[rwet1]

Having some difficulty with the assembly of the Hood latching mechanism with the supporting bracket underneath and the front V shaped bar. See pictures.

The hood latch is swinging back into the condenser coil damaging the fins and sits back against the coil. Is there any way to adjust it away from the condenser coil?

When tightening all of the bolts, the top V shaped bracket support is pulling up. It is interfering with the hood. Is there an adjustment that I can make? Don't want the bracket support to hit the hood damaging the paint on both of those parts.

Any of your comments would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Randy
St. Louis, MO

 

[rwet1]

Never got any responses to this post. Has anyone encountered the same issue?

 

[Livin70]

Im NO expert or even one of the knowledgable ones here so please keep that in mind .As I look at my latch on my 70 , I noticed that the latch bar(?) has a curved spot where it contacts the raised physical stop near the pin it pivots . Might not n=be the issue but on my 70 itsnot "dished" in like yours so it stops sooner when released . I can go out and remove the horns and take a few pics if that might help .

 

[rwet1]

Im NO expert or even one of the knowledgable ones here so please keep that in mind .As I look at my latch on my 70 , I noticed that the latch bar(?) has a curved spot where it contacts the raised physical stop near the pin it pivots . Might not n=be the issue but on my 70 itsnot "dished" in like yours so it stops sooner when released . I can go out and remove the horns and take a few pics if that might help .

Yes, if you would please. That would be helpful.

Thank you
Randy

 

[Livin70]

Heres a few pics I took , everything seems the same as yours I think . In the first pic. you can see where the release arm pivots , just below it is the "J" shaped ridge that seems to be it's stop at about the 7 oclock position . It looks like maybe your release arm has a dished out area there, perhaps letting the arm move back into condenser ? The other pics I included , maybe they can help .

 

[rwet1]

View attachment 767663 View attachment 767664 View attachment 767665

Heres a few pics I took , everything seems the same as yours I think . In the first pic. you can see where the release arm pivots , just below it is the "J" shaped ridge that seems to be it's stop at about the 7 oclock position . It looks like maybe your release arm has a dished out area there, perhaps letting the arm move back into condenser ? The other pics I included , maybe they can help .

I think my hood latch is slightly different. See attached picture.

Mine has more metal removed from where the two pieces of metal intersect.

Also, one more picture of how when you start to assemble the parts together, the gap between the top bar and the latching mechanism. When you start to run the bolts into the top bar, it pulls it up approximately 1/2".

Let me know your thoughts on these.

Randy

 

[Livin70]

Be out of town until afternoon tomorrow, but when I get back I'll pull my latch off ( It needs some "pretty" added to it anyway ! ) and get a good look at it . Maybe i'll see something more .

 

[Livin70]

Does the support bracket have a slotted hole on the bottom where it attaches under the radiator to the crossmember ? If so that would allow you to lower it . By any chance has the crossmember been bent upward ? If so that could cause the support to sit to high resulting in the 1/2" gap in the pic.

 

[rwet1]

Does the support bracket have a slotted hole on the bottom where it attaches under the radiator to the crossmember ? If so that would allow you to lower it . By any chance has the crossmember been bent upward ? If so that could cause the support to sit to high resulting in the 1/2" gap in the pic.

The support bracket does have a slotted hole. We tried to push it down and tighten the bolt on the bottom. When we started tightening the bolts on the top, it pulls everything up and slightly twists the support bracket. I don't believe the crossmember is bent. The latch assembly mount is a pretty heavy piece of sheet metal and isn't forgiving. We were wondering if it's formed not quite right. I think I threw my old latch away, so can't compare to the old.

I bought a brand new condenser and don't want the latch to lay against it.

Let me know if you have any other thoughts on this.

Randy

 

[Livin70]

Is the crossbrace (in front of the radiator) the latch attaches to new or could it be twisted /turned so as to be rotating the mounting holes facing upward to much ? You could be right , It could be the new part has the incorrect amount of bend(s). Are any of the other pieces new/Replaced , support bracket , radiator support etc?

 

[rwet1]

Is the crossbrace (in front of the radiator) the latch attaches to new or could it be twisted /turned so as to be rotating the mounting holes facing upward to much ? You could be right , It could be the new part has the incorrect amount of bend(s). Are any of the other pieces new/Replaced , support bracket , radiator support etc?

The crossbrace in front of the radiator is original and doesn't appear to be bent. The radiator support is original. The top brace which has the same v contour as the hood, is new sheet metal. It appears it is the latch assy. The holes in the latch as I said, aren't slotted and there really isn't much meat in the latch assy part to slot or move the latch down.

Just thinking out loud, maybe the answer is to slot the metal that attaches to the radiator support. That would allow the latch to slide down and out since the radiator support is set at an angle. That would keep the v shape bracket down and hopefully keep the latch away from the condenser coil.

Let me know your thoughts.

Randy

 

[Livin70]

I think you're right . In the pics ,my latch looks like it sits lower (where it bends ) on the radiator side . Doing as your thinking and slotting the holes to drop the latch while it also moves away from your radiator makes sense . Looks like another case of "repro" aches . . Iv'e been buying small stuff for my 70's interior and sure am realizing why so many on the forum here want original parts and not the repro . stuff .

 

[rwet1]

I think you're right . In the pics ,my latch looks like it sits lower (where it bends ) on the radiator side . Doing as your thinking and slotting the holes to drop the latch while it also moves away from your radiator makes sense . Looks like another case of "repro" aches . . Iv'e been buying small stuff for my 70's interior and sure am realizing why so many on the forum here want original parts and not the repro . stuff .

I guess it's worth a try. I could weld some additional metal on to extend the holes if needed for strength.

I have tried to stick with all of the original sheet metal.

Thanks,

Randy

 

[Livin70]

Just got finished removing my latch and taking a few pics to get the profile and show the depth of drop on mine . Ill try to upload them for you . It might help to see if there is any difference in the bends from one to the other .

 

[Livin70]

Pics of profile