I was wondering if anyone has done this conversion before. I am aware that the front of the hood will be slightly above the line of the stock bumper, but thats ok. My question is whether anyone knows if the latch which locks the hood in place will still operate properly, seeing that the hood is raised, I am thinking the latch wont reach the lock ?

this question has been asked heaps before pretty sure you need the gt 4 latch

read this:
How To Convert To A GT-Four Front End


but to answer your question, you can still use the stock latch. the hood will close fine but it takes a bit of force to close it. the problem is the safety hook because it is too short so if you close it and you have the gt-four bumper on (where it's raised in the middle), you won't be able to unhook the safety hook. the safety hook needs to be extended, or completely bending it out of the way and render it useless.