Chris,
I seem to have had alot more trouble with fit of my hood than most who
have bought from Kent, but less than you encountered (my body man is also
really picky). Despite my car being clipped at about the tops of the wheel
wells, the gaps all around were really close (the hood is a touch short).
But the longitudinal contour on both sides is indeed too flat. We thought
through a number of aggressive solutions but in the end decided they were
all suicidal. It won't get you any councours points, but we put a small
hard rubber block midway in the little u-shaped channel along the inner edge
of the fender to solve the problem. Try it, it makes the countour perfect!
You could add an extra bumper there like those that Rootes put at the back
corner of the hood, but I'm going to opt for gluing something to the bottom
of the hood at that point. If the hood recontours over time, I can just
pull it off.
The contour along the back is also too flat (the corners stick up when
the center is even), but it shares this with many other LAT hoods I've seen.
With the stiffening effect of the box shaped air exit vents, that may be an
inherent artifact of the '60's design and we're leaving that be.
And though the gelcoat is beautiful, there were a number of low spots
to deal with on the surface. BUT, and this is for those potential buyers
out there who may be taken aback by the above, it IS still a great buy and I
have no regrets! Hope this helps some.
Chris Hill
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