The SS nose, part 4

(05/01/00) Final assembly begins (finally!)
I told ya I'd get to the wire conduit before long. You can also see the kit-supplied brackets on the left. The headlights and buckets were also supplied.

Here are the additional upper brackets. This thing is well supported.

I had to do a little test driving...a literal "shakedown cruise" to make sure that nothing fell off.
Then I parked it in from the house for a pic or two. Oh...and all the parts stayed bolted together.

Here's a rear three-quarter shot. I got an e-mail from The gent at Choo Choo who tells me that they make a roll pan that's a companion to the nose. So the bumper will probably disappear next.

This is the license plate bracket. I'm fixin to install it and the plate, so the local constabulary will quit hassling me.

I drilled a couple of holes in the fascia at the point of the reinforcing. For those who might install this on a different type of fascia, measure for proper fit.

Then I test fit it with the the bottom two bolts in and drilled the top holes. I bought some 1/4 inch x 1 1/2 inch bolts and Nylock nuts to keep the bolts from loosening up.

Then I bolted it all together and tightened things up.
It's starting to look a little more like the plate really means something: "Monte Camino".

I had to take it out in the sunlight to show these final points.
I had to remove the low tension springs from the hood hinges to get the POS Unlimited Products cowl hood to lie flat. Here's how I fixed that:

I got a prop rod from a Pontiac 6000 at the local Pick N Pull.
I also got the fastening hardware...here's the hinge end.

And here's the retaining clip.
I had to trim about 6 inches off the end and then reform the rod slightly so that it would fit both when supporting the hood and when in the down position in the retaining clip.

It almost looks like it belongs there. Well, it works anyway.

With the light at this angle you can see how the lines of the nose match up with the lines of the hood.
The last upper support braces really helped this out.

See the sag in the center of the cowl? I'm either gonna have to fabricate a brace or break down and buy a real hood from Harwood.

Overall I'm very pleased with the kit from Choo Choo. The instructions are very explicit that "expert installation" is required.
I'm not sure I qualify for that level, but it wasn't a project that I could have done over a weekend.
It requires some fabrication, ingenuity and patience.
I would heartily reccomend the kit to an experienced person, but it's not something for the novice.

Next page: Repairing the hood.

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