Hood corners

Last March, there was considerable discussion on how to make credible hood corners for the 1930’s Pierces. Conventional corners won’t work because of a tapered bead along the bottom of the hood. When visiting PAS member Peter Fawcett of Whitney, Ontario, he showed me his rather elegant solution for this common problem. I tried it on my 1930 model B and was pleased with the results, so I’m sharing it with the membership.

The enclosed photo shows a piece of .016” brass sheet bent to form the backing of the corner. Pierce used sheet steel which didn’t stand the test of time. The formed corner was covered with thin leather and rivited through the two 1/8” holes drilled diagonally on the four corners of the hood. If they have been filled in during a restoration, you’ll have to find them again. Forming the brass can be easily done using common hand tools and a bit of patience. About the only tool many members might not have is a Vice-Grip metal bending pliers which I found very useful. These can be found on Amazon for about $20.00, and are really handy to have in your tool box.

For the 1929-1931 models, about a 3 1/2” square of brass is needed. Other models might be different. Cut a square from one corner to make a tab which will be folded over the edge and rivited later, as seen in the photo. Make a 90*bend 2” down, then holding the bend tightly against a 3/8” bolt held vertically in a vice, bend the brass around the bolt about 120* to give you a 3/8” radius. Then take the piece to your hood, and holding the flat section tightly against the hood surface, wrap the brass around the bottom bead to match its contour. This thickness of brass will bend easily. Leave about 3/8” extra material to crimp under the bead after it’s covered with leather. All four corners will be different. I’ll post additional photos later.

Tom Barrett