So I just recently traded my bike for a civic. The hood was damaged before so it was replaced with some aftermarket OEm style hood. This was the previous owner. The problem is, it doesn't line up in the front. There is about a 1inch gap between the hood and the headlights, bumper and grille. And those line up perfectly. In fact everything looks good, just the gap looks stupid in the front.

A friend at school who's into Hondas said I probably have a 96-98 hood and that the 99-00 hood is a little longer and will fit perfectly. Is this true? The shape of this one looks like it's the correct one so I don't really want to buy a hood yet. Any insight on this would be helpful.

 

That is true. the contour of the headlights and grille changed in '99. other than that the hoods are pretty much the same- fit the same hinges, line up with the fenders...

sound to me like you did end up getting the wrong year.