What is wrong with Harold's Bonnet?

[jjbunn]

Here's a picture of the front tip of Harold's bonnet:

It's got a little rust, and is a little crumpled. I'm prepared to spend some time fixing it up, but how should I go about it? Am I wasting my time ... is this a job for a skilled expert only (which I most definitely am not)?

 

[Steve_S]

Being a '73, it should be a steel bonnet. This will make it far easier to fix than the early aluminum ones. If that's the only damage and it is otherwise straight and true, I'd say it will be a pretty simple fix. Bondo will be involved unfortunately.

 

[PAUL161]

Julian, It can be repaired, but it's a pain to do it. You need a slightly curved flat bar with a smooth end, long enough to slide over the brace under the hood and hit the front damaged area. tapping on the end of the bar with a small hammer, you can get dent out far enough to work on it. I would use very little bondo in that area as this is a pressure point when closing the hood. Bondo will crack under a strain. PJ

 

[DrEntropy]

If you decide to tackle it, Paul's method is the only way. If you put filler on it (and you'll need some, most likely) use USC "all-metal". It has inclusions suspended in it. It'll bear up a bit better than "Bondo".