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Driving without a hood Brace?

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  Chevy Chase 
#1 ·
Would it be safe to drive my '57 without a hood brace. I replaced my radiator not realizing the top hose on the new radiator is in the center. My current hood brace is notched off center which means I can't close the hood. I can get a hood brace that is notched in the center but I'm just wondering if it would be okay to temporarily drive the car without a brace while I wait for the new one to come in.
As always, thanks in advance for any feedback.

Jim
 
#6 ·
I drove without one for years and it was not a huge deal. I will say cooling did improve on the highway when I finally got around to putting one in.
 
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#8 ·
Several decades ago, removed the 6 cyl from my '55 Chevy 210 and installed a 327 V8. Ran into the same problem. The 6 cyl radiator hose was on the left side and the V8 hose was in the center. IIRC I cut an opening in the hood cross brace for the V8 hose and pieced in sheetmetal to fill the 6 cyl opening. This would get you by until the new cross brace arrives.
 
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