The hood of a '55 Chevy somewhat resembles a huge tarmac, so it's not surprising that the design team at GM bolted a gigantic chrome plane to it. Fifty years later, it seems almost sacrilegious to alter a stock-bodied Tri-Five Chevy, but the hood ornament has to go if you want to build a hot rod or custom '55 (the latter of which there are far too few examples).
There are two ways to finish the peak on a hood: You can shrink the existing ornament mount to match the rest of the peak, or you can cut out the existing nose, fabricate a new one, and weld it in. We're going with the latter method, which, although rather difficult, is easier for the less skilled metalworker.
The major drawback to welding in a new piece is the warping caused by the shrinking effects of welding. The sheetmetal in these hoods is rather thin and flimsy, so it moves quite a bit when it shrinks. With a lot of patience (or a lot of Bondo, whichever you prefer), any amount of shrinking can be remedied, and I think making a new peak is more accurate than shrinking the existing metal, although that is up to the builder's discretion.
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