I have a MkIV roadster I am building.
Today I mounted the hood hinges and did some rough trimming to the edge of the hood to get it to just fit in the body, so the gaps are still pretty tight, but they clear the body without making contact. The problem is the hood seems to be too flat, and not curved enough to fit the body. I used two rubber spacers on the windshield edge, and the center of the hood lines up flush with the body along the windshield edge. The hood hinges are adjusted so that the leading edge of the hood also sits flush.
However, the side edges are up almost above the body, and it's even worse at the two corners near the windshield. I can push down and flex the hood so that the edge goes down flush, and it is not making any contact, so there's nothing holding the side edges up other than the fact that the hood is not curved enough.
I don't know if I need to try to put a ratchet strap around it to try to gently pull the curve tighter and let it sit for a few days or what. I have never done fiberglass body work before, so I don't really know what I need to do. My intent was simply to get the edges cut down just enough to clear, so I could align the hinges and then install the latches.
Would installing the latches do the trick? Do the hoods normally sit a little flat until the latches pull it down? I am concerned because right now the center of the back edge of the hood fits flush, and if the latches pull the outer edges down, I am afraid this will pull the center down too, to the point it's not sitting flush.
Anyway, here's some pictures to show what I mean. I had pretty poor lighting, but I think I got good enough pictures to show the issue.
Here's the passenger side rear "corner." You can see that it is sitting up well above being flush:
I can push down with my thumb and make it sit flush. Hard to see in the picture, due to lighting, sorry.
Here's the whole passenger side edge:
And the driver side edge:
Driver's side corner by windshield:
And again, I can push down with my thumb to make it fit flush:
So, I am seeking advice from the forum. Like I said, it just appears that the hood is too "flat," and doesn't quite fit the curve of the body. Is there something I need to do to round out the hood a little and get the edges to sit flush? Or is this just going to take 1/4" thick spackling of body filler to level out? The hood fits flush at the front and rear edges in the center, it's just the two side edges just sit way too high up, and are not flush. I have made sure nothing is physically contacting it and pushing it up, it just seems like the hood is not curved enough.
Ideas? Suggestions? How do I fix this?