Bent Hood

[rmasonjr]

My first post to OTT!

I have a (new to me) ZL1501 (L185) hood that has a decent bend in the seam. The hood fits fine and is causing no problems, however, I'm gearing up to refurbish this tractor and repaint it. I took the hood to an auto shop and they said they *might* be able to do it for $65/hr for a couple of hours. They said the bend is in that seam and it may not come back completely straight.

So, I thought I would maybe try it myself. I thought about using a hydraulic jack with some strategically-placed wooden blocks to try and push it 'up' (see arrows in pic). Or, I could turn it completely over and try it from the other side. I just worry about crushing the rest of the hood in the process.

Any other thoughts on how this could be accomplished?

 

[D2Cat]

Unless you're a better body man then the guys at the body shop you best be satisfied with the way it is and just paint it, or pay them their price. That's an extremely tough spot to work out an imperfection!

 

[Fredneck]

My guess is you'll cause more damage that not. Personally, I like the character the way it is. All of us old guys have a few scars...all well earned.

 

[BadDog]

I spent an earlier life unfolding cars on a frame machine, many of them "totals" that were "diamond" offsets where basically nothing on the car was where it needed to be.

That appears to be a fold resulting from forces applied to the top of the hood going down. Like maybe someone tried standing on it, or sat down on it hard. Most loads falling off a loader or the like would cause localized direct impact dents. Direct impact dents, say from a rock/log/etc falling on the hood, or a door swing or parking lot bump can be worked directly with relative ease using hammer and dolly. But that type of transfer damage cannot be worked directly because a lot of things have moved from where they should be, including the entire plane of the top of the hood. The dent is really just a buckle that happened at a weak spot. You need to look at where the force came from and how things moved, then figure out how to restrain from the point that initially resisted movement resulting in the buckle, and reverse the forces at the original location to reverse the whole process and work at getting everything back where it's supposed to be. And that can be VERY difficult without doing still more damage. That reversed force combined with some localized persuasion (and maybe heat) can fix these things, but working directly at the fold is unlikely to improve things.

 

[rmasonjr]

Thanks guys. Yeah, it is a very tricky spot for a bend.

@BadDog - I think you are right. It looks like someone stood/sat on the hood and pushed it down.

What to do.... I might see if there is a used hood somewhere around me for a reasonable price.

 

[ShaunBlake]

Yep, used hood would "hafta" be in better condition that that tiny nightmare!

Otherwise, Bondo it and paint it, and try not to let it eat at yuh, cuz nobody else would be paying any attention to it.

 

[BadDog]

Hey, it's better than the hood on my B7100. Previous owner loaded the bucket with big rocks, and rolled the bucket back, don't want 'em to fall out ya know. For whatever reason I can't even guess, he then raised it way up high, and dumped the rocks (or a good portion anyway) over the back of the bucket onto the hood. It makes yours look show room fresh. I would replace it if I found one cheap, and I'm keeping my eyes open, but it's not really high on my priority list. It's a 30 year old tractor, not a show piece, so I'm fine with it.

 

[Lil Foot]

Before scrapping the hood, would it look better if the other side was bent down the same amount/way to make it even? From my limited dolly & hammer experience, it looks almost possible & probably impractical to fix, so "evening it out" looks easier. If that is a possibility, it might be worth a try, especially if you have decided to scrap it anyway. Just sayin'..

 

[Calman93611]

Hey, it's better than the hood on my B7100. Previous owner loaded the bucket with big rocks, and rolled the bucket back, don't want 'em to fall out ya know. For whatever reason I can't even guess, he then raised it way up high, and dumped the rocks (or a good portion anyway) over the back of the bucket onto the hood. It makes yours look show room fresh. I would replace it if I found one cheap, and I'm keeping my eyes open, but it's not really high on my priority list. It's a 30 year old tractor, not a show piece, so I'm fine with it.

Hey Russ, saw this on craigslist:
Kubota Parts tractors B6000 and B7100 (Homeland)

Kubota Parts tractor, kubota b6000 parts tractor, trans. parts This was a 4 Wheel drive tractor but that front end is already sold . I just got a B7100 for parts to. steering intact 4 wheel drive front end complete,... sorry wheels and tires are sold. please send contact info. thanks but have b6000 front wheels with worn tires plus b7100 front wheels with worn tires, both sets are for the 4x4. ADDED B 6200HST PARTS PLUS L175 PARTS

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/grd/4912901153.html

Shipping might not be too bad.

 

[BadDog]

Thanks for the lead, just sent an email. I've got friends local who might be willing to hold until the next time I'm out there, if the condition and price are right. The little tractor is well faded and a bit rough but generally straight, a similar condition hood would go a long way to making it look like what it is and less like a total POS.

 

[rmasonjr]

Before scrapping the hood, would it look better if the other side was bent down the same amount/way to make it even? From my limited dolly & hammer experience, it looks almost possible & probably impractical to fix, so "evening it out" looks easier. If that is a possibility, it might be worth a try, especially if you have decided to scrap it anyway. Just sayin'..

Good idea. The closer I looked at it, it looks like someone sat on the hood and bent it down. Now if I could find the same 'weighted' person, that might be worth a shot

 

[Tooljunkie]

Like the one guy said, put on a nice robe, play some barry white And
massage it out...

Will take some time,but reversing the stress is a guess at best.
This is an outdoor machine, a jig some blocks and jacks and push it back where you want it. Sand, grind and fill. Even a freshly painted dent looks better than a faded rusty one. Sanding marks and improper finished filler looks worse when painted.

If bodywork is new to you, it may be worth a couple hundred to get the body panel close to its original glory. Paint woukd be extra.

 

[Alexisferos]

or you can do the opposite, put the hood in the tractor and bolt it,
take a car jack and a piece o wood beam, put the jack on the plate that holds the front weights and with the wood at the hood apply pressure upwards to this 3 points that i have show you.

its as easy as it sounds

 

[CaveCreekRay]

You may have seen this one... A super amazing body shop guy did this and I got charged around 20 hours labor. This took welding, beating, heating, and bondo-ing and ran me $350. Worth every penny as the factory hood (which for me is still available) was $750, paint but no stickers. I needed to as much as possible because the previous owner nailed both of the lights as well at $200 each.

Later, in for service, the dealer couldn't tell until I showed him the areas...

 

[BadDog]

$350 for 20 hours in a body shop, wow. Care to pass along that contact info? Sure looks nice.

 

[rmasonjr]

Wow Ray - they did a great job at a great price!

 

[CaveCreekRay]

This guy was awesome.

He was an older Hispanic guy who obviously knew his way around a body shop. They don't see many tractor hoods. When I brought it in, in this great accent, he laughed and said, "I do whah I can. I tink I can get mo soffit out." When I came back, I was drop-jawed at how nice it looked. I did a Wayne's World "I AM NOT WORTHY!!!" and he laughed. I think he was pretty pleased too.

In retrospect, I probably should have let this guy prep it and shoot it. It would have looked even better. Rattle cans generate a lot of orange peel but I didn't have time to buff it too deep. I used the Kubota spray cans not knowing they stocked quarts. I really didn't have time for show-car quality so I am plenty happy with the result. As I said, the dealer mechanics couldn't tell until I showed them.

I am in awe of this truly gifted guy. I would have ended up mangling it had I tried it myself. Gotta know your limits sometime and give it up to the pros.

 

[rmasonjr]

Update: I tried the hydraulic jack approach with the hood bolted into place. I used various boards and pressure points and got it looking much better. It's good enough for me to get started on sanding, priming, painting, etc. Look for a future post with my progress - thanks all!

 

[BadDog]

Glad you got it to a point you are happy with. More than good enough for a working tractor.