Hood latches, alignment ?
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,874
Likes: 7
From: l In
Hood latches, alignment ?
I am working on a buddys 75 and it came to him with all the latches removed from the hood and body. The male and female latches have both been cleaned and repainted, and where they bolt has been repainted also. There is no evidence where they were originally mounted. Is there a specific way to align these ?
Any help would be appreciated
Any help would be appreciated
Racer
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 294
Likes: 0
From: cincinnati oh
I went through the same problem. It is best if you start with the hinges on first and remove the latches. Get the hood lined up with the body the way you want it and then tighten the hinge bolts good. Install the male latches (both sides) and cover the female latch parts (on the hood side) with 2" wide masking tape or paper. Use a marker to paint a little dot on the male latch side (firewall) where it tapers to a point. Lay the hood down so that the marker indicates on the tape where the point will go into the female latch. Adjust the male latch so that the dot is in the center of the female latch. Do one side at a time. I would make sure that the hood release appears to be in good working order before starting this, or your newly aligned hood will be stuck closed (know from experience)!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 5,943
Likes: 3
From: Wildwood IL
I put thin strips of white tape in the shape of a X on the male pins AND female latches. Slowly lowered the hood and adjusted them to align the two X's. Almost dead on the first time I closed it.
Eddie
Eddie
