So… I forgot to close the hood

[Dr J]

After coming from a short vacay, I opened the frunk to get the luggage out and left it slightly open because I was going to get something from it but decided not to and, you guessed it, I forgot to close it. I went out for a quick hop to the supermarket and around 25-30 mph my hood opened. This is the second time it has happened during my 20 plus year ownership. It slightly bent the ends of the hood and left two indentations in the cowling. Super annoying but does not seem like anything major, right?





Then… I start visiting shops for estimate and they are all over the place. A couple of shops would not touch it, another estimated $5k, I am waiting on another estimate but I have one for about $2k. Anyone able to give a ballpark of what it should cost? Also, any guesses as to whether the hinges are bent? It took a little bit of force to close it so I don’t want to open but, of course, the car is perfectly useable except for the slight cosmetic damage.

[SCadaddle]

Ouch. The first thing I'd do is connect a pull wire to the latch mechanism and route it out through perhaps an existing grommet in the wheel well/tub. Make sure you can pull the wire and have the latch open completely as a fail safe. Getting the hood stuck really sucks on these cars!

[Dr J]

Oh no, the hood isn’t stuck, the latch works ok. The top edge of the hood is now closer to the air vent which is why I asked about the hinges, in case someone has experienced this.

[Coastr]

It depends what is in those quotes. Are they repairing the hood or replacing? The challenge is going to be in painting - the cowl has to be repainted, strictly speaking T the windshield should come out for that. You’d probably end up painting the entire front of the car to get it to blend well. Find out what’s in the quotes- decide how cheap you want to repair.

[Showdown]

Also, I can’t imagine the $2k quote isn’t just a lot of bondo and paint.

[SCadaddle]

Originally Posted by Dr J

Oh no, the hood isn’t stuck, the latch works ok. The top edge of the hood is now closer to the air vent which is why I asked about the hinges, in case someone has experienced this.

Okie dokie. Your hood now fits closer to the cowl than it did before. Chances are the latch mechanism isn't aligned like it was before the hood flew open. You'll probably remove the hood from the hinges to fix things, then put the hood back on the car. You won't know your final fit until you actually close the latch.

And hope that it opens with just the knob/cable in the dash.

Good Luck.

[77Targa0912]

How did it come open? Shouldn’t you have to push the latch open with your finger? It’s spring loaded.

[RSTarga]

Wait till you paint the whole car. Looks like the paint on there isn't all that great so might as well get it done all at once.

[skinnerd]

Yeah...I agree.
Don't all 911 hoods have that "safety latch" that prevents it from flying up?

[917_Langheck]

Don't people read anymore?

[ChrisHamilton]

Hard to tell exactly from the pictures but I would count on the hinges being bent. Almost always are. At least that has been my experience.

[creaturecat]

go to a reputable shop. get a reputable repair. pay accordingly.
be nice to find a clean hood - in the proper colour.

[MeinTarga]

Mine looks exactly like that. It's been that way for probably 5 years. I'm just biding my time until I repaint the entire car.

[David Inc.]

Mine came like that from the PO, but not so severe. That was 9 years ago and I'm only just taking care of it now with a respray of the car.

The cowl dents will remain but I bet you could have the hood and latches straightened and touched up for not too much, then just drive it.

[Dpmulvan]

The Hood can be easily fixed as well as the hinges. You’ll have to remove the fenders and windshield to properly fix the cowl if you want it done right. Someone with a little talent should be able to pull most of the cowl dents out, it might be a little tricky in those corners and you might have to remove a few things in the Frunk to get access to the back side of the dents. It can be fixed properly without installing a whole new cowl.

[RDM]

I did this once in a Citroen DS. On my birthday. The hood is about forty feet long and aluminum. The roof is fiberglass. So when the hood flew open, it left the windshield alone and bent back against the roof, fracturing the paint.

I had a white roof on my black car with a lumpy-bumpy hood until I got it fixed about a year later.

And no, no secondary hood latch on a DS.

[emac911]

When I first got my 87 I was driving it and a warning kept going off. I realized it was for the frunk being open. Thank goodness the safety latch kept it closed. I would have been devastated!

If you remove the frunk, cowl and Porsche emblem then bring the pieces to the body shop, they may think its a vw and cut the price in half!

[Dr J]

Thanks guys for the replies. A whole car respray is not in the horizon for now. I do want to repair it and not wait around. However, there is another possibility which I have been mulling over which is a carbon fiber hood and have the dent repaired and paint the cowling to match the hood. No blending needed and the dimples on the cowling are definitely fixable. We will see...

[coldstart]

Sorry to hear this happened to you. I wouldn't feel so silly, I also did this but no damage to the car except that all my car history records ended up all over a major highway. It happens to the best of us...