Rams Head Hood Ornament Placement

[Jim Roach]

I am in the process of mounting the rams head hood ornament on my 1952 Pilot House Truck. There are no holes so I will have to drill them myself. Obviously I have only one chance to get it right. Because of the curvature oh the hood it's difficult to determine exactly where the holes go. Can anyone provide a measurement from the bottom lip of the hood center section to the center of the first hole?  I have attached a picture of one I copied from ebay. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Plymouthy Adams]

If I am not mistaken Jim, you can double nut the stud...and remove said stud from the ornament....then you can just mark the location of the hole to the outer edges of the base left and right...position this till you have a good fit with no gaps between  hood and ornament...mark your hood as to the ornament marks you made earlier....next is just ensuring you have centerline....drill some holes.....

[Los_Control]

I think the first problem, that hood ornament does not belong on a 52.

I could only suggest you pm me and I could swap you a 52 hood ornament  

Good score you have, I love those.

 

If you look at the original mounting holes, they are slotted so you have some adjustment back and forth.

IMHO, if you measure and drill and nail it, you did better then the factory.

 

 

 

 

[Reg Evans]

Yes just slide the hood ornament fore and aft until you find the best fit with the curvature of the hood.  By the way the hood ornament you showed is for a 53 Dodge car.  The truck ornament is much longer. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Reg Evans

[Dave72dt]

Check your hood center section at the front end of the side panel hinge section.  They tend to crack at that point.  If you have cracks, fix those before you fit the ornament.  For some reason it may change the profile of the nose section and the ornament fitment may be off.

[ggdad1951]

Get the studs out.  Tape around where it lands.  Take a piece of paper and trim to the outside edge and mark the holes.  Line up with the tape and go to town.

[Jim Roach]

Thanks for all the help. The good news is I also have the correct one and it’s in very good shape, thanks Reg. I wasn’t sure which one was correct but now I know so I’ll work on it to get it lined up an drill away. I’ll get pictures and update everyone. 

[ggdad1951]

11 hours ago, Jim Roach said:

Thanks for all the help. The good news is I also have the correct one and it’s in very good shape, thanks Reg. I wasn’t sure which one was correct but now I know so I’ll work on it to get it lined up an drill away. I’ll get pictures and update everyone. 

 

that first hole is nerve wracking.  I started with e SMALL bit to make sure things didn't wander.

[Jim Roach]

Thanks for that advise. I can see ho the bit could wonder given I’m trying to drill on the ridge and I can’t center punch it because it may put a crease in the hood.

[Plymouthy Adams]

those little spring loaded center punches are so handy for jobs like these....you ought to have one in your car at all times also as in case of wreck, door jammed...put to side glass and press..instant shatter.....get these at your local harbor freight very inexpensive...I have had mine and still use it weekly after over 25 years....

[Los_Control]

3 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

those little spring loaded center punches are so handy for jobs like these.

That's interesting, as a carpenter, for a few years all I did was finish carpentry .... those spring loaded punches seemed like a joke. We all laughed at them.

I do use punches all the time though. Working with wood, I have several sizes, the spring punch seemed to come in one size.

Quite often I could just use a drill bit of small size and press it into the wood to create my own punch.

 

Fast forward to metal, it is a whole different world, I may actually have to pick one up and try it out.

For wood I would say don't waste your time, for metal I think it sounds like a great idea.

New tool time 

[Plymouthy Adams]

well, it is a metal working tool.....I do not recall a punch needed in my wood working...I do however have a need for a couple different nail sets...

[ggdad1951]

14 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

well, it is a metal working tool.....I do not recall a punch needed in my wood working...I do however have a need for a couple different nail sets...

 

I have 2 sizes of spring loaded punches I WILL use whilst woodworking...gives me a nice starting point for a pilot bit just like in metal.

 

Sorry I forgot to mention those in my initial reply to you...I assumed....

[Los_Control]

I apologize for going off topic on wood. Think my point was, as a finish carpenter. Kind of like a production environment.

We may be setting kitchen cabinets this week, going to pre drill a zillion holes. Really not needed to use a punch. If you do slip and start in wrong position, very easy to stop, angle the drill and correct your mistake.

Next week would be hanging doors. Again pre-drilling a zillion holes and just not needed. 4 bdrm, 3 bath, bedroom closets, hall closets, 3 exterior doors We do this everyday  Wood is forgiving. You marked the hole location with a pencil, place your drill bit on the mark, then push the drill. You just indented the wood using the drill.

But I will use a standard punch for special projects on wood.

 

Learning to work with metal, I can see a real use for the spring loaded punch.

I can see myself setting a punch in position, raise the hammer to smack it, and punch slides on the metal out of position.

The spring action would cure this I would guess.

While a old school punch would not slide on wood, and work fine. A spring loaded punch would be improvement on metal

Yesterday was my Ahhh! moment, I still see no use for the spring punch on wood, sure it works fine though. But think metal is different.

just my humble opinion.

[Todd B]

You need to buy a set of vix bits and throw away your punch and guessing where the center of the hole is. 

[Tony WestOZ]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 12:32 AM, Jim Roach said:

Thanks for that advise. I can see ho the bit could wonder given I’m trying to drill on the ridge and I can’t center punch it because it may put a crease in the hood.

 

If you think your going to put a crease in the hood you are using to big a punch and hammer.

The little one in the pic is smaller in dia than a pencil with a very fine point. A very light tap with a small hammer only leaves a very small centre pop. Drill the first hole with a 1/16" drill bit then work up to the size you need.

The one in the centre is 1/2" in dia but I do have a 5/8" one somewhere that would put a nasty dint in thin sheet but is great for thick plate and large holes.

The other is pre spring punches. Set it up on the mark then drop the little weight.

 

Tony   

[Los_Control]

My truck has a couple of dents. One of them was on the center piece of the hood. I could only guess that there was something that dropped on the hood ornament and created the dent.

Which would mean the original ornament was broke and has a replacement.

After pounding out the dent and prepping it for paint, no bondo going in it, I assure you, you wont crease the metal trying to center punch a hole.

You may need to use your 3 pound sledge to dimple it.

 

Pretty sure I will need a 20 ton press to remove the small dent in the tail gate.

[Plymouthy Adams]

1 hour ago, Los_Control said:

My truck has a couple of dents. One of them was on the center piece of the hood. I could only guess that there was something that dropped on the hood ornament and created the dent.

Which would mean the original ornament was broke and has a replacement.

After pounding out the dent and prepping it for paint, no bondo going in it, I assure you, you wont crease the metal trying to center punch a hole.

You may need to use your 3 pound sledge to dimple it.

 

Pretty sure I will need a 20 ton press to remove the small dent in the tail gate.

 

dang carpenters and their 20 oz framing hammers....?  I would say you too used to on a chebbie and not a refine automobile...… (twice the laughter)

[Los_Control]

7 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

 

dang carpenters and their 20 oz framing hammers....?  I would say you too used to on a chebbie and not a refine automobile...… (twice the laughter)

Mine is 26 oz,  

But the metal on these old sheet metal parts is thick, the metal on the tail gates is thicker.

 

The dent in the center section of my hood was right at the curve where the ornament goes, maybe 1" deep.

Pretty sure I had to use my ball peen hammer to get it close, then considerable time with a body hammer and dolly to finish it ... may not be perfect, but with paint it wont look bad.

I can only imagine the force it took to create the dent. I just cant imagine how that force was applied though. Some angry person with a base ball bat comes to mind.

?

If you have dogs, you probably have a old quilt they chewed holes in, lay it down on the work table to protect your paint. I would not worry about creasing the metal though.

[Jim Roach]

Well I took everyone’s advise and I was able to install the hood ornament tonight. Let me know what you think? I have another question. Is there supposed to be some type of gasket between the hood and the ornament?

[ggdad1951]

9 hours ago, Jim Roach said:

Well I took everyone’s advise and I was able to install the hood ornament tonight. Let me know what you think? I have another question. Is there supposed to be some type of gasket between the hood and the ornament?

 

looks great!

 

No gasket.

[Plymouthy Adams]

10 hours ago, Jim Roach said:

Well I took everyone’s advise and I was able to install the hood ornament tonight. Let me know what you think? I have another question. Is there supposed to be some type of gasket between the hood and the ornament?

 

 

hey Jim...a good layer of paint is your gasket.....so called patina is just not sufficient....?  while not year correct, I do like the full horns of the other mascot....

[Young Ed]

12 minutes ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

 

 

while not year correct, I do like the full horns of the other mascot....

 

I'm watching for a cheap one to try and fit on my 47 pickup in place of the OEM one. 

[Plymouthy Adams]

I'll keep my eyes open at our upcoming fall events for one for you.   

[Jim Roach]

Thanks for all the support. I was always unsure which one was correct. Somewhere I thought I read that the “big horn” one was correct but now I know.