Alright whats the secret??

Topic: Alright whats the secret?? (Read 1226 times) previous topic - next topic

Alright whats the secret??

July 10, 2014, 10:33:19 PM

After trying forever to get my hood aligned the other night I gave up and just left it alone
How in the world do you get these thing aligned perfect
Its in my 87 TC with hood hinges with springs and as of right now the rear edges stick up above the fenders and the gap on the passenger side is too large. Vice versa on the drivers side.
I pulled these hinges off another 87 tc since the old ones were a mismatched set and one was really worn out
Any tips would be appreciated

Alright whats the secret??

Reply #1 – July 10, 2014, 11:16:16 PM

I would start by loosening the rear most hinge bolts to the body (under the fender) and leave them loose until you have the hood where you want it.

The two bolts just behind the springs that hold the hinge to the body have a lot of adjustment up and down and some back and forth. Sometimes it is helpful to just loosen the upper bolt while keeping the lower bolt fairly tight (or vise versa) and rotate the hinge somewhat. That may help move the rear of the hood down. There are also some stops at the rear of the hood, make sure they are not hitting the cowl to hard and holding the rear up.

For the side to side, (hood to hinge bolts) loosen the rear most bolt on one side, and the forward bolt on the other side, and lightly push the hood the direction you want it to go.

I always adjust hoods with the latched removed. If the latch is in the wrong place it can pull the hood to one side or the other.

Don't crank the bolts down while adjusting, snug them up just enough to hold it in place, once it is where you want it then tighten them down. The great thing about all that built in adjustment is you can get the hood where you want it, the bad thing is that it sometimes takes longer to dial it in.

The secret is patience and small adjustments.

Alright whats the secret??

Reply #2 – July 11, 2014, 06:08:15 PM

I had similar problems when I switched from my stock hood to the TC one. I got my gaps all lined up correctly finally after using the above mentioned method but I cant get my elevations right... as in the curves that the header and hood share just don't make sense, like at the outer corners it sits the tiniest bit below flush with the header but as it gets closer to the center it starts to gain on it and the entire inner hump-center-area is elevated from the header panel. I think it may be formed slightly different since my header is a cougar panel and TC hoods are obviously T-birds....

Alright whats the secret??

Reply #3 – July 11, 2014, 06:11:43 PM

Quote from: Ramos617;435784

...the rear edges stick up above the fenders

Happened to me years ago. First time on a 70s Lincoln, second time on a Cougar. I decided never to remove a hood from a vehicle in either family of cars again if I intend on putting it back on and could avoid it. I'm definitely curious if and how you manage to fix the sticking up aspect of your misalignment.

I've lined up doors, fenders, front panels and hoods and all turned out great. With these Cougars, I've found it's best to start at the B-pillar and work forward. You can actually loosen the entire front end and shift everything from left to right like a trapezoid or square without rack strength.
As soon as the hood comes off and goes back on though, the back edges stick up and rotating the hinges all the way rearward has not helped me at all. Was fine before removal. Jacked after putting back on.

Alright whats the secret??

Reply #4 – July 11, 2014, 08:36:15 PM

Thanks for the tips guys
Il try it out and we'll see how it comes out

And I wish I was able to avoid taking the hood off but the motor had to come out so I had no choice