Interesting idea. I always thought they are too thin to be braces. Maybe they are a safety add on. Perhaps to keep the plastic hood from splitting in two pieces during a crash and coming though the windshield.
I've also wondered why is mostly the passenger side of the hood warps more than the driver side. At least that has been my observation. Maybe the chassis twist flexes the hood in this direction.
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I built it one piece at a time and it cost me more than a dime. 
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