[APRAIZR]

Good morning!

I have a client who has purchased a VERY NICE 69 Shelby GT 500.

Taking pictures of it the other day I noticed a considerable "bulge" in the hood (in the middle portion front-to-rear) that lifts it out of matching with the fender line. Appears that its caused by the rubber gasket under the hood that tops the 428CJ Ram Air system air cleaner.

Is this common and acceptable or is something amiss here?

[tripleblack]

Originally Posted by APRAIZR

Good morning!

I have a client who has purchased a VERY NICE 69 Shelby GT 500.

Taking pictures of it the other day I noticed a considerable "bulge" in the hood (in the middle portion front-to-rear) that lifts it out of matching with the fender line. Appears that its caused by the rubber gasket under the hood that tops the 428CJ Ram Air system air cleaner.

Is this common and acceptable or is something amiss here?

If the hood is actually being bent upward in the middle enough to knock it out of alignment with the fenders, I would be questioning what's going on. One quick test would be to remove the air intake with its rubber gasket and close the hood and see if the hood and fender mate up properly. Could be that the hood is itself slightly bowed.

If the hood flattens down, then yes, there is a problem with something involving the intake or engine. If the car has an aftermarket intake, some sort of intake spacer, incorrect carburetor, incorrect air cleaner components, gasket, etc, this needs to be remedied. Its also possible that the engine is sitting higher in the car than it should (wrong mounts?), but this is less likely.

[drummingrocks]

If you look at pictures of '69 Shelbys, you'll find that very few have hoods that line up perfectly. It seems that most show a slight bow about halfway up the hood.

As far as I know, there shouldn't be anything actually hitting the hood and causing the bulge; it's just the effects of poorly-molded fiberglass. Remember, we hold these cars up to much stricter standards than we did when they were first built.

[silver69]

This bulge that you are seeing is most probably because it is a fiberglass hood and the hood hinge springs are wrong (too strong-used for steel hoods) this is common with restoration shops who just assemple parts and sell"cars". It may also be what the other guys are saying too, if someone has a carb spacer or new ram air seal or fender/hood rubber bumpers - all of these things may be the case and not one thing alone.

[tripleblack]

This is all excellent advice, and just as these gentlemen are saying, the cause could be one or a combination of these things.

Reproduction hoods are usually higher quality than the OE versions - and the hinge item is something I have seen disturb the lines of fiberglass hoods before.