Hood hindge

:banghead:OK folks , I have a 70 dart that has been sitting with the hood off for about 4 yrs outside. After sand blasting and painting the under cariage and engine compartment ( last month ), I decided to put the hood on to keep the engine compartment some what clean . the hindge holds the rear of the hood up. There was nothing wrong with it when I took the hood off . What the hell happened and can I fix this. This is a rebuild of a custom car and the removal of the fenders is not an option at this point. Thanks. MOUSE