nothing will keep the hood from flexing when it's slammed around, by you or the wind, having a narrow rigid strut pushing against the center of that big slab will just result in other problems down the road, which is why it wasn't done at the factory .... the change in hood shape [ridges moved and widened] from 57 to 58 was undoubtedly an attempt by GM to reduce the 'flexiness' of the hood, just like the addition of the ridges in 57 was a 'fix' for the even greater flex of the 55-6 hoods
Bill
