[GT182]

Sorry to hear about the damage. Your photos are so large I
couldn't find the damage in them.

Even if you had the hood closed and latched, the safety "ear"
on the latch should have stopped it from coming open all the
way and causing damage. Normally you have to reach in with
your fingers and pop the latch to get it all the way open. Tho
I'm not familiar with the hood latch on a 71. Tho in the catalog
I do see that safety "ear" on the 71 latch assembly. Maybe the
release rod is broken and the hood didn't latch. Check it out.

I've had the hood pop open on my 66 going down the road at
55 and it didn't fly back. That safety "ear" on it kept it down.
And I've seen guys going down the road with the hood open a
bit to get more air in the engine compartment to cool it down.