[DeTomaso] Pantera hood fit

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/31/14 9 20 25, gbmilnar at gmail.com writes:


> My hood has too much arch in the longitudinal center.
> How common is this and is there a fix.
> It might only be about 3/8" high but it bugs me.
> 
> 

>>>This is normally caused by people loading too much stuff in the front 
trunk, then forcing it closed.   It is possible to un-bend it, but it's not a 
job for the faint of heart.   It is comparatively to uniformly distort it 
from the inside, as has been done to your car (I'm not blaming you since I 
presume you didn't do it yourself?)   But undoing that damage is a far more 
difficult undertaking.

It's not a job for a normal accident repair bodyshop.   Depending on the 
extent of the damage, it would take somebody really skilled in metalwork, i.e. 
a custom hot-rod fabrication shop or high-end restoration shop, and it 
would likely be fairly expensive if it has to be stripped and painted again.   
It's entirely possible that such skilled peopl would know how to 'work' the 
metal in a sympathetic way and would be able to bend it back into proper 
shape without damaging the paint, which would be a very worthwhile enterprise if 
it could be done.

If it has to be stripped and beaten back into shape, a better alternative 
might be to replace it with a good, used hood, as at least a few people have 
'upgraded' to various fiberglass (faux carbon fiber) hoods.

While it's possible to buy a new hood from De Tomaso, recent experience of 
others has shown that the quality is pretty awful, as they are being built 
by people who literally have never even seen a Pantera before.   A lurker on 
this forum has had nightmare issues trying to get one sorted out, and in the 
end I think he is going to repair his rust-ravaged bu perfect-fitting 
original hood instead.

Good luck!

Mike
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