I am not really satisfied with the alignment of my 66 small bloack hood. Does anyone have any tricks for the alignment. The AIM has the body check dimensions but I am sticking wedges between the hood and the fenders to line things up. There has got to be a better way???? Any help will be very much appreciated.
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
No better way. Just equalize the spacing all the way around as best you can. -
Re: 66' Hood alignment
Bill,
I feel your pain, I can't seem to get mine even either. I've loosened all the bolts, first the hood to hinge set and tried relocating then hinge to fender set but can't seem to get the side gaps even. The pins seem centered in the latch. As a last resort I may drill out the 1/2" hinge holees to get slightly more "slop". The only trick I can add is to get a box of the wooden shims at your local Lowes or Home Depot to push in the side and front hood gaps without scratching. Good luck,Comment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Randy, thanks for the support, once you have the gaps aligned, and the hood is locked in the latches, how do you access the front hinge bolts so the hood doesn't move on you again?Comment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Bill:
Forget the wedges. Take the male hood pins off the hood so it does not pull the hood around due to mis-adjustment to the latches. Loosen your hood ONE hinge at a time and adjust to get the best margins starting with parallel margins at the front of the hood and header panel. Carefully close the hood and check the side margins. If they are straight, front to rear, and to your liking, you are in business. If they are not, you have an out of square opening and will have to "give here and take there" to get the best out of the available opening.
Go back and put your hood pins on, one at a time. Latch the hood and hold the opposite side down with hand pressure. Your margins should not change. If they do, adjust the latch as required. Go to the opposite side and repeat.
If you have had panel replacement, you may not be able to obtain acceptable
margins without sanding and/or filling.
For minute adjustments to the hood, keep your bolts little more than finger tight. To move the hood back toward the cowl. Tap the back side of the hinge with a ratchet handle. To move the hood forward, tap the front side. Same way side/side. It can be a tedious operation. Have patience.
MikeComment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Thanks Mike,
The male pins seam to do just that pull the side lines once I get the front aligned. I'll let you know how the final results are..... One hinge at a time makes more sense than trying to float the entire hood over the opening. I am not sure if the hood is original or a replacement. As a matter of fact I really don't know alot about the entire car except that I do keep finding a lot of original parts and a lot of quick fix's.
BillComment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Mike,
Good tip on pin removal. I'll try that. It appears to me the male pins control hood height via the spring. I guess the bumpers just need to be slightly below that.
RandyComment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Well it appears that hinge slop is the culprit. I followed Mike's advice to the letter and sure enough the hood aligned within specs. The lines looked good and straight all the way around the perimeter. Then I closed the hood with the latches and the pins installed. The hood stayed in place at the front of the car but the end of the hood with the pins and latches kept cocking. I adjusted the latch mechanisms in and out. Then I noticed the slop in the hinges when I kept raising and lowering the hood. That slop would translate at the top of the hood with side to side movement of between 3/16 to 1/4 inch.
Are new hinges tigher in thier tolerences or is this normal?
BillComment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Bill,
I bet that is my problem too. I have a "tight" hinge on pass side and a sloppy hinge on drivers side. Hoods seems to shift to pass side at rear upon latching so that makes sense. My "tight" hinge will stay in any position (with hood off of course) I'll order a new hinge it can't be worse that the worn one. I presume there is no way to "tighten" the spring washer that maintains the fit.Comment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Mike -
You and I did this at 65 per hour all our lives - makes you appreciate well-designed assembly tooling, doesn't it?Comment
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Re: 66' Hood alignment
Bill,
I do not think "loose" hinges will affect the position of the rear of the hood. The right to left position of the rear of the hood is set by the right to left adjustment of the hood latches that are bolted to the firewall. They are adjustable by about 1/4" right and left. Even if the hinges are tight, the leverage is such that the rear of the hood will move to match the adjustment of these latches. My .02
DaveComment
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