As the intercooler, carb bonnet and radiator exhaust all require changes in the hood, I've decided to jump in with both feet and construct a whole new hood from fiberglass. To build the new hood I used the original steel one as a mold. Cutting along the edge with a dremel tool separated the inner and outer skins. The inner and outer skins are also bonded together from the factory with an extremely tough adhesive. I tried several different solvents, as well as heat to soften without success. I finally separated the pieces by using diamond coated saw wire.
Here's the inner skin back on the car to check for clearance. The exit for radiator air is quite similar in size and shape to the front opening in the photo. I used this inner panel as a mold to build a new one of fiberglass retaining the factory hinges.
This is the outer hood that was used as a mold for a new fiberglass one.
The completed inner hood next to the original steel pieces. The fender here is a fiberglass one I found at a wrecker for $10. At this time, I hadn't yet decided to build a complete one-piece front.
Here it is:
To provide clearance for both the intercooler and the carb bonnet I decided to make twin "carb humps" similar to the single one on the original Daytona Coupes. For a mold I used a roast pan lid! To provide a flat surface for the top of each hump, I poured a layer of molten wax into the lid. The lid was then coated with paste wax and two casts were made. I had to add a small bump to the one on the drivers side to provide additional clearance for the tubing from the intercooler to carb bonnet.
A view from the front:
I still faced many hours of finishing work. The hump over the intercooler still needed to be built up in thickness to match the other one. The center crease was still on at this point. Since then it has been removed from the radiator opening forward.
Another view:
I hope people won't be tossing garbage into the radiator duct!