Thanks, everyone's words of encouragement are much appreciated.
The line of the hood to the fender is offset by 35mm. This was a result of coincidence rather than good planning. The body was removed while I fitted the engine and worked on the chassis. Due to the severity of rust I cut out the whole floor, sills and firewall and a new floor pan was fabricated while the body was sat on its back. Then the firewall and transmission tunnel were fabricated after the body was re-fitted so clearance around the engine could be achieved. It was much later when I started the flip front that the position of the hood and fenders became apparent. So to say it is to keep it centred would be wrong but it does to a degree.
I will post some old pictures of the chassis and floor pan build when I scan them in.