iflex2fitness

hood installed but the drivers side has a wide gap between the hood and the front side panel. the left side has almost no gap. can someone please tell me how to solve this alignment problem. also hood in the front driver side facing front bumper has a slightly wider gap then the front passenger side.
where do i make these adjustments so its at least alot closer even if not perfect?
thanks.

Carol & Lee

My 98 coupe is that way, so I would like to hear the How To also

2blklt4

same problem here

flexvette

Bought my car new with the same sitiation. Dealer said that is normal with plastic bodys. Didn't really believe but I loved the car and had always wanted one. I did not try to adjust. The seal is tight when the hood closes so I'm not concerned about it. If the seal is not tight it should be adjusted.

The Wrench

Take a sharp point and mark all around the hinge plates where they attach to the frame of the car (mark on the frame). Then loosen the bolts holding one hinge to the frame, and move the hinge in the appropriate direction. Snug the bolts, and move the other hinge.
You can move both hinges left/right to adjust side gap, and forward back to adjust corner gap. Takes time if you are a perfectionist, I spent a couple hours getting it just right. Just be very careful, don't loosen too much, and don't slam the hood until you are certain it won't hit the fender.
Also, for final alignment, you can adjust the latch catches on the rear of the hood so they line up perfect with the latch, and lock in easily.
As a last resort, if the end of one fender is off a bit, the fender itself can be moved slightly by loosening the screws along the hood line and re-positioning slightly.
Disclaimer: It's not a Japanese car, it will never pass the Lexus ball-bearing panel-fit test. (my wife's Benz won't either).

Cheers,
DG

basicstrategy777

Mr. Wrench...I recently purchased a 2000 coupe that has an ACI high rise hood. I love the looks of the hood on the car. The hood fits very well except the last 6 inches on the left and right side, where the hood meets the windshield, there is a gap of approx. 1/8 to 1/4 inch between the left and right edge of the hood and the rubber seal on the fender.

Do you believe the hood can be adjusted so the hood fits correctly ?
I don't see how it can be as the gap is on both sides. The only thing I can think of is the hood was not manufactured properly.

Do you have any thought on this ?

777

The Wrench

777, I feel your pain with the rear hood/fender alignment.
My 2000 came that way from the factory on the left side!
I have seen some pretty ill-fitting aftermarket hoods also.
If you look closely at some of the magazine pics, you will see hoods on modified tuner cars that don't fit worth a darn.
When I pulled the hood for the cam install, then did all the re-alignment, I decided to work that rear left area. I had a little success - got it looking pretty good.

1. look it over and see if you think moving the hood horizontally forward or back would help. Of course, you are limited by the front bumper/headlight gaps - you want those to look good.
2. my solution was to tweak the fender to come up under the hood better. I took out the rear fender screws and put a couple of body washers under them to raise that section of the fender up to meet the hood better. The fenders are flexible plastic (like Saturn doors) so they will move around quite a bit with no danger. I put almost 1/4 inch of washers under the rearmost screw - it worked pretty good.
You might also need to loosen the rear fender screws by the door to tweak the fender around a bit, so the door/fender/hood intersection looks okay.

Now if I could just remove that big factory fiberglass flaw in the door, that looks just like a big door-ding, I would be happier with the body!

DG

basicstrategy777

Thax DG....I wish I was more mechanically inclined. In high school I changed plugs, installed duel exhausts and glasspacks but I don't consider myself a mechanic. Some people are gifted.

I spoke to two body shops and they said they could do nothing, but a Corvette shop mechanic said he could. I can't see how he can make all the pieces fit but who knows, mabey he can. I'll find out later this week. I have the stock hood but I hope this ACI hood can be noodled around enough to make it look right.

Appreciate the insight.

777

klbean

Hope you fix it. Put something to have a protection on your fenders like GM fender covers that will protect it from grease, paint and other materials that may damage it.

ajg1915

You can put some 3M painter tape around the fender to make sure that you don't chip or scrape up parts while doing the trial fitting.