After tearing off the front end to do a recent new-engine install, it is now time to put it all back together. For the most part, everything is aligned and looking sharp. One exception though-- the hood.

Even though all fenders, aprons, core-support are aligned, when the hood is closed, it is all jacked up in the back like a primer'd '71 Nova with traction bars.

I can push it down in the back a bit, but it just pops back up to the original position, about an inch too high. I have mounted the hinges to the inner apron as low as they will go with the adjustment allowances built into the mounting holes themselves.

An old-school bodyman looked at it and said these '70's trucks had weak hood hinges and that might be the issue. But the hood was aligned fine prior to the teardown.

Is there another adjustment in the hood hinges that I am unaware of? Or...what am I doing wrong?

 

How is the alignment at the sides and front and what the heck the rear when you push it down?
I am thinking maybe the hood is too far forward, and possibly not enough weight on the rear of the springs.
This is just a guess I havent got to the aligning my projects hood yet, just not enough hours in the day
I should be out there now but.........sick wife to look after.

 

Nothing special about this in the Ford service manual. They just say adjust the hinges to align the hood with the body. They do recommend that the hinges be lubed with polyethelene grease and work it in by opening and closing several times. Anyone else?

 

The way the geometry of the hinges is set up they try to drop the rear of the hood down the last little bit that they rotate. Try loosening the bolts to the inner fender and hold the hood open a little farther before tightening so the hinge has to rotate a little more when it's closed. Might help.
Just my 2¢
Greg

 

I've had my hood off and on several times in the past few months and alligning it can be a PITA.

I would loosen the bolts that hold the hinges to the inner fender and close the hood. If it's still up too high, you might have the inner fenders up a little high. If not, instead of moving the hinges all the way down, try tilting them frontwards. Keep the front hole as low as possible, but tilt the rear up a little.

Hope this helps.

Kevin K.

P.S. If that doesn't work, bolt the hood to the fenders and make a tilt hood

 

This may sound funny, but someone here suggested that I RAISE the hinges to help with my hood sticking up in the back. Well it worked!

I think it has something to do with spring tension, but if you raise the hinges a bit, you should be able to get the back of the hood down some more.

 

karljay, what's doing it is the geometry of the hinge. If you rotate the front of the hinge up it makes the rear of the hood go down. The last little bit of hinge movement as the spring goes over center is what does it. If you have a hinge loose without the spring on it, try it and you'll see what I mean.
Greg