Top Kick nose

[Willie B]

I'm kind of desperate.
My 1990 GMC Top Kick (1989 style) has the same cab as 1970s square nose pickups. The medium duty trucks had the cab mounted higher, and a hood assembly was four bolted together pieces, hinging at front bumper.
We broke the fiberglass around the hinges. When we took it off we realized it'd been repaired before. The old repairs haven't bonded with the original fiberglass.

No question, replacing makes sense. We've made many phone calls, nobody has one.

It is a tall flat nose. The piece I need is 4" or less thick. Mine is GMC but I'd settle for Chevy. It has four rectangular headlights mounted low, just above the bumper.

 

[Willie B]

Not my truck, mine is red. My truck is 1990 model year, but I believe they had two styles in 1990.

 

[scottwolowich]

I would try this facebook group they are pretty active with classifieds and good intel on getting parts for these medium duty chev/gmcs

https://www.facebook.com/groups/439721766176001

 

[crane operator]

I think I would try to find a boat repair guy or a good body shop man. That or anyone with experience with repairing vette's.

My western star is a fiberglass hood that's been repaired where the hinges are. Its going to need repaired again soon, its getting loose by the hinge plates. I'm going to try to remove all the old repair fiberglass, and add on to the metal plates and reglass/ epoxy it back together. Hopefully a little extra metal will give the glass and epoxy more to get a hold of.

There's some pretty tough new epoxies that with some added extended metal plates maybe you could piece back together the old hood? I read up on it a while back and was reading about some epoxies that actually melt into the old fiberglass bonding it together.

I'm thinking that's going to be easier than finding a good hood. There's not a lot of those around. And unfortunately , most likely any used hood isn't going to be much better than yours is. Its 30 year old fiberglass.

I have also seen extended plates and then metal plates on both sides of the fiberglass bolted through. It looks really crude, but it would get you back running.

 

[Willie B]

I would try this facebook group they are pretty active with classifieds and good intel on getting parts for these medium duty chev/gmcs

https://www.facebook.com/groups/439721766176001

I'll look into it. Thank you.

 

[heymccall]

Try searching "C7000".
I found this one on web.

https://truckpartsinventory.com/parts/details/82917427

 

[Willie B]

I think I would try to find a boat repair guy or a good body shop man. That or anyone with experience with repairing vette's.

My western star is a fiberglass hood that's been repaired where the hinges are. Its going to need repaired again soon, its getting loose by the hinge plates. I'm going to try to remove all the old repair fiberglass, and add on to the metal plates and reglass/ epoxy it back together. Hopefully a little extra metal will give the glass and epoxy more to get a hold of.

There's some pretty tough new epoxies that with some added extended metal plates maybe you could piece back together the old hood? I read up on it a while back and was reading about some epoxies that actually melt into the old fiberglass bonding it together.

I'm thinking that's going to be easier than finding a good hood. There's not a lot of those around. And unfortunately , most likely any used hood isn't going to be much better than yours is. Its 30 year old fiberglass.

I have also seen extended plates and then metal plates on both sides of the fiberglass bolted through. It looks really crude, but it would get you back running.

We stripped it down. It is only the front few inches of hood assembly. Previously repaired breaks were up both edges, around the headlight buckets. Old repair looked very good until last week. Now I see that bonding to original wasn't good.

I hoped to find a good one. I wouldn't object to newer or older style, but I don't know if they will fit.

 

[Willie B]

Try searching "C7000".
I found this one on web.

https://truckpartsinventory.com/parts/details/82917427

That is the one! Thank you.

 

[crane operator]

That's a lovely hinge location. I can see how it would take out the headlight hole.

I saw 4 trucks with that hood arrangement somewhat local to me, 2 of the 4 had cracks in the hood that I could see in the pictures. That hood in the parts listing is in idaho. The shipping may be more than the cost of the hood.

 

[Willie B]

That's a lovely hinge location. I can see how it would take out the headlight hole.

I saw 4 trucks with that hood arrangement somewhat local to me, 2 of the 4 had cracks in the hood that I could see in the pictures. That hood in the parts listing is in idaho. The shipping may be more than the cost of the hood.

View attachment 231430

A very tough one! The body man I've used several times before took one look at mine, said "no way". I've found several, all broken where mine is. The search goes on, but I'm learning most have similar damage to mine.

 

[Truck Shop]

Not positive but I think the single headlight early hood will work, the cowl will match up. just a thought.

 

[Delmer]

I'd make a steel bracket to go to where ever you need to go to attach to more solid fiberglass. With that bad a design to start with, plus thirty years on them, plus they were crappy quality fiberglass mat or chopped strand, there's no not much chance of finding a good one.

IF you think the original repair would have been good enough if it had bonded, you can repeat it. Coarse sand the surface enough to expose the glass strands over a big enough area, and it should stick.

 

[DMiller]

I have searched prior to convert the GMC and Or the Chevy I traded to JY for converting to Fbgls hood(s). No such luck as 99% were busted to bubcus and beyond or already gone. Dealer I bought some pieces thru in New Florence MO burned to the ground, no intention of rebuilding as no finances to start over, yard inventory is to be hauled away scrapped.

 

[Willie B]

I'd make a steel bracket to go to where ever you need to go to attach to more solid fiberglass. With that bad a design to start with, plus thirty years on them, plus they were crappy quality fiberglass mat or chopped strand, there's no not much chance of finding a good one.

IF you think the original repair would have been good enough if it had bonded, you can repeat it. Coarse sand the surface enough to expose the glass strands over a big enough area, and it should stick.

As I see it, it's a bad design. They hinge at a weak point & the fiberglass is very convoluted at the hinge points. Stress cracking is certain & one rough opening of the hood, or limiter cable breaking will break it.

I've studied it many ways, can't come up with a strategy to reinforce it with steel or aluminum.

 

[crane operator]

I think you may be best off to look for what Truck Shop recommended. Find the single headlight one. Cowl should be the same, but it looks like the fenders may not be the same. Take the cut off wheel and taper the wheel fenders so they kind of meet each other and live with it.


I think you'll have to do a little carving in here so they kind of meet up at the same point. But the rest may fit.

Now that I look at the pictures a little more, it looks like the single headlight hood, the fenders meet the door line in a higher point. You may have to take the back portion off the donor cab also and fit them to your cab in the higher location. Its not going to be a bolt up and fit.

 

[crane operator]

Okay, so I messed around with some pictures, It looks like the cab sits higher on the style you have, than what the old single headlight one does.

The fenders not lining up at the rear, isn't as big of a deal, as if the front grill area is actually taller on the quad headlight hood, than what the single headlight hood is. If the cab sits higher off the frame rails, I'm concerned that the top of the hood won't line up with your cab, without raising the hinge point area. Only a tape measure would tell.

Quad light hood on the left, single light hood on the right.

 

[Delmer]

run a piece of angle iron across the outside, between the hinges and the hood, paint it green. I don't know what the back side looks like, maybe 1" conduit all the way across and cover with fiberglass?

 

[Willie B]

I've been wracking my brain. I came home an hour ago with a hood not damaged quite as bad as mine. I can put a 1/4" X 4" strip of aluminum between hinges & fiberglass. I may have to reposition hinges to correct for that 1/4". I can back up this strip with similar shaped shorter pieces, bolted, or riveted through fiberglass.
I'll weld 1/4" straps vertical to the inner back up pieces.

It is good this hood looked like "Fido's but" when it left the GM factory. My dental work might dress it up!

 

[Willie B]

Okay, so I messed around with some pictures, It looks like the cab sits higher on the style you have, than what the old single headlight one does.

The fenders not lining up at the rear, isn't as big of a deal, as if the front grill area is actually taller on the quad headlight hood, than what the single headlight hood is. If the cab sits higher off the frame rails, I'm concerned that the top of the hood won't line up with your cab, without raising the hinge point area. Only a tape measure would tell.

Quad light hood on the left, single light hood on the right.


View attachment 231511

My 1976 C65 had the same cab. The difference seems to be the 5" tall pedestal propping up the cab on Top Kick & Kodiak. I'll presume they need a different hood because of this pedestal.

I note the blue example in your pictures has rivet heads above the hinges. I don't know if these are factory, or repair. Mine has headlights where your blue pictured truck has reinforcement riveted.

 

[Welder Dave]

Would a later hood possibly work? The hood goes right back to the cab without a spacer but some of the other hoods show a spacer. Maybe there were 2 styles of hoods on the older models?

1995 GMC Topkick C7H042 truck in Mountain View, MO | Item 3923 sold | Purple Wave