'51 Special
Active Member
The car is a 1951 Special. The problem is the hood will not stay in place when it is open and resting on the support hinged on the center of the cowl. When initially opened and placed on the support, all appears fine. But, after a time spent working on the car with the hood opened, the hood will suddenly come loose from the rear hinge, and hang loosely on the front hinge and the support. This happens on both sides. I can cause it to happen with a very gentle downward tug on the open side of the hood. This is a new problem.
My first thought is that the hood had been somehow widened. It was recently in a shop for some carb work and I'm sure they took the hood off. (But the hood has been off several times in the 22 years I've owned the car, and who knows how many times before that.) It appears to be a bit too snug to the fenders at the back corners, and a bit low in the middle at the cowl.
The shop manual says the hood may be narrowed by bending the reinforcements (if done carefully), and explains how. But, even if the hood could stand to be narrowed a bit at the rear, is that likely to fix the problem with the hood coming loose from the rear hinge when it is open on the other side? And, if so, how much do I bend the reinforcements to narrow the hood perhaps 1/8th inch? Help.
My first thought is that the hood had been somehow widened. It was recently in a shop for some carb work and I'm sure they took the hood off. (But the hood has been off several times in the 22 years I've owned the car, and who knows how many times before that.) It appears to be a bit too snug to the fenders at the back corners, and a bit low in the middle at the cowl.
The shop manual says the hood may be narrowed by bending the reinforcements (if done carefully), and explains how. But, even if the hood could stand to be narrowed a bit at the rear, is that likely to fix the problem with the hood coming loose from the rear hinge when it is open on the other side? And, if so, how much do I bend the reinforcements to narrow the hood perhaps 1/8th inch? Help.