Hood to cowl adjustment

[1inxs]

I've been trying every which way to adjust my hood to cowl gap. The driver side is fairly good, but would like it tighter and the passenger side sits 3/8" - 1/2" above the hood to cowl seal. Can any body give me some ideas for the hood to cowl adjustment ? I kind of wonder if my springs are causing my problem? Your help is appreciated.

 

[vwnate1]

There's a really good detailed step by step on this from last summer IIRC , go look in the archives and bump it up as it's an extremely common problem .

 

[1inxs]

Hi Nate,
Thanks for your reply. I searched for an answer before I posted with my question. I know it's a relatively common problem. I couldn't find the post you are referring to. There are 14 unsolved posts here in this forum. I know there is a way to get these hoods to sit on the cowl seal where they belong. Every post here has gone unsolved. Mine will be solved one way or another. A huge gap is unacceptable to me. If nobody here has the answer I'll look through other sources until I find an answer and then I'll post back here.

 

[Kens 50 PU]

Let me ask a silly question here. Have you looked in a shop manual for tips on proper alignment of the hood. They have some good information about hood alignment.

 

[vwnate1]

Sorry

...For my useless reply .

I'm a mechanic and so I try to leave the body stuff to the very competent body & fendermen here as I do know they've covered this common & frustrating problem .

IIRC , the most common situation is the failure to properly support the hood at it's front end when the attaching bolts are loose .

Also , if you've had the front clip or radiator core support off , it can be re-installed sans shims allowing the nose of the hood to drop too far down , causing a rear gap .

After that , there's a bolt holding the hinge to the cab that's acessable from under the dash , that often gives that last little bit of adjustment to eliminate that darned gap .

Certainly you should not accept it as NO truck left ANY GM assembly plant like that in spite of the poor build quality of these AD series trucks bodies .

I KNOW Even recently covered this in someone's long thread about a truck .

Failing that , look on The Stovebolt Page .

 

[Kens 50 PU]

There are a lot of moving parts to getting a hood to fit properly. As Nate said, if the front end has previously been removed, the fenders, inner fenders and support rods must be aligned with the moon and stars for a good fit, hinges must operate in their full range etc.

If you have a friend to help, you might try taking the hinges off and lay the hood on without the hinges to check to see if it fits snug all around. If it does, put the hinges on and check the fit. If still good, put the hinge springs on and check. And don't forget about the little adjuster that is located underneath the hood at the very back. It can be shimmed to flatten out the hood if it sits too tall at the crown.

 

[coilover]

First--find out IF THE HOOD FITS THE TRUCK. How? Take off the hinges and front striker plate and set the hood on the truck. If it doesn't fit it's been sprung and needs recontouring. If it does then put the striker back on and latch it down. If the rear is now misaligned the front is too low or high. If it still fits OK then the hinges are the problem. This has narrowed the causes from three, or a combination there of, down to one. As Nate said, these trucks had lousy panel fit when new but trucks were not expected to be pretty till GM brought out the Cameo in 1955 and it had dog leg doors to clear the wrap around windshield that had gaps around the perimeter that ranged from zero to 5/8". For a mere eleven grand (300 hrs.) we will fit every panel so it makes a Rolls look like a garbage scow but, my question is why do you want to make one into something so artificial?

 

[coilover]

Ken beat me to the post but follow his advice.

 

[Kens 50 PU]

Ken beat me to the post but follow his advice.

I'm not worthy...I'm not worthy!!

 

[1inxs]

...For my useless reply .

I'm a mechanic and so I try to leave the body stuff to the very competent body & fendermen here as I do know they've covered this common & frustrating problem .

IIRC , the most common situation is the failure to properly support the hood at it's front end when the attaching bolts are loose .

Also , if you've had the front clip or radiator core support off , it can be re-installed sans shims allowing the nose of the hood to drop too far down , causing a rear gap .

After that , there's a bolt holding the hinge to the cab that's acessable from under the dash , that often gives that last little bit of adjustment to eliminate that darned gap .

Certainly you should not accept it as NO truck left ANY GM assembly plant like that in spite of the poor build quality of these AD series trucks bodies .


I KNOW Even recently covered this in someone's long thread about a truck .

Failing that , look on The Stovebolt Page .

Nate,
I'm the one that should apologize. I wasn't even hinting that your reply was useless. I've seen your numerous very helpful posts. Maybe I misread your post. I understood it to say research the archives because it had been posted in depth in previous posts. I took that you thought I posted without researching. I researched the forum and in all 14 previous posts that I was able to locate those who started the thread ended by saying oh well they would oval out the bolt holes and leave the hood up when showing their ride. I simply stated I would be doing mine correctly. My gap is fine on the left side, but excessive on the right. I will look at the possibility of shimming the right side of radiator. I've been doing restorations for 35 years and have never had a problem with a hood like this one. I just ordered a new set of hinges and springs from classic thinking that might help? The following link is how far I've gone into my project. About 95 % was done with my own hands. You would think I'd have no problem adjusting a darn hood http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/journal.php?journalid=25573&action=viewI


Ken,
I haven't been able to find a repair manual my my 53 Suburban. Most everything is different except for the body, but if I found a manual it would be great to have around. I'll have to do like you say and play with all the bolts, hinges, springs and latch. If anyone knows of a manual showing panel alignment procedures that would be nice. Thanks again to all for the input. I'll post back with my outcome.

 

[Thunder54]

How I fit my hood

I'd tell the story once again about how I fit my hood after much frustration, but then I wouldn't want to cause anyone to spew their lunch again, would I Ziggy?

Jim

 

[Kens 50 PU]

Here's a link that contains an online version of the 48-51 truck shop manual. Section 11 has some good info on hood alignment.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/index.htm

Hope it helps.

 

[Zig]

I'd tell the story once again about how I fit my hood after much frustration, but then I wouldn't want to cause anyone to spew their lunch again, would I Ziggy?

Jim

Go ahead, it's a classic!

 

[1inxs]

Hey Jim,
If you tell your story again I promise to read it on an empty stomach.

Ken,
Very cool. Thank you for the shop manual link. It will help me to understand the adjustment procedure. I might even adjust the entire front clip

 

[Kens 50 PU]

Hey Jim,
If you tell your story again I promise to read it on an empty stomach.

Ken,
Very cool. Thank you for the shop manual link. It will help me to understand the adjustment procedure. I might even adjust the entire front clip

Now that we've shared all this good advise, return the favor. Need to know who we're talking to. First name will suffice!

 

[1inxs]

Oh yeah, I'm Robert and I live up here in the desert mountains of Kamas, Utah.

 

[Fla54Chevy3100]

Hood fit 101

Read everything that's been posted so far....it's all part of the equation.

1. Loosen the 4 bolts inside the cab (2 on each side). You don't need to remove the glove box.
2. Raise the hood and loosen the 2 bolts in the engine compartment. (1 on each side)
3. Prop up the front of the hood using a chunk of 4X4 under the center latching bolt. 3-1/2 to 4".
4. With 2 helpers push down with one hand and back with the other right in front of the windshield. Apply pressure to both sides at the same time.
5. You tighten the bolts on the inside of the cab.
6. Raise hood, tighten the engine compartment bolts, remove the 4X4 block and CAREFULLY lower the hood.

This should get your hood down on the cowl and then you may/will have to make adjustments to the fenders at the cowl support to get everything aligned. A little slop in the hinges is necessary, however if your hood is sprung/bent you may have to make some other corrections.

The key is to prop the hood up 3-4" and have two helpers apply force with their hands down and back at the cowl. Give it a try...unless you've got some major issues it'll work like a charm.

Dave

 

[durangoroadboss]

Hood adjustment

Here's one I found from Dave (Fla54Chevy3100), back in March:

Might as well toss in my $.02 on getting the hood and fenders to fit properly. First of all, it's not a one-man job. I've found that once you get the hood down tight on the cowl it's much easier to make any adjustment to bring the fender gaps into alignment.

Put a 4X4 block under the front of the hood....resting on top of the latch plate so the hood is slightly raised. With all the underhood and under-dash bolts loose....have a person on each side of the rear of the hood apply pressure downward while pushing back towards the windshield. The 3rd person tightens the underdash bolts on each side....raise the hood, tighten the 2 bolts and give it a try. I've adjusted hoods absolutely flat when they had an initial gap of over 1" at the cowl.

Of course, this won't work if the hinges are in really bad shape (loose and sloppy) but if they are reasonably tight, it does the trick without shims. The key is the 4x4 block to keep the hood slightly raised and having two assistants applying pressure both down and to the rear with their bare hands on the hood. BTW....the glove box does not need to be removed to access the two under-dash bolts on the passengers side.

Once you get your hood tight on the cowl you can adjust your fenders until you have a uniform gap from front to back. More often than not, they will need to come up to meet with the adjusted hood. I don't loosen the rear bolts, just those on the core support. I might add that before you try to adjust any of the front sheet metal that you should make sure that the cab mounts are in good shape and that the thin mounting cushions are also under the core support.

Richard

 

[mylow53]

that hood gap is tough my body shop guy had to pie cut the hood to fit it
GT