61 hood surround stress crack
Aloha Guys, My 61 has a stress crack through the surround around the corner of hood to the vent and down to the firewall panel that it is bond to. there is no damage to the firewall panel when viewed from under the dash and no separation is visible so the bonding agent must have separated and thus causing this crack. I can push the crack area down and there is movement. There are no other cracks anywhere on the car that I restored over 15 years ago. Never had to glass a problem like this before and I am sure products have changed since my restoration so any suggestions on this repair would be much appreciated. thanks Ralph (I will try and download a pic of damage but never have had good luck with this)[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/61 crack.jpeg[/IMG]
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Ralph, For a permanent repair, I would suggest..........
Remove paint from a inch or so from each side of the crack.
Grind out the crack to "Vee" out the area apx a inch on each side. Take a sharp knife and cut a crosshatch pattern in the exposed "vee'd" out area to give the area some teeth to help bond later.
Using a quality resin(I use vinyl-ester resins as it shrinks less), create a paste using cut/shredded fiberglass mat(not cloth).
Apply your homemade paste into the "vee"/"valley" of the area, building up above the outer flat area. Let it cure properly.
Sand the new build-up flat, then apply the necessary smoothing filler to eliminate any imperfections. I use Evercoat "Vette Bond" as a final. Sand smooth, etc. Re-prime. re-paint and blend.
The repair will be made of similar construction to the original press-molded panel.
Below is a similar process I use for bonding new panels. Idea is the same in your case, and I did many similar repairs using this technique on other cracked areas of the body.
Bevel area and give it teeth using a knife
Lay in resin/mat paste
Edge profile view of the "vee"
Sand/smooth fill.
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Thanks Richard, great info! I am sure I can find the suggested materials locally and get started on it this weekend. Just hope I can find a good paint shop to blend in the paint! Thanks again as your presentation here is going to help many.Comment
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Ralph, here are a few more pictures of the process to repair cracks, etc in a '59 trunklid. 2 posts with pics.
Rich
Trunk before. Old improper repair using bondo. Cracked under the paint. Trunk-lock eyebrow gone.
PC170010.jpg PC170001.jpg
Ground out, beveled area, mat/resin pasted up.
PC170017.jpg PC170015.jpg
more pics.....Comment
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Results.....
After sanding/filling. Recreated/reformed trunk-lock eyebrow.
P5140002.jpg P5140003.jpg
After prime/paint.
P6220002.JPG PB230011.jpgComment
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Great new pics looks like you got the method down pat! I found a marine supply shop that has all the stuff you indicated so I am ready to go this weekend. Thanks again Ralph080.jpgComment
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Richard, after cutting into the crack it ridge part of the firewall which I thought that the crack was located on top is is not correct the crack is not supported by the firewall ridge and is unsupported. I see now this is going to have to be supported from under the crack then filled with the method you indicated from the top. I was able to remove the air vent which I think will give me enough room to patch the under cowl area and once I have that secure I will do the top portion. Thanks for all the info will let you know how it turns out. Aloha RalphComment
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
Ralph, Yes I thought the firewall top was further away from the crack.
It's a good idea to add something underneath. I've done the same. I rough it up and clean it, then a few layers of resin and strips of mat for the extra strength. Then when you bevel the crack, the repair will be stronger than original.
BTW, I suspect that over the years of ownership, letting the hood fall to latch it is what caused the crack.
RichComment
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Re: 61 hood surround stress crack
The glass is very thin in that area so I made sure I had it glassed well from under the cowl. Came out fine and very strong now! only problem is I keep finding other less serious stress cracks around the hood gutter but these are easy compared to the cowl area. thanks for all the info. RalphComment
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