I got the center strip welded up and cleaned up the welds. There was some distortion so I started getting that planished by hand. Progress is slow. There is very little crown in the rear half of this panel so that's where it's most difficult. I'm alternating between hammer on and hammer off with steel dollies to stretch the metal back out and hammer with wooden block dolly for shaping.
There was no framework on this hood so for now I needed to add a brace across the rear. This was cut from the original hood hinge assembly and welded to the edges. I'll need more framework under here but for now, this will keep the metal in shape so I can continue to work with it.
I've got most of the distortion straightened out but it still has a ways to go. It's difficult to reach some of the middle area with a hammer and dolly so it's slow going. It will probably take another day's work to finish by hand.
I took a break from the hood and started making the right front side molding. This is the large end of the strip that is on the door and rear half of the fender. The molding is tapered so I left out the section where the wheel opening is so that the width of the molding in front is the correct size. I'm not sure I want to use this front trim piece. We designed the car to have it but I was liking the clean look with just the park lamp below the headlight. I'll have to set the grill back in and take another look but I think I'll end up keeping it as close to the rendering as possible. Ray and I spent countless hours trying to get the look right. That would be wasted time if I start changing things now.