how do i adjust the hood?
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Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: WY
how do i adjust the hood?
well- ive got problems with the hood not lining up with the body... the driver side sits about a 1/4 inch too high and the passenger side sits high too.... theres no spring to "screw in" so that it sits lower... everything seems pretty fixed...any ideas!?
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Joined: Feb 1999
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From: Hoosier
Cruise-In III Veteran
Re: how do i adjust the hood? (Yellow79)
Here's how I made the fit on my Eckers L88 hood to my 72. I know this doesn't help you a great deal, but others are curious about the overall technique.
With the rear latch mechanism off the hood----
1-Use a sanding block on the front hinges surface of the body to "file" those two surfaces flat. You will probably find that they are distorted. The distortion creates "a rock" that will drive you nuts when setting the hinges.
2- Make a few additional front hinge shims. These may be used for the body side or the hood side of the front hinges.
3- Mount the hood with the hinge bolts turned in but not tight.
4- Using a piece of wood cut in a wedge shape (like a triangular sliver) , insert the wood in the narrow margins and shift it over until all your margins are equal/even.
5-Raise the hood and tighten the hinge bolts
6-Repeat 4 and 5 if necessary. You may find that scribing the hinges on the hood will help you to align it if it shifts each time you raise it.
7-Attached the rear latch mechanism
8-Tie a string to each side of the cable. The string must be long enough to reach under and forward at least to the wheels.
9-Carefully lower the hood onto the latch pins. This is a "feel" situation. You can loosen the pin brackets slightly, and use the same procedure as you used in 4 and 5. Using an ink marker on the latch edges will also show you the direction of allignment.
If the hood doesn't open with the cable release, a good tug on the strings will open it.
Once the hood closes and opens correctly and your margins are ok, you can
10-Raise or lower the cowl by adjusting the height of the cowl latch pins. This was difficult for me. I had to grind an open end wrench thin to reach between the sring coils ro relieve the lock nut.
11-Use the shims mentioned above to raise or lower the front.
12-Center fender line height can be raised by adding rubber stops from Ecklers, or you can buy material at a Home Depot that has a semi hard derometer(sp?).
13-A high in the center fender line will require fender work that I have no experience to advise.
With the rear latch mechanism off the hood----
1-Use a sanding block on the front hinges surface of the body to "file" those two surfaces flat. You will probably find that they are distorted. The distortion creates "a rock" that will drive you nuts when setting the hinges.
2- Make a few additional front hinge shims. These may be used for the body side or the hood side of the front hinges.
3- Mount the hood with the hinge bolts turned in but not tight.
4- Using a piece of wood cut in a wedge shape (like a triangular sliver) , insert the wood in the narrow margins and shift it over until all your margins are equal/even.
5-Raise the hood and tighten the hinge bolts
6-Repeat 4 and 5 if necessary. You may find that scribing the hinges on the hood will help you to align it if it shifts each time you raise it.
7-Attached the rear latch mechanism
8-Tie a string to each side of the cable. The string must be long enough to reach under and forward at least to the wheels.
9-Carefully lower the hood onto the latch pins. This is a "feel" situation. You can loosen the pin brackets slightly, and use the same procedure as you used in 4 and 5. Using an ink marker on the latch edges will also show you the direction of allignment.
If the hood doesn't open with the cable release, a good tug on the strings will open it.
Once the hood closes and opens correctly and your margins are ok, you can
10-Raise or lower the cowl by adjusting the height of the cowl latch pins. This was difficult for me. I had to grind an open end wrench thin to reach between the sring coils ro relieve the lock nut.
11-Use the shims mentioned above to raise or lower the front.
12-Center fender line height can be raised by adding rubber stops from Ecklers, or you can buy material at a Home Depot that has a semi hard derometer(sp?).
13-A high in the center fender line will require fender work that I have no experience to advise.
