Hood's expensive rebuild and a shorter wartime alternative

Could Hood remain useful through the war without receiving its complete planned reconstruction?

Probably, if a limited refit renewed machinery and supplied enough electrical power for radar, though the ship would miss the benefits of a full rebuild.

Hood's full modernisation is judged likely to be the Royal Navy's most expensive and intensive capital-ship reconstruction. Work was delayed while planners decided how far the redesign should go. A less ambitious path could use reconditioned machinery, selected structural changes, and enough electrical generation for radar and other wartime equipment. Handled carefully, that version might remain serviceable through most of the war without the complete rebuild. The tradeoff is between restoring the ship comprehensively and getting an imperfect but usable fast capital ship back into service before events overtake the programme.