Durango_Boy

Might be both. I suggest tightening that spring tower cone and the rubber bumper and see where it puts you. If that lowers the sides of the hood in relation to the fenders then you may have to raise the rubber blocks.

79SharkMan

Thanks! I ordered the bumpers yesterday afternoon.

Durango_Boy

I'm in Louisville a few times a year with my Fiancee visiting her family. Maybe I'll have to plan one of the trips around a local Louisville Vette show so I can meet some of your local members.

Bruthish

Hey Sharkman! I guess we are neighbors!

Durango, Louisville has 2 large vette clubs and some nice shows put on by both. I will see if I can post a schedule for you, if I can find one. I think they both may have one more this year.

redman76

Thanks for the offer . . . just sent you an email.

jobber26

That's because in 1969 Chevrolet cared a little bit more about what they were making and all the booze and drugs had not taken their toll as yet on their brains like it did in the 70s...

Easy Mike

This thread is from 2007.

jim in oregon

Attend to the windshield-fender fit with careful adjustments..
Once that is good then deal with the side of the hood to fender height.
The rubber bumpers have 3M sticky on top and sides.
To get the best fit on my 78 I first used modeling clay to see what amount of height was needed where in the sides of the hood.Then I put the rubber block spacers on a bench mounted belt sander wit 100 grit and took them down evenly so when installed the hood closes properly and it latches-unlatches cleanly The results made for a clean good looking continuity from hood edges to fenders.
MY car had small marks where the hood rubber bumpers were once installed..but they were long gone. I ended up with two bumpers on one side of the hood and only one on the other..Jim

jim in oregon

sorrry about the upsid deown pic..my computer skills are sadly lacking..Jim

jobber26

Your hood turned out beautifully... wish I could do that to my '76. I have a gap at the rear/windshield of 1/2" above the fenders; the required adjustment makes the hood not stay shut, esp. when making a turn... one side always pops loose. Do you think trimming the hold down spring and pin to a shorter length would work?

jim in oregon

I'D avoid any trimming-cutting down of original fittings if possible..
gotta be a way to adjust the spring-stops and latches to get the windshield end of the hood to lay down properly.SORT OF A FINE LINE BETWEEN SO tight the hood doesn't release cleanly and having it pop open from flexing..DO your release latches open simultaneously..or does one open ahead of the other?..My crossover cable was stretched out and I ended up shortening it 1/2" on passenger side and recrimping it properly to get both sides of the hood to unlatch at the same time.Stay with it and be persistent short of getting a bigger hammer..Jim

mrvette

For the rubber snubbers on the fender edge, I used pieces of heater hose..glued in place with RTV black......been that way for some decades now.....

jobber26

When I open the hood with the hood release latch in the cockpit, the hood opens the regular way with both sides releasing simultaneously, and when you drop the hood from about a foot up, it closes both latches just like factory... the opening one side at a time or popping loose while driving one side at a time only occurs when I screw the latch pins down to make the hood sit flush at the windshield, like yours, if I can get it to shut at all when it's adjusted this tight... one time I adjusted it to be flush to the fenders and then couldn't get it opened on the passenger side; released it from underneath, thank God. My present dilemma is that to have the hood open and close correctly, I have to have a hood that sits with a 1/2" gap (or more) above the fenders at the rear; you can see it while driving, plus this really lowers the value of an otherwise fantastic restoration...

jim in oregon

With the hood open, take your hand and manually close both latches.
MAKE CERTAIN they are both completely in the closed-latched positions.
Then, use the release pull inside the cockpit to release them.
There are springs on my latches that are part of the release mechanism So make sure they are in place.Check tension on crossover cable and lightly lube the latches themselves.
It is possible the onle latch isn't completely closing when you close the hood and so flex and or vibration cause it to release when you don't want it to..Fiddle with the latches and scrutinize the cable connections with hood open.Suspect you'll discover the root cause for your hood anomaly..

There should also be two 1" rubber plugs under the hood-windshield on each side somewhat concealed in the wiper channel that you can push out into the engine compartment IF your hood won't open for any reason..look at them and their orientation to the latch release points they give access to..Make up a simple tool that you can use if your hood won't open for any reason.Experiment with that with hood open and latches closed til you get the hang of it. Take some pics perhaps and measurements..THAT is the best way to open a hood when latches-cables don't function normally.The rubber plugs are easily reinserted once you get the job done..The passenger side
latch is pretty much straight thru the cowling via that side hole..Driver's side is in and then right then left and more convoluted to access IF hood is closed and that latch isn't working. I started my wipers and **** them off in the vertical position to get them out of the way when I had problems with my hood not opening..OR you can remove the whole wiper-arm..but that's more work and not necessary..Last thing to verify is that your hood is mounted straight so the hood to fender gaps either side are close in dimension..IF the hood wasn't mounted properly this can bind things up and make for problems..Jim

jim in oregon

jobber26, out of curiosity, during the 'restoration' of your 77..was the hood removed for painting engine compartment work etc..
It's possible that if it was it wasn't quite reinstalled properly...Perhaps if you revisitedg the folks who did the work that they could determine IF that may be the underlying cause/..Jim

ptaleo

Did you have to adjust the catch after the hood was raised?

jim in oregon

AS a note for folks who are have or need to add the four(or fewer) rubber bumpers..:Because the near 40+ year old cars are not or never were perfectly done in that area.. .Earlier in this thread there was posted a base diagram about the fitting QC clearances for the hood..Not sure which years it covered..but your AIM should have one for your year..

ALSO remember that heat from the sun or engine will help the hood to conform better after the rubber bumpers are positioned..( initially anyhow)....Where they may end up finally going ( LS-RS) may not be symmetrical left to right.You may need to adjust their height or locations slightly when all settles in..

YOU ALSO NEED TO start with the hood hinges on any adjustments, shim-work so when closed the front of the hood is laying flush with the front of the fender clip..This is especially important if the car has been restored from any collision in the past or hood has been removed for engine work or body-paint work in it's former life..Jim