Pre T6 Front Hoods

[Jim Wayman]

If you have read Brett Johnson's article in the current issue of the Registry magazine, you might have seen his mention of a project that we are working on regarding early 356 hoods. Basically, the points of interest are the makeup of the inner hood structure and the curvature of the hood. The general visual shape of all hoods from the earliest to the T5 is the same. The big change was with the squaring off of the T6 hood. Along the way, Porsche (Reutter) made some subtle changes to the hoods. What we are asking is for those with undamaged hoods that are original to their cars to take some pictures and measurements. Attached is a diagram that will hopefully clarify what is needed. To establish the curvature of the hood, a string should be stretched taut on the underside of the hood along the centerline. Mark the string every 6" starting from front to back. At each of the marks, measure the distance from the string to the underside of the hood and note the measurement. As for the inner structure, note whether the two side portions of the inner structure overlap the front portion or vice versa. Finally, take a picture of the left hinge bracket on the hood where it attaches to the hinge showing the spot welds and the serial number digits. Send the hood curvature measurements, the inner structure overlap style and picture of the hinge bracket along with the full serial number to me at hiway9999@hotmail.com. Thanks for your help.