rgbau140

My hood has had issues staying latched for most of the 20 years I've owned it. for the longest time it has been the passenger side that wouldnt stay latched. I took the hood off 3 years ago when the project started and have recently put the hood back on and the latching issue has gotten worse. the cable connecting the latches has been replaced along with the release cable,handle & bracket from the inside of the car. when the hood first went on neither side would "catch". When I first fitted the hood I attempted to even the hood gaps side to side and front to back. this last weekend I adjusted the hood closer to the windshield and it seem to stay latched. after a short shake down cruise it doesnt. I am wondering if the female latches have worn and no longer provide a snug fit for the male latches? I have no more adjust the hood forward. would shiming the female latch do any good? I have the release cables adjusted so that the female latches are as closed as they can be until the release handle is pulled. is there a guide somewhere that gives suggestions on troubleshooting this problem? any ideas as to how to adjust the latches?

66jack

Try adjusting the MALE part on the hood...loosen the 'nut' under the spring and use a screw driver to adjust the it out...tighten the nut and see it stays latched...do little at a time...

DUB

On Corvettes I have encountered the firewall having fatigue due to years and years of just being a car. I know it does not make sense....but driving..being lifted and so on car create a movement in some cases. I see it more often on the 1968-72's.

First off...do you have new hood hinges??? Because 20+ year old ones are surely worn out and will have even the slightest free-play in the rivet...which creates major problems in adjusting a hood and getting it to stay. Any play ion the hinge at my shop...it goes in the recycle bin...period.

Also...I have had to do a "balancing act" in getting hood to fit correct to the dimensions and yet still be able to latch and release correctly. Sometimes I elongate the holes in the hinges a bit to get the hood to move that little bit and yet be careful and try to move the latches on the firewall. Like I wrote...it is a balancing act because when I get done...I do not want it to be obvious. SOMETIMES ...it is what it is and the car has been butchered in the past and all I am doing is trying to polish a ....well you know.

Due to the age of these cars...I have encountered so many that have been jacked up and supported incorrectly and it creates a tweaking in the frame that can stay...the reason I KNOW THIS is that I have to fix them when thy come from a shop who does not know what they are doing and treat it like a metal car...and due to the fact it has a full frame does not mean anything at all. ESPECIALLY a convertible.

The inner fender skirts is what dictates the placement of your hood due to where they were bonded in place...and there is a bit of give and take which is why the holes in the hood hinges are the way they are...bit if it is off too much...you will run out of adjustment possibilities and the gap clearances also.

Depending on how you want it to look... and if you are "purist" and will not do anything to any part to keep it "factory".....you might have to do the best you can and live with it.

DUB

Bluestripe67

The female has little to no adjustment unless you shim them away from the firewall. What condition are the return springs on the levers? If they are weak, the lever arm portion will not be pulled under the male pin lip. Make sure you use some kind of grease on the moving parts. Check the male portion, it should measure about 2 3/8 to the tip. Check the height of the rubber stops. Dennis

rgbau140

Thanks for all in input. my car was smacked in the front end around 30 years ago and when they put it back together, they weren't to concerned with a lot of stuff. the hood was off a 64, the radiator support and shroud were off a 65 non air car. the attachemnt holes on the hinges were hogged out quite a bit. The holes on the inner fender re-enforcement plate for the hinges are hogged out as well. their fix to fit was to hog out the holes on the part that was giving them trouble. it is quite possible the hinges themselves have slop in them. is that "wiggle" able to put enough movement in the hood to pop the latches?
The springs and rubber bumpers have been replaced on the female latch. my though about shimming them out was that in moving the hood closer to the female latches I got them to catch. I cant move the hood any closer so I though moving the female latch closer to the male would accomplish the same thing. my biggest fear is for the passenger side to latch, but not release. I have heard horror stories about the difficulty in getting that side unstuck. with an air car I have lots of access on the driver side - havent gotten around to attaching the battery door.

I will work on adjusting the male latch now that I've got a reference length to work off of

DUB

YES...if your hinge has play...how can you expect it to be correct.. A VERY little bit of play in the hinge equates to a lot of movement in the hood the further out you go.

Also..due to it being whacked in the past...if "things' are not bonded and tight...you can expect to fight this with no positive result until all related parts are correct.

I am only "speaking" from experience. If I could find a short-cut..I would have by now...and there is none. TRUST ME...I have tried and tried. All parts have to be correct...and that also includes the under structure of the hood itself. The exact same thing holds true for the door hinges....or ANY hinge as a matter of fact. And pivot has to be correct or you can run into operational issues.

DUB

JohnZ

There are several elements to the hood latching system:

1. The rubber bumper on the threaded stud with a jam nut only does ONE thing - it sets the height of the rear of the hood, to get it flush with the upper surround for appearance. That's ALL it does. Set that height before you do anything else.

2. Wrap a piece of aluminum foil around each female latch on the firewall, and lower the hood gently until the male striker bolt just touches the aluminum foil; that mark tells you if the latch and striker are concentric with each other (key to easy latching/unlatching). If they're not, adjust the female latch on the firewall so they are.

3. Once (1) and (2) are done, you adjust the length of the male striker bolt on the hood so the pivoting portion of the female latch captures under the head of the striker bolt; when this is properly adjusted and the pivot on the latch is lubricated so it moves freely, the hood will latch easily. You'll have to loosen the round stamped lock nut at the hood end of the striker bolt, adjust the bolt using the screwdriver slot in the end of the bolt, tighten the lock nut, and you''re done.

That's how the system is deigned, and that's how it works.