Hi guy's ..took my hood in for paint ..and now it wont fit ,or stay up !!..the hinges don't fold down together ..I have oiled them and greased but they still see-saw down ..not smooth or even ..and the hood was bent whn they painted it ..I has to be pushed on one side to get past the fender ..so now the new paint is rubbed off on the side..what is wrong ??new springs ?? or replace both hinges??

 

Not to add salt to a cut, but welcome to the hood hinge, wiper and door
lock group. I got a 1954 F800 I swear the only time the hood worked was
when he bought it new. Even taken care of sleeps inside we **** canned
hood springs years ago and have to use a prop rod. Thats why these
hinges got a face lift in 1956 a little better but they had a share of complaints.

 

I feel your pain, I reversed mine and it no longer closes evenly. The old hinges must have held it in the exact correct position, now the hood looks/is twisted. One of the reasons I reversed it in the first place was because the original hinges wouldn't even hold it up and it didn't open very far. The hinges for these (48 through 55) were not one of Fords best features.

 

so this is normal then ??

 

slight hijacking, but it seems I read some where that there was also a problem with hoods flying up at higher speeds. Is that true ?

 

Doing the hood hoky poky is a common but unnecessary ritual for 53 - 56 owners. I have documented a number of times how to find the hinge hidden pivot behind the spring and be sure they fold correctly. The hidden pivot is critical to the operation but is often stiff or frozen, even on new hinges. Do a search on my name, hinges and check pictures in my gallery. Other problems are installers that over tighten the hinge to hood bolts (they should be barely snug and safety wired), use the wrong bolts (they are special shoulder bolts), and/or don't install the wavy spring washers. Against common reasoning, moving the latch striker forwards helps pull the hood corners down. The #1 issue IMHO is the front end being improperly installed/assembled/aligned, braces eliminated. I wrote this to assist: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ml#post9927171
If the hinges are damaged you are probably better off replacing them than continuing to damage your new paint. If they are sprung you may be able to spring them back.

 

thank's AXracer..and I don't know about high speeds ..the only place I can speed is in a playground...top speed is 45 miles an hour ..max is 79 kmp-h ,,,,

 

The safety latch should be intact. Mid-Fifty and others sell good replacements. It is there to keep the hood down and can help prevent a bad thing from happening at speed. Use it! Please.