Well, misery loves company! Thanks David.
I think I have about a half inch gap between hood sides and fenders too, which I'm planning on splitting between the two sides, if I can. But the hood/fender gaps aren't uniform in width, for a given side. Basically shows that body isn't square on the frame, I think. The wheel arches are like two penninsulas extending out from the firewall. They are spaced by the apron tie bar that creates the distance between the two wheel arches at the top. At the bottom of the penninsulas, they bolt to the frame on the diagonal suspension support and in the front, adjacent to the radiator (each side). But if the penninsulas aren't square to the body, then the hood to fender gaps may be non-uniform (for a given side - ignoring the fact that the gaps just seem too big, too).
Hoping that someone might confirm that unbolting (or loosening) the front of the tub from the frame and giving the two fender well penninsulas a good tug may give me a little adjustment and help square up the hood to fender gaps.
My car was in a collision (I thought it was fairly minor) on one side (apron and wing) and I'm hoping it didn't tweak this alignment too much.
I'll post a few photos to pique the community's interest.
pat