Tried searching all over here but can't find anyone with the same problem. Hood on '91 F150 (4.9L manual 2wd though none of that matters) won't close and latch. This is a battered old beast with serious rust problems and the hood has flown open at least twice, so the sheetmetal and the hinges are both out of whack. We tie the hood down, but I'd rather it worked right.
Anyway, the latch mechanism itself seems to be working fine--we've got it lubed and the latch moves when the cable opens it. What I'm wondering is if there's supposed to be anything on the underside of the hood--a catch, a hoop something? There's a piece of spring steel that sticks into a hole cut in the underside of the sheetmetal, but that's it up top. Is that right? There's also what looks like a hole for a screw, and a couple spots on the metal that look as if maybe something was once welded there or at least held in place by a screw.
If anyone has a photo of what the underside of the hood looks like at the front edge where it latches, that'd be great. Otherwise, guess I'll have to find someone else driving an old Ford and ask for a looksee at what's supposed to be there.

 

one way to fix it is get some hood pins and be done with it you would have to pull pins out or turn a key to open your hood

 

Sounds like you might be missing something.

 

Well, mine looks like that, sort of. I was looking for a striker plate or a hook that would attach in the round hole to the left, but that's not it. But the edges of that rectangular hole in the metal are all mangled on the left side, and that bit of spring steel in there is centered on the indent in the metal to the right, so maybe it's just way out of alignment. Thanks for the pic...helps.

 

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Sure glad you posted this way back when. A great idea! Thanks!