Damn you guys are going to drive me nuts now. I remember polishing that thing and clearing it. Did I put it back on the car??? I have a funny feeling I didnt. Cars in storage and I cant find a good pic of the cowl. Well this will bug me for a few days now. Thanks a lot.
It grounds the hood which couples the massive EMI from the secondary ignition to ground. Ok, fine. It makes the radio work better. But it has to contact for it to ground, so if you dont have those handsome little scratch marks in your hood where it touches, then it ain't working anyway.
This would probably work: http://www.cjponyparts.com/SCOTT-DRAKE-COWL-TO-HOOD-GROUNDING-STRAP-1967-1968/p/HW2844/ or this: (no pic) http://www.cjponyparts.com/67-73-RADIO-HOOD-GROUND-1-HARDWARE-ONLY-1967-1973/p/F427/
For those who may hot still have the ground plate but still want the ground the hood for emi issues have alternatives. Lots of guys in amatuer radio utilize braided straps on doors, hoods and deck lids to reduce emi from entering other electrical devices in the vechicle.
Yeah...look what you have started! Now you have people calling a thin sheet of metal a PLATE. In my book a "plate" is a least a 1/4" thick.
...I was thinking the...hood latch...pretty much does that... the...copper thing...was on the painted surface. so from the factory it had to wear through the paint before it could do any grounding...
A piece of wire from the firewall to the hinge bolts would guarantee a good ground. as for the hood latch - have you ever seen a trailer that was grounded through the ball? lights on, lights out, lights on, out, on, out...... there really isn't any reason bot to ground the hood unless you are using a fiberglass unit and even then you can glue som tin foil to it and ground that.
The sound from an AM would cut completely out going under a bridge...I guess they still do. Ain't listen to AM in 30 years
