Front Hood Installation

We're getting down to the final steps of the rebuild!  This weekend I got a bunch of things done.  First, I reattached the front hood.  It has been sitting in my back bedroom / storage room for a year so it was a bit dusty!  Installing it was a little tricky because I'm working by myself.  In order to not scratch anything, I laid blankets all the way around and gently laid the hood down.

I reached under and got one bolt int each hinge to finger-tight.  I then lifted the hood and got the other two bolts finger tight.  I removed the blankets and carefully laid the hood down.  It had good clearance on all sides so I lifted it gently to avoid moving the bolt position, then snugged up all bolts with a socket wrench.  I laid the hood down again and centered the hood, making all of the gaps even.  I lifted the hood and tightened all bolts down hard.  I laid the hood down and the gaps were perfect!

I cleaned the hood with detailer and it looks fantastic.  The only problem is I don't have an upper hood latch.  I went back to my pictures and found that the latch went with the hood to the body shop, so I assume it's long gone now, along with the rear hinges.  I searched around the web and found one on sale on eBay for $5, so I snapped it up.  I'll clean it and bolt it into place when it arrives next week.