to cut or not to cut

[zach69grande 25]

So, I picked up an OEM hood from a guy. Got it cheeeaaap. no dents, no holes, little surface rust and some scratches... but a really nice original plain hood. 

I really want to put a shaker on my car. 

Shaker hoods are expensive. 

Is there enough demand out there for original hoods, or should I just cut this one and never look back?

[Rsanter 152]

Offer to trade someone that has a shaker cut hood already.

if that doesn't come though, cut away

 

remember, you are not damaging the hood, you are using it on your car

 

bob

[zach69grande 25]

Thanks. That's really the angle I was going for, but wanted to check just in case there would be a massive outcry of "NOOO why God Why??" about the OE hood. 

[1969Fstback 58]

I'd break out the sawzall and not even thing twice about it.  

[Bob & Sue 110]

1 hour ago, 1969Fstback said:

I'd break out the sawzall and not even thing twice about it.  

Me too 

Just make sure it's braced well before cutting seen some terrible looking attempts, It's harder to find another good one than doing it right.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

I would use a good auto body saw ,and a fresh blade,it will be a lot easier cutting and less distortion

[zach69grande 25]

So, other than an autobody saw - and using the actual template.... any other tips?

 

[RPM 1,190]

Measure twice, ok four times, cut once.

[zach69grande 25]

HA. yes! I can think of more than one project where unfortunately i needed to use just a slightly larger washer or trim piece than planned....

[Midlife 814]

On 7/14/2017 at 4:50 PM, RPM said:

Measure twice, ok four times, cut once.

I've always cut four times then measure.  No wonder I have issues!

[JET 445 43]

I used a hole saw to cut the four corners so that I would have a nice smooth radius in the corners and then cut the edges with an angle grinder fitted with a 1mm thick cutting disc, worked great, give the edges a quick file and it turned out perfect.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

You have to be careful ,a hole saw and a cutoff wheel can cause enough heat to cause the opening edges to warp ,that is why i use a body saw on all sheet metal cutting

[Caseyrhe 650]

Back in the day, my friend at a stereo shop, had a tool called a "nibular cutter" made by makita, shavings were a half moon shape

[bigmal 225]

I've done a fare bit of sheet metal cutting in the last few months and found an air powered nibler invaluable. Two things. Buy a good one and you need a decent compressor that won't run out of puff every 10 seconds. This was a good excuse to buy a new compressor as well. Sometimes I need to justify my spending and an excel spreadsheet won't always work.

[Vicfreg 771]

I have an original 1970 Mach 1 Shaker hood that needs some minor repairs that came off of Jason's Mach 1 (He is on the forum).  It is in North Carolina, near Charlotte.   I am going to sell it if you are interested you can send me an email.

[Mach1 Driver 560]

On 7/15/2017 at 8:51 PM, Ridge Runner said:

You have to be careful ,a hole saw and a cutoff wheel can cause enough heat to cause the opening edges to warp ,that is why i use a body saw on all sheet metal cutting

Is there any difference between a body saw and a Sawzall? Speed maybe?

 

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Yes ,a sawsall would be a pain in the but to cut a delicate thing like a hood ,a body saw is much smaller and way easier to handle . Home depot had a nice saw made by Ridgid but it has been discontinued .it was actually called a roofing cutter ,but it cut like butter with no distortion .Acme tools sells one that is just about as good but there are no Acme tool supliets near me ,they are mostly back east 

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

HART HAS A GOOd ONE THIS IS THE ONE SOLD THROUGH ACME ,THE RIDGID IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE ...AND I LIKED THAT ONE ,UNTILL I RAN OVER IT WITH THE FORK LIFT