I don't know if anyone else has encountered this but I've never seen it before. My hood is even with the grill instead of protruding past it slightly. Whenever it rains, the water runs down the lip of the hood and puddles on top of the core support. I painted it when I did my engine work and its starting to rust already. The hood can't be adjust forward because the chrome at the rear of the hood wouldn't line up. A fix has me baffled.
If it lines up otherwise and looks good I second the drain hole suggestion. Good paint on the support won't rust.
Could you post some pic's of the area with the Hood Open and Closed? If drain holes are not an option maybe we can come up with some sort of seal.
I can't get pictures now because I've got the car cover cinched on for the heavy weather we are having for the next several days. Probably couldn't tell anything anyhow. I've got the grill and headlight chrome off. Look closely at the front of the car in my other thread. As the water comes off the front of the hood it runs over the edge and hits the chrome and runs back under the hood. Drain holes aren't a cure as anything that gets washed off the hood end up there. Right now it's full of yellow oak pollen and mold. http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30860 What I'm wondering is if people who have similar cars have the same problem, or if for some reason their hoods extend out farther than mine.
I figured since Krash is a frequent contributor and has an 81, that he might have a little insight into the matter. Maybe he never opens his hood.
- Sorry, Old Fox. I missed this thread. Yup. Here's some pics of mine. Same as an '80 except for the actual grill itself. Front. On mine, the edge of the hood is set back from the face of the grill by maybe 3/16" (?) Shot across the bow.... Under the hood, there is a metal filler panel that bolts between the back of the grill and the actual core support. It has 8 holes in it to drain water. Hope this helps..... Marshall
Yup, just like mine. Looking at your last picture, it seems like you have a lot of smutz that gathers there in spite of the drain holes. Looks like a design flaw. Hood should have extend forward a bit more. The only reason I noticed was because I had scotchbrited mine and painted it with a rattle can and it looks worse now than before I started.
Yeah, the Way Back Machine needs some lovin'...... been using her hard lately, and haven't really given her a good cleaning since before winter.
I took note of your problem, and when I watched the Fast 'n' Loud episodes last night, the two Firebirds had the hoods set back as part of the design, so I'm sure the design cue has made it to your wagon.
Come to think of it, I used to have a red on red '68 Firebird convertible looking much like that and it too had a propensity to catch water under the front edge of the hood. Looked like this:
