just got my new hood hinges today and decided to brave the heat and try to put the hood on. after sweating about 5lbs away my hood is WAY off. it seems that it's pulled in too far when it closes and is about an inch from closing in the back? i was wondering if anyone had these problems before i pull everything back off and ream out the holes that the hinges bolt to on the body. any help would be greatly appreciated!
Are you sure you've got the hinge parts oriented correctly? Something doesn't sound right...I'd look closely before you start drilling out... Here's shots of mine...
thanks for the pics, they are correct, just need some adjustment. i found the shop manual online and read about how to adjust the hood. everything fits ok, just has a 1" gap at the cowl and is tight on the sides. i'm thinking if i adjust it like it says to in the manual it should be better......just too damn hot in the garage right now.
New bushings for the cab mounts can also make a difference in the front clip alignment, which may be throwing off the fender hood gaps. Do you have all the little rubber bumpers in there?
i do have new cab mount bushings and all that, never thought of that! i didn't put the rubber bumpers in yet because i'm just test fitting all the sheet metal before it goes out to paint. i just wanted to get it "semi" close to make sure everything is going to work good. i acquired the truck in pieces so re-assembling is a treat. i'm new to the AD trucks as i've always been into muscle cars but my grandfather had this truck and i figured i'd give it a try. the NSRA east show is in my hometown this weekend so i'll try to talk to some guys up there for some help as well. and thanks a lot chebby your build pics have helped me a lot!
If you're just test fitting right now, try this. Remove the hinges and see how the hood fits against the cowl and fenders. If everything lines up, then you don't have sheetmetal issues. Remember that there is some fudge factor built into the mounting holes, but also remember that everything from the cowl out to the grille will not fit correctly if the radiator support isn't installed just right.
