In order to close the hood on my 68, I need to rock it sided to side to get it moving downward. When closed, the rear of the hood sticks up about an inch. I can then push down on the rear of the hood and it'll sit where it's supposed to be.

I've searched and read other posts on aligning, but thought I'd ask first before loosening bolts. This seems to be more than a basic alignment problem; first because I need to push it side to side to close, and second, I can push it into the right alignment after it's closed.

Suggestions?


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Ed
'68 El Camino (Current Project)
'66 Caddy Conv (Cruiser)
'87 Vette Conv (Daily Driver)

Ok
To lower the rear of your hood you will have to adjust the forward end of the hood hinge up. yup I said up.

Take a look at where your hood hinge bolts to your fender. You will find two bolts holding your hood hinge to the fender. With the help of a friend press up on the open hood and loosen the forward bolt on both hinges. you should be able to slide the hinge up a little and then retighten. Close the hood and check your fit. Repeat as nessicary.

If you cant go any further with the front bolts then you can lower the rear part of the hinge with the back bolts. But as wierd as this may sound, the front bolts have more of an effect on rear hood hieght.

Hoods are fun

Clark

It also sounds like the hinges may need a little lube. You shouldn't have to rock it from side to side to get it moving. Try squirting a little graphite lube on them to see if you can get the hood to move a little easier.

One other thing to look at is if your hood hinges are worn out. If this is the case it can cause all kinds of problems.

Will

Thanks for the tips. I loosened the front two bolts, pushed up on the hood, and tightened them. It now sits right where it should.

Next question, the left side of the hood now looks to be about a 1/2 inch behind (closer to windshield) than the edge of the fender. Do I just loosen the bolts attached to the hood and try to slide it forward?

How would I know if my hinges are worn? The connections at all the pivot points seem to be tight.
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Ed

If they were warn out you could see the play in the pivot points when you push the hood up aginst the stops and work it around a bit. If you got it adjusted and things work ok then they are fine.

Will

i had this problem when putting my hood on when i rebuilt the front end a few years back. rear stuck up about 1/4-1/2 inch or so...... replaced the springs on the hinges, and it closed just fine. nice and flush

Do a search for postings of MARTINSR. He has taken the time to write a number of excellent articles about bodywork and alignment.

This link http://www.chevelles.com/forum/Forum3/HTML/004800.html is a good start.

Rob

[This message has been edited by rusty66 (edited 10-21-2002).]

68 elkie

You've got the right idea with the hood alignment. If you need to move one side of your hood forward or backward then you simply adjust the hood to hinge bolts. Be warned! It only takes a little!!! Also if you move only one side forward you will also change the fit on the side (between fender and hood.) IE if you move the left side of the hood forward on it's hinge you will also end up narrowing the gap between the hood and fender at the left rear and right front.

Dont assume that your fender is in the correct place!

You will not be able to judge the condition of the hinges while the springs are installed.

To remove the springs, get a bunch of standard nails about 4 inches long. Lower the hood almost all the way down but high enough to leave access to the spring. Jamb your 4 inch nails into the coils of the spring, try to put a nail between every coil. Then open the hood back up, as you open the hood you will be releasing the tension on the spring. A little muscle should get the springs the rest of the way out. Be aware that your hood will no longer stay up on its own. With springs removed you can easily see how much slop you have in your hinges.

This is a two person job.

Clark