C3 hood adjustment

[Cary Lewis]

I removed cleaned and painted my lower (male) hood latches on my '74 and now my hood won't even close, is there a trick that I don't know about for adjusting these things, I can't even drive the car now!!! Help!!

[Jack H.]

Re: C3 hood adjustment

The hood catches (firewall) and the hood latches (underside of hood) have to properly mate with each other to function properly. The catches have an adjustment range (enlongated mounting holes vs. firewall studs) to compensate for unit-to-unit geometry variance.

If you removed the catches to work on them, you 'lost' the factory original alignment. But, feel lucky because it's possible to lose the alignment the 'other' way and wind up with the hood closing and NEVER opening!!!!

The solution is child's play... Wrap aluminum foil over each catch and SLOWLY/CAREFULLY close the hood until the latches leave a 'fingerprint' in the foil. Then, looses the catches, as necessary, and move them until you've achieved a dead nuts center position for the latch relative to the center opening of each catch. Apply fresh aluminum foil each time you re-adjust a catch until you've confirmed you're dead nuts, on the money, centered....

[Cary Lewis]

Re: C3 hood adjustment

Thanks Jack, you have no idea how I worried about that hood NEVER opening again, I will try your method today and hopefully won't EVER get into this trouble again. Thanks again for your help!
Cary Lewis

[Jack H.]

You're not alone...

in making this 'mistake'... Don't ask me how I know about the other (bad) possibility of accidentally locating the hood catches such that the hood closes and NEVER opens!!!

[mike cobine]

They are easy to open

I've never found one yet that if you hit the wrong section of road that the hood won't pop open unexpectedly. Try a speed bump at an angle faster than you want.

Make sure when you do the test fit Jack suggested that the latches are bolted TIGHT. You don't want them to move accidently or you will have problems.

A help is to add some wire to the catches that run out from under the hood. This way you can manually pull the latches open if they move and the dash handle can't pull enough to open them.