Passenger cold air intake hitting hood. Anybody modify one?

[langester]

I took it for granted that the hood on my Bronco fit when I tore it down. I have finally got to the stage of putting everything back together and found that my passenger cold air intake hits the hood. I left the air intake off when I installed the fender and the hood and then had to go back and install it when I realized I forgot it.
I have an aftermarket hood that came with my Bronco. It looks like the WildHorses Classic hood scoop model. It has extra bracing built into it on the bottom side and that is what is hitting the air intake.
I am thinking about cutting the top of the air intake down at the point where it has a lip on the fender side. Making a straight cut all the way around (basically a 1 inch thick square) and then inset that piece back into the hole and epoxy it back into place, I may need a filler piece on the tapered side.
Has anyone had to modify one to fit, if so do you have any pics? I am open to any suggestions you might have as well.

Thanks in advance!

 

[fordguy]

How does the cold air intake fit with the battery box on that side?

 

[langester]

I might not have worded this correctly. I am referring to the intake for the heater that mounts to the side of the inner fender and is vented through the hood grate next to the windshield.
Sorry for the confusion.

 

[fordguy]

I might not have worded this correctly. I am referring to the intake for the heater that mounts to the side of the inner fender and is vented through the hood grate next to the windshield.
Sorry for the confusion.

disregard my question lol

 

[langester]

Its all good! Thanks for the reply.

 

[DirtDonk]

How much clearance, or air gap, is beneath the heater air intake? They often sit proud of the cowl area beneath them, but usually not high enough to hit the hood.

And I "thought" that all of our hoods, even when reinforced, were designed to fit with all stock stuff in place. Not familiar with that particular brace though, so might be off-base entirely with that thinking.

Good luck!

Paul

 

[langester]

It is sitting about an 1/8" to 1/4" off of the cowl. It looks to be about a 1/2" too high on the left and right sides on the edge closest to the windshield. That is where the braces make contact. I will try to get a pic of the underside of the hood and post it up as well. Not sure where it came from, it came with the Bronco when I bought it and looks to be an older model.
Thanks for the reply!

 

[DirtDonk]

Well that small gap is well within the norm. Not unusual to see 1/2 to 3/4 inch gaps at the end towards the center of the cowl.

Paul

 

[langester]

Mine started off worse than what I have now. I gently massaged the inner kick panel with a BFH and a 2x4 to get it to settle down a bit. I had a slight warp from all the welding on that panel. I am going to try to get some pics tomorrow. My Bronco is at my Buddies shop.

 

[JR.BONNER]

Following thread as well. Have a Wildhorse Buckaroo hood, and a wildhorse heater intake box, mine hits as well, in fact I took the neoprene cushion off and it still leaves a mark of the plastic grill on the underside of hood. My heater box sits relatively flat maybe 3/16 of a inch up off cowl on the corner closest to the motor.

Langester , like your idea of adapting the plastic, I didn't cut out the grooves in my fiberglass hood for the fresh air, worried that it would make fiberglass to weak. so I have other issues with fresh air intake.
Just breaking in motor and working out other kinks.

 

[langester]

Here are some pics of the hood and a few shots of where it is hitting. The last pic is where I am thinking about cutting the box and dropping it down about an inch or so.

 

[langester]

JR.BONNER, I am with you on cutting the hood. If mine had not already been cut by the P.O. I would have done mine differently. I did not see any cracking in that area when we were working on the hood but it looks pretty thin to me.

 

[langester]

I missed a pic. This should be the last pic with the mark where I plan on cutting.

 

[DirtDonk]

I'll pass it along and make sure we take a closer look at what we've got.

Will you be putting some sort of sealing flange on the heater intake after you cut?

Thanks for bringing it up.

Paul

 

[langester]

I was thinking I will need to come up with some kind of seal to keep the fumes from under the hood from sneaking in. Not sure about it but in my mind it seems like the thing to do. Hopefully I can work on it this weekend and report back on my progress.
Thanks for the replies! Always appreciate other eyes on the project at hand!

 

[langester]

Here are a couple pics of what I have done so far. Its been snowing like crazy here so I have been at work and not able to get to the Bronco. I cut out what needed to be to miss the hood braces. I was able to stick it inside the base and figure the best placement and what needed to be cut. I epoxied the two pieces back together and will make a filler piece next time I get to work on it.
Its not pretty but it is functional.

 

[langester]

The box on top is full of bolts for weight to hold it in place until the epoxy dries and the board in the back is to put pressure on the box to keep it in line. I thought I should explain after I saw the picture.

 

[Skytrooper15]

I believe that now is the time to learn about fiberglass work.Just buy a quart can of resin, activator and fiberglass cloth and have at it.Just keep it in the shape you want and if you make a mistake just sand it down.Be sure to pick up a breathing mask with filters and some eye protection.Looking good so far mine sticks up higher than that but I have a stock hood.Good job.

 

[langester]

I might give that a shot. I am always interested in trying something new. I think that would be the best way to make it look like something other than one of my failed grade school projects.
Thanks for the help, always appreciated!

 

[DirtDonk]

I agree it's good to know glass. I'm going to be practicing on my rapidly decomposing factory camper shell. But not by choice!

Not sure Langester's not on to something here though. I think I'd rather "practice" on the intake rather than the notably more expensive hood.
Either way is good though, and perhaps doing the hood makes more sense. But seems like if this is going to work, it's a good solution.

Was thinking as I looked at the pics that the perfect way to align it would be to install the seals, then tape the grille piece to the hood, then figure out a way to get a leprechaun under there to epoxy it in place!
Zip zam zowie and swoosh! Perfect fit!;D

Paul