld material away..
The original hood hinge allows the rear of the hood to 'raise' slightly before opening,..clearing that area,.. the CCP kit does not, subsequently..there is little to no extra room in the cowl channel for the extra round bar..which causes a interference fit..which will scratch/scuff paint.

..when you have things in primer and settled on your best fit possable, ..watch for that roundbar and weld to interfere with the cowl..I've been thinking of installing maybe a plastic/nylon strip to replace the original rubber cowl seal to alleviate this...anybody else have any Ideas??

 

The scratch/scuff I understand, it's happening on the left side but I'm still trying to tighten up the gap there, got to look to see if I can get some more movement from the CPP kit or move the rad support back a bit toward the firewall. What type of gaps did you end up getting, I can't remember what the original gap was but I'm trying to get it close to the 3/16th mark. The cowl seal I have is the one from Midfifty but I'm thinking of purchasing some D-shaped self adhesive to put under the hood to meet the cowl.

 

The gap at the cowl to hood on mine ended up a little less than 3/16"..I had it so tight at one point that corrogated cardboard (1/8") was crushed in the gap, but ended up opening it up some to get an average of both fenders and the cowl..

The MF seal will probably tear as it catches some metal when sliding 'across' it, ..that seal while fine for the original mechanism,seems to be too tall for the CCP kit..

In hindsight (isn't that always the case,)..I might consider cutting the cowl channel and relocating (recessing) it 1/4- 3/8" fwd ..or just enough for that hood clearence.

 

the gasket (cowl lacing) WILL catch if you screw it down to the cowl. better to mount in on the hood with adhesive. and of course fix the screw holes in the cowl.. something I am going to try to get done this winter..

Sam

 

Hi Sam,. Did you use adhesive on yours? 3m weatherstrip stuff?? Holding up ok?

 

have not done mine yet.. wish I had read up on this problem before paint. really looks like crap. and the button posts MF sells are like little teeth grinning cross the top of the cowl when the hood is open.

I plan on using 3m weatherstrip adhesive.

still trying to decide if the cowl needs anything other than paint. will the hood vibrate and wear the paint here? so far I don't see that on the inside of the hood from the current lacing on the cowl. Last thing I want is to do all this touch up work, then have the paint ground down in a highly visible area.

I have a small strip of clear protectant tape on the inside edge of the tailgate to stop wear on the bedsides as this all flexes while driving.
(one of the losses of removing the tailgate chain ears and not using a securing type tailgate latch, page 119 of the MidFifty catalog)
I also used the late model vehicle lower body clear chip guard on the underside of the fenders and the cab wheel well sections to prevent paint chip and stars.
so that might be a good solution too..

Sam

 

There is a good scuff resistant clear stick on tape made by 3M commonly refered to as "leading edge" tape. It was designed to be used on the leading edge of military helicopter blades for use in the middle east, the sand and dust would eat up the blades in no time. NASCAR teams use it to protect the sponsor's decals on the front of the cars, the track debris would sandblast the paint right off down to bare metal by the end of a long race prior to using it. It is also sold as "clear bra" when cut to fit a particular car, I have it on the front of the Solstice. It's expensive if you need to buy a whole roll, but there are places that will sell it by the foot in various widths. It is very clear and conforms to compound curves (heat with a hair dryer to shrink or stretch) so it is practically invisible.

 

right, that is what I am using on the inside of the tailgate.. forgot the name..

Sam

 

Here are a couple of things to concider when putting on the tilt hood.
1. When you are assembling the front clip leave all bolts "snug" but not tight...you WILL have to adjust everything as you go. but if you tighten completly as you go it will not line up.
2. You are (most of the time) working with old or altered metals that do not have the same trueness in manufacturing that todays aftermarket panels do now.
3. Any new rubber mounts, like the rad supports, will cause the front to sit higher until the wieght of the clip settels them down.
4. Take into account any frame twist that you may have picked up over the years, or even the front suspension changes
5. The stock cowl seal was nailed to the top edge of the cowl, with the tilt hood you have to put the new seal on the underside edge of the hood, if not the sliding action of the tilt hood will just catch on the stock location seal and either pull it off or bend the edge of the hood.
I would suggest putting the new seal on the hood underside while fitting the gaps so you wont have more fitment issues after all is tightend up.
take your time and good luck, Ed
I am using the CCP kit and it has been good to me so far...but my gaps ARE NOT perfect, but are close enough to live with.

 

E William, what did you use to attach the cowl seal to the underside of your hood?

 

3M makes a tape that holds like there is no tomorrow,try pulling off body side molding of of any vehicle. I would think if you were to try and remove a soft rubber molding/ seal like we're talking about for the cowl it would come off in pieces unless you used some type of solvent.

 

The new cowl lacing is more like rubber hose, than foam type material

Sam

 

Hey carnut, I used the same adhesive that I used on my door seals. I think its a 3-m product (black) so it doesnt show as much on the black rubber seals. If memory serves I got it thru Mid-fifty's when I bought my parts.
ed

 

I've got that now Sam, it's 2 rubber hoses joined in the middle about 5/16th" thick if that's the same stuff your talking about. I bought it from Midfifty. What I'm thinking of putting under the hood is a hollow D-shaped self adhesive backed soft rubber it's about 3/8" wide by 1/4 tall. I was also thinking of putting that clear 3M tape that was mentioned on the cowl itself to prevent paint wear.

 

Thanks for all of the adhesion responses. I also have the double tubes from Mid-Fifty. I think I'll try the glue E William mentioned since I already have it. I was real reluctant to put nails in my cowl, so I like this option better. My cowl didn't have any nail holes. Were they all nailed on? It's a 53 F100.