Hi brady,
Your best bet might be to find a replacement hood.
I believe the brace you are talking about is spot welded and the edges of the hood are wrapped into it.If the brace is rusted out it will be very difficult to find just that part.
Otherwise,tear it down and weld in patches.
Another place for rust on these hoods is on the front,inside, lower lip(front braces) where the hood meets the grill support.Difficult to see and easy to miss.
Hope this helps you some,Good luck and keep us posted.
