1964 Dodge Polara Hood

[grubby65]

I'm going to freshen the motor in the Polara this winter and I am considering going to a different intake which will require more clearance. I was wondering if anyone has cut a hole in a steel hood and what it did to the structural integrity of it. I think the hole would be around 15" in diameter. I'm not that concerned about ruining an original the hood, the previous owner had louvers punched in it under the scoop. I just don't want the hood to wave at me like a sheet on the clothes line as I drive down the road.

 

[Centerline]

I'm running a Mopar M-1 intake on the 440 in my '64 and I'm also using a Street Wedge air cleaner. Needless to say this setup won't fit under the hood. I'm using a Hemi scoop I picked up on E-bay and have cut a large hole in the hood to fit the air cleaner. If you look closely at the pics you can see small tack welds about ever 6 inches or so that keep the top of the hood tied to the inner structure so it won't flex. There are also a couple tabs I left in the skin that fold over the front of the opening to add additional strength to the structure. I also had to make some small mods to accommodate the large diameter of the air cleaner which are also evident in the pics. The best I can tell the hood is just as stiff now as it was before the mods.

 

[bearman]

Great looking 64 really like the color. I would just do what centerline going to do. Unless you want to go glass hood with a scoop. I'm doing it on mine got it from glasstek.