What the heck am I doing wrong with this '74 Valiant hood?

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DigitalRelay

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I bought the car with the hood off and the right side spring detached from the hinge. I sorted the hinges out, I think, put the hood on and went to slowly close it when I discovered it's hitting the cowl. There's plenty of evidence this was a problem for a long time though. I have the hood moved as far forward as the slots will allow, and it still hits. The hinges look perfectly symmetrical and I don't see any obvious signs of damage. The rear lip of the hood looks like it may have caught the cowl in the past and bent outward making the problem worse, but even if that lip were bent in at a 45 degree angle, I think I need another 1/4" of slot travel forward where the hood bolts go through the hinge. Is there more to this than the four bolts holding the hood to the hinge?


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I'm NOT familiar with a-bodies of this vintage, but..... I'd look at the hinges to make sure they aren't bent (compare profile to another similar car). Then I'd look at how the hinges are attached to the car (actually might have to remove the fenders to get at em, a rumor I've heard), and see if the can be moved, or spaced forward.

(I'm betting the fenders have to come off, and the previous owner didn't want to bother)
Somebody more familiar than me might have a better answer, or shortcut.
..
 
33IMP said:
I'm NOT familiar with a-bodies of this vintage, but..... I'd look at the hinges to make sure they aren't bent (compare profile to another similar car). Then I'd look at how the hinges are attached to the car (actually might have to remove the fenders to get at em, a rumor I've heard), and see if the can be moved, or spaced forward.

(I'm betting the fenders have to come off, and the previous owner didn't want to bother)
Somebody more familiar than me might have a better answer, or shortcut.
..
Click to expand...
Yep, I took the fenders off a few days ago to get to both hood hinges. They are staying off until I sort this out. Both hinges look to be symmetrical and I don't see any obvious bends in them, but I'll take a closer look. The pins the hinges attach to on the chassis aren't adjustable that I can see, and they look to be untouched.
 
It looks to me like the hinge is bent, don’t see anything else which could cause this result as the hinge attachment to the column has no adjustment. I have seen this happen when a hood latch failed and wrapped the hood over the windshield, fyi. Good luck
 
I'm looking at your bolts in the slots, move the hood the opposite way to move the hood forward away from the cowl.

Your bolts should be on the extreme ends of the other side of the slots to move it away from the cowl.
 
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Woodys_Cuda said:
I'm looking at your bolts in the slots, move the hood the opposite way to move the hood forward away from the cowl.

Your bolts should be on the extreme ends of the other side of the slots to move it away from the cowl.
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I appreciate the input, unfortunately, there's no where I can line up within the slot that will allow the hood to come down without hitting the cowl. I tried both extreme ends of the slots and in-between. It's looking like new hood hinges are in my future.
 
A couple of thoughts ..

There are 2 hinges for 67 up. one had adjustments in the hood the other has adjustments in the hinge. If you have the wrong hood mated to the wrong hinge things will not line up properly.

67 to 72 notice the front most "hole" and rear vertical slot
Screenshot_20240803-171610.png

73 to 76
notice both horizontal slots
Screenshot_20240803-171532.png


Also

The adjustment is counter intuitive, to lower the rear of the hood you raise it in relation to the hinge.
 
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I can see a few places where that left hinge is bent. It looks to me like someone opened the hood and forced it further open against the will of the hinges, buckling them in the arch.
 
Dana67Dart said:
A couple of thoughts ..

There are 2 hinges for 67 up. one had adjustments in the hood the other has adjustments in the hinge. If you have the wrong hood mated to the wrong hinge things will not line up properly.

67 to 72 notice the front most "hole" and rear vertical slot
View attachment 1716284812
73 to 76
notice both horizontal slots
View attachment 1716284813

Also

The adjustment is counter intuitive, to lower the rear of the hood you raise it in relation to the hinge.
Click to expand...
I suppose it's possible the hood has been swapped, but the original paint matches the original paint on the rest of the car, and the respray on the hood matches the respray on the rest of the car. I also think I'm seeing more evidence of bends in the hinges. I'll post new photos.
 
Here are some better closeups of the hinges. I noticed the inside edges seem turned out where the photos I've seen of other hinges those edges seem to face each other. I may try straightening these, but without a good hinge to match to, that seems like a long shot.


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DigitalRelay said:
I appreciate the input, unfortunately, there's no where I can line up within the slot that will allow the hood to come down without hitting the cowl. I tried both extreme ends of the slots and in-between. It's looking like new hood hinges are in my future.
Click to expand...

Yes, I just went by the photos you posted that would put the hood closest to the cowl. I hope you get it sorted out.
 
I agree with the others. The hinges look bent.
 
Didn’t read all the replies, because those hinges are bent AND screwed with afterwards.
33IMP said:
I'm NOT familiar with a-bodies of this vintage, but..... I'd look at the hinges to make sure they aren't bent (compare profile to another similar car). Then I'd look at how the hinges are attached to the car (actually might have to remove the fenders to get at em, a rumor I've heard), and see if the can be moved, or spaced forward.

(I'm betting the fenders have to come off, and the previous owner didn't want to bother)
Somebody more familiar than me might have a better answer, or shortcut.
..
Click to expand...

DigitalRelay said:
Shoot. I pulled both hinges to compare closely. The right side had a slight twist in it, but seeing as there is some evidence of bending, I'd say you're right. Bummer.
Click to expand...

DigitalRelay said:
I suppose it's possible the hood has been swapped, but the original paint matches the original paint on the rest of the car, and the respray on the hood matches the respray on the rest of the car. I also think I'm seeing more evidence of bends in the hinges. I'll post new photos.
Click to expand...

IMG_5686.jpeg
 
I would unbolt the hinge, put the hood where it needs to be with necessary gap to cowl, then measure the distance from hole to hole. Clamp each hinge in a bench vice in the long flat area between the bends using a shim to keep the vice teeth from gouging the metal, then use some pipe and heat to straighten them to match each side. If you straighten the curb side, it will also bring the drivers side out some, but it does look like the driver's side is also bent. The camera can lie. Your hinge pictures is not taken from the same angle/position over the hinge as sinister's.
 
Woodys_Cuda said:
I agree with @MV8.

If it can't be straightened then the search is on for a replacement.
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I bit the bullet and bought replacements. I had no confidence I could pull my originals back into shape, especially with no real way of knowing what shape they are supposed to be. Once the replacements arrive, I'll do a comparison and document it here. At that point, I may try pulling the originals into shape.
 
Sorry Digi I had to cut the grass before tomorrow’s rain!
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…..NOT kidding…that’s a 40’x60’ barn to the left YUP!
 
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