I used a port-a-power to adjust the door opening on the cab I used on my F-2. I came off of a F-7 firetruck with 3000 original miles and the doors hit the door opening on the upper rear corner and the lower front. They were way out of square.

 

So I have a fitment question on my '51 F4...

My hood closes and latches perfectly (after I adjusted the latch) but every time I open it, the rear of the hood makes contact with the vent, unless I have the vent slightly open. Any ideas how to fix that without a 2x4 and a hammer?

 

That could indicate the rear of the hood having a low area. Might possibly move the hood forward a fraction of an inch, or possible pull the cowl vent back a little. Move both just a bit, and you should fix the problem. It may also be accomplished by tightening the tension rods just lightly, assuming the 48-52s have them. By tightening the rods just a tiny bit, it may be enough to pull the low area out of the back of the hood, if that is the case, unless I am backwards, and maybe take a tiny bit out of them.

 

Sorry, no tension rods on the 48-52 hoods, fyi.

 

Double check to make sure your hood hinges are assembled properly. There is a little adjustment in the hinge part that doesn't have the springs. Try to move that part forward. You have to play around with all four hinge parts sometimes to make everything fit and open correctly.

 

There may be a simple fix. Check the rear of the hood where it is scraping. Is the scratch mark at the top or the bottom of the lip? My hood was scraping and it turned out to be the bottom of the lip that was just touching as it opened. I gently pursuaded the bottom edge of the lip forward until it no longer scraped. Good luck, jag

 

Thanks. After you answered the question, I looked in the Shop Manual and found the adjustment you're referring to on page 313. I should spend some time reading this manual, so maybe I'll stop asking questions I already have an answer for within my reach.

 

Yes, it doesn't need to move much, so I can probably take care of it with the adjustment in the Shop Manual. Thanks.

 

I just finished adjusting the hood fit. There's a lot of movement with the adjustment in the Shop Manual. I had to readjust the dowel and the lock plate too, but the hood now clears the vent and closes easily. Thanks for all the advice. I moved it forward about 3/8".