#$%^# hood...
Logistics Pro
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 4,489
Likes: 5
From: Valley Center, CA
Coley, for the sake of future readers, please finish this item when you have solved it. This problem is very widespread and I am sure that many others will be searching for answers. Thanks, John
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 25,416
Likes: 5,425
From: Central PA
Wow, I thought I had problems with my hood. i will not put on a tilt. i like it original. My hood does not close tight down in the back of course, no biggie.... My big concern is just for looks.... the nose of the hood sticks out farther than the front of the fenders. It always has since I got it from Grandpa in 1977. I thought my bodyman could fix it when he rebuilt my truck, but he could not. How do I fix this?
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,328
Likes: 124
From: Iowa
"I thought my bodyman could fix it when he rebuilt my truck, but he could not. How do I fix this?"
Abe,
Everything bases off the hood. Put it where you want it first. Then about all you can do is loosen up every bolt that attaches the front fenders and inner fenders to the cab. Also loosen your fender support rods and lower fender support brackets. Loosen the radiator support to crossmember bolts. Pull the fenders forward where you want them. If it won't go enough, you have to start removing bolts until you can figure out which ones are bottoming in their slots, and create some more adjustability by making the slots/bolt holes larger.
Abe,
Everything bases off the hood. Put it where you want it first. Then about all you can do is loosen up every bolt that attaches the front fenders and inner fenders to the cab. Also loosen your fender support rods and lower fender support brackets. Loosen the radiator support to crossmember bolts. Pull the fenders forward where you want them. If it won't go enough, you have to start removing bolts until you can figure out which ones are bottoming in their slots, and create some more adjustability by making the slots/bolt holes larger.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,002
Likes: 2
From: Midland, Texas
Sounds like you could start by reversing my advise above and move the hood pin latch plate back. At some point this will cause the back of the hood to pop up or stay up when you close the hood. Then the dance begins... you push your right rear hood in, it leaves your left one out ... you push your left rear hood in and you shake it all about....himmelberg
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: Silverthorne Colorado
#$%^# = Perfect description for '53 to '56 Ford hoods! It CAN be done, it just takes a lot of work, but mainly know-how. I put about 30 hours (!) in mine and still didn't have it right. I got lucky and found an old body man that used to work at a Ford dealership in the '50s. I got him to come over to my house and he had it working perfectly in about 1-hour! I wish I could tell you exactly what he did, but I can't. It ISN'T the finest design feature of the '53 to '56 trucks, but it's fun to rattle the guys that have them to show them one that works perfectly, and with NO scratches!
BobJonesSpecial
BobJonesSpecial
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,328
Likes: 124
From: Iowa
BJS
I have seen a number of stocker hoods that looked and worked well. It is tough to get them right though if anything is tweaked at all. Cab has to be level and square. You need a hood that isn't stressed from previous hinge problems. It took me days the first time. I screwed up and did not do the hood first. The hood just doesn't have the sideways adjustability that the fenders have. Aftermarket parts further complicate it. You can buy "new" hinges that are poor as illustrated by Coley. I used to have glass fenders. You can't tighten them down enough to sit still. At least not the ones I had. My near perfect adjustment went away too fast for the effort involved. When you're done the stock hood arrangement still won't open up as far as it should for easy engine maintenance access.
I have seen a number of stocker hoods that looked and worked well. It is tough to get them right though if anything is tweaked at all. Cab has to be level and square. You need a hood that isn't stressed from previous hinge problems. It took me days the first time. I screwed up and did not do the hood first. The hood just doesn't have the sideways adjustability that the fenders have. Aftermarket parts further complicate it. You can buy "new" hinges that are poor as illustrated by Coley. I used to have glass fenders. You can't tighten them down enough to sit still. At least not the ones I had. My near perfect adjustment went away too fast for the effort involved. When you're done the stock hood arrangement still won't open up as far as it should for easy engine maintenance access.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 233
Likes: 0
From: Silverthorne Colorado
I just remembered one thing my old body man did when working on my hood. He used a large crescent wrench to twist the ends of the hood hinges slightly so that they aligned exactly parallel to their mating surfaces. This eliminated a lot of the binding that caused the rear of the hood to stay up slightly when the front was pushed down.
One of the biggest problems after getting everything freed-up as far as friction in the hinges goes, is finding strong enough springs to keep it up. It seems like the reproduction springs available today are nowhere near as strong as the new orriginals were. I was lucky to find a pair of NOS original hood springs through an Early V-8 Club member.
BobJonesSpecial
One of the biggest problems after getting everything freed-up as far as friction in the hinges goes, is finding strong enough springs to keep it up. It seems like the reproduction springs available today are nowhere near as strong as the new orriginals were. I was lucky to find a pair of NOS original hood springs through an Early V-8 Club member.
BobJonesSpecial
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