I was wondering, with so many clipped front ends happening on this forum, if anyone has those extra heavy duty washers that are used in the bolted connection between the hinges and the cab. These are the thick ones that have the grippy teeth cut into them on the cab side, and four of them have clipped edges where they abut the cowl. I have a "53 F-100 that is missing all but one of them. I figured I'd ask before I begin my search locally, or begin making something like them myself. Thanks.

 

I'd check with the dealer first... then WW Grainger... then fab up some ifn it were me... I've seen similar washers on other cars... salvage yard might yield something also... but check the dealers first... it's amazing what they keep in stock sometimes

j

 

I'm responding to my own post as a means to put it back on top of the posting list before it gets completely buried again. Thanks, jniolen for responding. I'm off to Fastenal to see if they have 1/8" thick 5/16" washers with 1-1/8" od. If so, then modifying them shouldn't take more than a quiet afternoon. If I have to actually make these from scratch from 1/8" flat stock, then it'll take a bit longer. I intend to heat the edges red hot and then using a cold chisel, make my own "grippy" teeth edges on the cab/cowl face of them. Hopefully, I can grind the 1/8" edges smooth and still keep enough of the "grippy" teeth on the face so they work as Mr. Ford intended, while keeping the appearance close to the original. I read with interest all the posts here about hoods failing to close properly. As far as progress on my '53 F-100 stock restoration goes, I am working out the whole hood / fender / front sheet metal alignment thing right now before I apply any paint. I have been following Axracer's "tip sheet" on properly assembly sequence for the front end sheet metal. The results have been good. On my first shot, it looked like nothing would ever align. By my fourth reassembly attempt (correcting bolt hole alignment issues and sheet metal contours at points of intersection between body parts at each re-assembly), I actually got the hood to close the way it is supposed to: snugs itself down by itself at the cab. Now that I understand it, I am impressed by the original engineering of the hood hinge design. I can see why the heavy washers with a toothed face are important. It doesn't take much slippage at the hinge to cab connection to create the closing problem that I read about so often in these posts. All this being said, I send out one last call (plea) for anyone who might have some spares of these washers. Thanks, John

 

I hate to say it, but I tossed a bunch of washers similar to those about a month ago. They were off the front end bodywork of a late-'80's TBird, I think. There are lots of those kinds of washers at the boneyards, literally laying around in the dirt. I'd sure try that before making something.

 

John...
Ross seconded my idea of salvage yard... lots of good hardware laying on the ground...

I've got a 6" Metabo grinder with a .040 cutting wheel mounted on it... you can cut some nice grooves with that without the heat and the chiseling. I'm sure they also make them for 4.5" ones also... might be worth a trip to the hardware store... you could slice up some heavy washers in a heart beat.

another source might be a body shop... dig through their spare bolt barrel.

you have far more patience than me... sheet metal alignment is a tedious job at best...
j

 

I spent some quality time scrounging around the local auto salvage yards. As I suspected, I found no mid-fifties Ford trucks. I'm pretty sure that, around here anyway, they have all dissolved to iron oxide. So, I ended up making my own. I got some steel 1/8" thick x 1 1/2" wide. Drilled a 5/16" hole/ Used the one existing washer I had as a template and scribed its outline on the steel. I cut to my scribed lines with a cutoff disc and cleaned up the edges with a grinder. I then incised a grid of tightly spaced shallow grooves across the face using a cutoff disc. I repeated the same incisions at 90 degrees to the first set. The washers now have a sharp gripping waffle pattern on the surface that lays against the cab cowl. They are thick enough to bridge the over-sized hinge mount holes in the cab/cowl without bending. In all, it took me about an hour and a half: less time than I spent prowling the salvage yard.

 

I have a 53 f600. I think the hinge to hood had shouldered bolts to provide a pivot. don't know what happened to them. hood doesn't open & close very well.

 

There is no substitute for the shouldered bolts for the hood hinges. Also, the wavy washers are essential. If your hood closed properly before your shouldered bolts went awol, then you shouldn't have to do any tweaking of the hood hinge mounting as it relates to the cab. Know that there is a shouldered bolt size difference between the 53-55 model years and 56.

 

Hey John can you point me to Axracer's tip sheet on proper assembly sequence? I looked for it with advanced search but came up empty...Thx, Tyler

 

Hi Tyler, Here's Ax's front sheet metal assembly info:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...procedure.html

It worked for me.