Mustang_Eater

Hi All,

I have a 1989 Corvette that has a salvaged title (ya, will never buy a salvage car again). It was very well kept up with until it was hit in the front left wheel.

Anyways, I've got it running good but when I bought it someone had already tried to repair smash into the hood. They did a ok job but the 1' long edge where the hood closes in front of the front left tire is pull out about a inch so there is a gap. I assume in the accident it got pull out cracked and the people simple poured resign on it (hopefully) and just sanded it smooth.

My questions is there anyway to press it in... I know its crazy but maybe heat it up? I hate the idea of cutting it. I can't get anyone in town to touch it because they don't know what type of material the original person used to "fix" it.

sfc rick

Short answer...... NO

No heat or pushing is gonna cure the problem. Take it to a shop that works fiberglass.

bad-zr1

Can you take another picture showing the complete front end from bumper to bumper? It looks from that shot that your bumper or front facia could be moved towards the drivers side to align better with the hood. How is the gap on the passenger side?

jrzvette

It looks more like the front of the hood has shifted to the driver's side. Fixing it may be more of an alignment issue.

oldalaskaman

heat will work but you will damage your paint and if you havent done it before , you may ruin your hood. theres a technique for it that you dont hear much about any more.

Keystring

If you look at the edge of the hood near the tire, you can see where it doesn't line up with the lower edge of the bumper.

1stvet87

Looks like more of a bumper issue than hood/fender. There is an inner reinforcement in the bumper that is probably either bent or misaligned that appears to be holding the bumper inwards away from hood. The diagram is for an 87 but should cover most c4's. Look for damage to number 6.

Mustang_Eater

It is not alignment from side to side issues as the passenger side lines up perfectly.

I will check to see if the bumper could be the issue but I've jiggled the bumper and it's rock solid. If you stand at the back of the car and look forward you can clearly see the hood is pulling out.... has to be from the accident.

oldalaskaman

a body shop can fix that, but for the money you'll spend you can buy another hood

lushdrunk

Form the lone picture it looks to me to be an alignment issue with either the bumper support bars or the impact bar.

If you can snap some pictures of both sides where the bumper meets the hood and both sides where the hood meets the doors, I can tell you what you will need to do to repair it.

From this one single picture it looks like a bumper support bar is out of alignment and causing the urethane bumper to lay flat/in. The bumper cover is made of a flexible urethane, one side can be out of alignment while the other looks fine.

If it IS an issue with poorly repaired fiberglass, you will see signs of the repair on the underside of the hood around the front lip.

jeffp1167

You have a bent skid bar or damaged impact absorber. My 90 was like that when I bought it. My passengerside lined up great but drivers did what yours is doing.







After everything replaced but nothing is really bolted up tight but it lines up excellent when pulled a bit. Yes same car just had a lot of white body panels added to it.

Vette Daddy

Between a hood adjustment and /or a front bumper adjustment, you can do it yourself. Not a big deal to get that much movement.