641 Sheetmetal Question (Hood)

[ag4ever]

I am starting the process of cleaning up my '58 641 Workmaster, and before I put new paint on the sheetmetal I want to be sure it all fit together properly.

All of the panels that bolt to the steering assembly and dash and radiator support appear to be in good order, but there is an excessive gap on one side of the hood. The hinges are adjusted all the way out to minimize this gap. To me it looks like the nose piece is too wide and holding the two fenders apart.

What should the gaps be around the edges of the hood? I assume the hood should rest on the middle of the springs on the latch side and have about the same gap on the hinge side correct? If I have the hood adjusted to the maximum of the slot adjustment on the hinge, how else can the hood gap be adjusted?

I am fairly sure I can tighten up the gap at the rear through working the fender to dash connection as it is fairly loose and most of the bolts were missing. but, the front is all assembled as tight as it can be together, there is no more space that can be obtained by tightening up the panels.

 

[Hal/ Eastern WA]

I suspect that at some time or another, the center front part, the "nose cone" has been hit and deformed so it is wider than it should be, especially near the hood.

When I got my 641D, it had very obviously been hit and pushed back in the same area. That nose cone part was pretty dented up, and the hood would not close properly. I took off the sheet metal and dismantled it. I then pounded the nose cone more or less back into shape. When I reassembled the sheet metal parts, I installed the nose cone about 1/2 inch forward of where it had been, and then the hood would close. Not close entirely properly, but lots better than it had been.

But the gaps around my hood are about the same as those on your tractor. My hood will not latch and the springs do not pop the hood up as I believe they should. But my tractor is a worker, and the way it works is good enough for me, at least right now. Just like red primer is good enough to protect the old sheet metal.

If I had it to do over, while I had the nose cone out, I would figure out some way of making it about 1/2 inch narrower. Maybe this could be done in a hydraulic press, or in a large vise. With my old, previously dented up and probably metal stretched part, I am guessing that the metal movement would need to be done very slowly to avoid squishing it too much and/or kinking the part. I also suspect that the sides of the hood area are also bent out a bit, and maybe there would be some way to pull them in the required distance. But it all has to bolt back together and look sort of like the factory intended it to. Slotting mounting holes and washers might be necessary.

I think that the "nose cone" piece of sheet metal is available, but since I have never seen one of the aftermarket parts, I would not want to say that they would fit exactly like the factory parts did, or were supposed to. If you decide to get a replacement nose cone, I would like to find out just how well it fit, or how much you had to modify it.

Working sheet metal is an art. I have pounded on some sheet metal over the years, but SURE am no artist! I can get metal fairly close to back where it should be, but there are people who really know what they are doing and who can fix just about anything. If you don"t want to try it yourself, you might talk to someone from an old body shop. It might cost some money, but I bet they could make your sheet metal look brand new and factory fresh.

Or you might decide, like me that the way it is is good enough! Good luck, HTH.

 

[ag4ever]

(quoted from post at 15:04:39 05/27/13) I suspect that at some time or another, the center front part, the "nose cone" has been hit and deformed so it is wider than it should be, especially near the hood.

When I got my 641D, it had very obviously been hit and pushed back in the same area. That nose cone part was pretty dented up, and the hood would not close properly. I took off the sheet metal and dismantled it. I then pounded the nose cone more or less back into shape. When I reassembled the sheet metal parts, I installed the nose cone about 1/2 inch forward of where it had been, and then the hood would close. Not close entirely properly, but lots better than it had been.

But the gaps around my hood are about the same as those on your tractor. My hood will not latch and the springs do not pop the hood up as I believe they should. But my tractor is a worker, and the way it works is good enough for me, at least right now. Just like red primer is good enough to protect the old sheet metal.

If I had it to do over, while I had the nose cone out, I would figure out some way of making it about 1/2 inch narrower. Maybe this could be done in a hydraulic press, or in a large vise. With my old, previously dented up and probably metal stretched part, I am guessing that the metal movement would need to be done very slowly to avoid squishing it too much and/or kinking the part. I also suspect that the sides of the hood area are also bent out a bit, and maybe there would be some way to pull them in the required distance. But it all has to bolt back together and look sort of like the factory intended it to. Slotting mounting holes and washers might be necessary.

I think that the "nose cone" piece of sheet metal is available, but since I have never seen one of the aftermarket parts, I would not want to say that they would fit exactly like the factory parts did, or were supposed to. If you decide to get a replacement nose cone, I would like to find out just how well it fit, or how much you had to modify it.

Working sheet metal is an art. I have pounded on some sheet metal over the years, but SURE am no artist! I can get metal fairly close to back where it should be, but there are people who really know what they are doing and who can fix just about anything. If you don"t want to try it yourself, you might talk to someone from an old body shop. It might cost some money, but I bet they could make your sheet metal look brand new and factory fresh.

Or you might decide, like me that the way it is is good enough! Good luck, HTH.

Thanks for the idea. We have tractor salvage yard nearby. I might see if they have a better set of tin that fits better or some of the parts. I need to parking brake levers anyways.

Or I might see what I can do with this nose piece. I had even thought of cutting a sliver out of each side then welding it back together. Not sure what I plan on doing. I want it to look nice as I will be spending plenty on new paint, but in the end it will be a deer lease tractor for shredding shooting lanes.

 

[souNdguy]

mighta been hit so is leanign down a bit.

i'd be surprised if ya couldn't tweak it a bit to fit.

 

[GT65]

I believe where the dash bolts to the steering housing and where the hood mounts to the front axle there are two sets of holes. You want to be in the lower sets. I think the upper sets are for the 801 and 901 which have a bigger gas tank and slightly wider hood!!
GT65

 

[ag4ever]

I was puzzled at first regarding the two bolting locations on the dash. I thought there were two locations for the side panels to bolt to the dash. Now I see that there are two locations on the steering assembly for the dash to bolt.

All of the sheet metal was bolted into the lower holes, both the dash and the front dog legs.

Is there a different center section for the 8X1 vs the 6X1? If the 8X1s have a wider hood, there has to be a way that the side panels are held further apart, right?

 

[Don Mc L]

My 601 had badly dented dog legs but I was able to buy aftermarket replacements & had them welded to the hood sides. I didn"t realize until after I painted the hood, hood sides & new dog legs that the front of the hood sides were slightly deformed due to the previous dog leg damage. The hood fits Ok side to side but doesn"t look quite right with the fit at the front & nose cone. As mentioned a good body shop could fix that but the sheet metal looks a lot better than it did before! Good Luckwith your repair.