then there is that other option.....




but trust me... the hokey-pokey is easier

later
john

 

Same problem with my 55. Set of new hinges, same thing. Put the old ones back on and elongated the mounting holes with a grinder and rotary file. About 1/4" and the back sets down properly when closed. Messed with the sides and front until I gave up with as good as it gets. Have never seen a 53-55 with a perfect fit.

Fred

 

Thanks for all your suggestions. Will try axracers suggestion to see if it works. This will pull the hood froward, which will probably result in the hood being misaligned with the fenders. Anyway this appears to be the best suggestion for restoring the original operation of the hood. Again thanks for the help.
Joe

 

Get the hood closing properly first (note the latch plate is difficult to get to move, at least mine was) then adjust the fenders to match at the front if necessary. Be sure you have the rods from the firewall to the front of the fenders in place and adjusted properly as well, or the hood will pull the latchplate back instead of vice versa. IMO a lot of the hood problems also originate with the front clip not being properly aligned. It is very critical that it all be aligned carefully in the right order since it all "floats" off the radiator support, and all the pieces be in good shape.

 

I just tightened the two hood bolts on each hinge on mine and it fixed the problem.

Kyle

 

Anybody have any adive on tightening a hood spring. I wound a replacement springs as far as I could and they still won't hold my hood up.

AXracer I hear your the guy with all of the experience. I am also trying align a new hood and could use some advice on tightening hood and fender adjustment rods (I.E.: tighten fender rod and "x" happens, tighten hood rod and "y" happens)

 

One thing I read (can't remember where) one of the proper ways to adjust the hinges/hood is to leave the 4 hinge bolts finger tight and close the hood. Then, go inside the cab and tighten the 2 nuts accessible on either side of the cowl. Then open the hood and tighten the 4 remaining nuts. I haven't tried it yet but since my hood is off as we speak getting re-painted and glossed/cleared on the underside..I'll be trying that procedure here soon I hope.

 

The real secret to the stock hinges is to make sure they are working properly first. There is a hidden pivot rivet under the coil spring that is often sticky or frozen, even on new hinges. With the hinge off the truck remove the spring, it can be done fairly easily without tools when the hinge is off unless somebody has tried to "fix" it by winding up the spring. Look in my "extras" gallery for pictures of the hinge with the spring removed and where the pivot is. Grease that pivot with a high quality grease and work it until it moves easily before reinstalling the spring. Make sure you attach the hinge arms to the hood with the proper size shoulder bolt and spring (wavy) washers, and only tighten LIGHT FINGER tight. Install a simple loop of soft safety wire so the bolts cannot back out. Hint: the captive nuts on the hood are frequently stripped by someone tightening them with a wrench. If any of yours are stripped, Mid Fifty sells oversized self tapping shoulder bolts. DON'T overtighten them when installing or you're on your own!!! There are two different diameters of the shoulder portion of the bolts, make sure you use the ones that fit your hinges. The two sizes of hinges are interchangeable as long as you use the corresponding size bolts. The threaded part of all the bolts are the same.

Tightening the fender support rods raise and pull back the front of the fenders. Adjust with the fender attaching bolts finger tight. They should not require excessive tightening or something else is wrong. Search for my post on aligning the front sheet metal where I explain it all in detail. Truthfully I haven't had to adjust the rods under the hood, so I don't know for sure what they do.

 

52 Ford F1


Did I find that I need both outside hood hinge (firewall inside hood) and also Hood supports with a single spring.


Not real sure if this will fix my problem of hood dragging and scrapping my paint as open and closed.

 

I have the same hood problems on my 56. I was going to pull my hood off, and take off the hinges, pull the springs off, and lube the center pivots. Then a friend of mine told me to try one thing before doing all of that. Buy a can of "Tri-Flow" available at ACE hardware and a number of Locksmiths. Put the little straw in the can's spray nozzle and spray around all of the hinge parts, and spray around inside the center of the spring so it gets into the cam or center pivot. Almost immediately my hood shutting problems went away. It was almost like magic! No more hood slamming, no more hood "hokey pokey". Now every now and then, I have to spray a little more on, but it was amazing what a little good lubrication inside the hinge springs, on the hinge springs, and the hinge joints itself made. While you have the can out spray a little inside your ignition and door locks. I know it's probably not the "prescribed" lubricant, and maybe I just found a temporary short cut. But it sure works good for me so far.

 

I have a '55 F-250 that recently lost one of the hinge bolts that goes into the hood--just fell out when I closed the hood. The threaded insert is worn, as are the bolt threads. I bought a Mid-Fifties over-sized bolt. Is there a tip on how to install? I'm thinking that the now-loose arm is under spring pressure. I read on here that a "water key" can allow replacement of the spring, but I can't figure out which style key works how.

 

????
Why do people want to make the hood hinges more complicated/re-engineer them? Work with them as designed and they work if not frozen (there is a hidden pivot that doesn't get lubed and freezes, and is often frozen even on new hinges) The arms are under spring tension when closed, but when open are in the correct position to attach to the also open hood without a struggle. Leave the springs alone unless checking the hinges for that pesky frozen pivot, then no special spring tool is required if the hinge is off the truck the spring can be removed with bare hands or at most with a pair of vice-grips. Do an advanced search on my user name, "hood hinge pivot" (in quotes), and this forum as search parameters to locate my detailed post on how to free frozen hinges.
The shoulder bolts are tightened to just snug (don't leave off the wavy spring washer) and safety wired thru the holes in the head to keep them from backing out (Ford just used a simple wire loop thru both bolts, nothing fancy).
If the hinge bolts are stripped, try replacing them with stock size replacement shoulder bolts first. If the hood nuts are also worn that the new stock size bolts won't stay in after safety wiring then you may be forced to use the oversized bolts and retap the hood nuts to the 3/8 NF size. You may have to modify a tap by running it into the nut(s) as far as possible without damaging hood, then grinding off ~ 1/4" if the tip of the tap and finishing tapping the nuts or finish with a bottoming tap. Be sure to hold the nuts firmly so you don't rip them out of the hood.
Note that the stock hinges only held the hood open at about a 45* angle. If you need to work under the hood or want it open more, you'll need to use a broomstick "prop rod" to support it. That's what we did even when new, every service station had an appropriate length broomstick as part of their service tools.

 

Great info! Just what I needed. Thank you for sharing these tips.
For some reason, I thought that the arm was under spring tension. Will get to work on this over the weekend.
Best,
Richard