hood hinge question

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vintageman

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My Car
1973 Mach 1 "Q Code"
Quick question, when I open my hood (repop nasa from mustangs unlimited), I have to kind of walk the hood forward a little at a time as I am lifting to open it, Same with closing it, have to kind of "walk it" backwards. I have had a 72 Mach 1 years ago but just cannot remember if the hood acted the same way when opening or closing it. Could this be the sign of worn out hinges? I also noticed that the hinge springs are the rounded version, not the ones with the flat sides to the springs that I have read are correct for the nasa hood, could the wrong springs be the reason for this? Thanks, hood goes up and down easy and stays open with no issues, just wanted to know if this is normal or not. Thanks for any assistance.

Tom

 
Quick question, when I open my hood (repop nasa from mustangs unlimited), I have to kind of walk the hood forward a little at a time as I am lifting to open it, Same with closing it, have to kind of "walk it" backwards. I have had a 72 Mach 1 years ago but just cannot remember if the hood acted the same way when opening or closing it. Could this be the sign of worn out hinges? I also noticed that the hinge springs are the rounded version, not the ones with the flat sides to the springs that I have read are correct for the nasa hood, could the wrong springs be the reason for this? Thanks, hood goes up and down easy and stays open with no issues, just wanted to know if this is normal or not. Thanks for any assistance.

Tom
Click to expand...
My understanding is that the hinges work on a kind of cantilevered principle so good idea to help by pulling toward you and up to open, push slightly back & down to close.  There's a fair bit of weight to avoid twisting as well so I use both hands placed either side of the latch to spread the load.

Hinges:  again, info on here suggests the flat surfaced springs were used for hoods with the ram - air plenum fitted to counteract the extra weight - possibly greater tension strength.  Others have two round style & ram air with no problems.  I have one of each - dah ? 

In summary, my .02 is that you're fine - just go easy on it.

PKJ

 
+1 on above

I would not install the flat springs in your situation at all

The repro hoods are made with thinner metal and there is a chance the heavier springs will cause it to buckle where the hinges mount

Can't remember who but a member had this problem and had to repair plus reinforce his repro hood

 
Thanks for the quick replies, I appreciate it. I will take it easy on opening and closing it, part of my old memories say that my last 72 hood opened the same way. BTW, that other thread was from Turtle, when he had his winter project and the repop hood buckled, I do a lot of referring back to his thread for the pics and knowledge that he put into that and other jobs.

Thanks all,

Tom

 
On the hinges. I am in the process of redoing the phosphate on mine. If someone has painted the hinges instead of phosphate that makes the surfaces sticky and harder to open and close. The phosphate is a wear / lube coating used on several parts. 

All NASA hoods got the flat springs nothing to do with the ram air. My 72 & 73 both have them and my 72 Q code vert does and it did not have hood locks even but all Q codes got NASA hood in 72..

The flat springs are stronger and I always rock my hood back and forth as I close to prevent bending even a stock hood.

Spray a little lube on the pivot points in the hinge. It might not stay open then, lol.

 
My original ram air hood is heavy with the locks and plenum attached. My original flat wound hood springs and hinges would no longer support the weight of the hood. It went up easy but would come down on it's own with the car idling. Years of wear and because I had lubricated them to make the up and down go easier turn out to be the problem.

I bought a pair of original regular hood hinges (not repro), I carefully hammered the hinge pins at the pivot points to tighten them up and transferred the flat wound springs to them. That solved my problem.

Now I have to rock my hood to lift it and the same initially to get it started on the way down, but it stays up.

As an extra precaution it went to a slightly larger bolt and j-clip where the hinge attaches to the hood. The bolts that attach the shock tower brace to the cowl are perfect for this up sizing. You just need to find the right j-clip for them.

 
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My '71 J Code vert came with round, not the flat ram air hood springs... The date codes on the hinge assemblies confirm that these are original to the car... However, the springs themselves are not date coded so.... But, looking at this set up when i first got the car, the obvious patina that matched the rest of the car, these springs have never been removed, in fact, the hood still incorporated its original factory blackout paint. I'm sure they would deduct at a MCA show, but it is what it is... the way i got the car and i would argue otherwise, to no avail... I reinstalled these on my restoration and yes, they still hold the weight of the ram air hood all decked out, just fine... 



 
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I had a trouble with opening and closing my hood when I first got it. I had repo hinges and I just put a very small amount of lubricant on each of the hinges, but only on one of the pivot points. After I opened and closed it a few times it was way easier to deal with. Made a huge difference in the opening and closing of it. I really couldn’t believe how much better it was and it stayed open with no problem. Just make sure to apply a very small amount, you can always add more. It worked for me, and I only have one arm that works, so I needed some help with this. It really sucked before trying this.

So like David mentioned the, factory ones were phosphate coated which gave them some lubrication. The aftermarket ones are only painted and they are harder to operate. I could see the paint rubbing off on them. Plus they aren’t as good as the original ones either, of course.

 
Thanks all for your advice on the hinges, I did use a little lubrication on them and they seem to be a little better,

Another quick question though since it is related to the hood. When you all close the hood completely, can you lift up and it open slightly? I can close mine, then pull back up on it and it will lift a couple of inches, does not come any further than that but it does concern me some. I do plan on putting hood pins back on the car and it will be a while before I install the engine but things like this keep me up at night, do you think it is normal or do I need to adjust my hood latch or is it something else maybe? I have good gaps between my hood and fenders so I don't think there is a hood alignment problem. Thoughts?

Tom

 
It sounds like the primary latch is not latching, and you are lifting it up against the secondary (safety) latch. It may need cleaning and lubrication also, adjusting, or repair/replacement if the spring is missing or broken or pivot points are worn out.

 
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I open and close my hood pretty much as you describe. These hoods are way too long to just slam straight down. I had a '68 GTO many years ago and the hood opening and closing method was the same. I remember watching an episode of Jay Leno's Garage and I believe his guest was the president of Coker Tire. He had a '70 GTO Judge on the show, and after they looked at the engine compartment he slammed the hood straight down in a fast motion (not Jay, but the president of Coker). I thought to myself wow, the president of Coker Tire but that doesn't seem like a car guy. The episode is on youtube and many of the comments state the same thing, that no one should close a hood like that on a classic US car. Yes the hinges and springs transfer the opening and closing energy into the proper motion for the hood, but if you overdo it and buckle the hood you have a real mess on your hands. You can see many '71 to '73 hoods where the arc does not match the fenders, and improper closing can be one of several reasons for that.

 
He probably never turned a wrench on the car, has no appreciation for what it takes to get a car into nice condition. If he would have bent or broken something he would have just paid someone to fix it.

 
I won’t let anyone close my hood. I have a really bad left arm and everyone wants to help me close it. I have to tell them to just let me do it. It kinda pisses me off sometimes, even though I know they are just trying to help out.

But people just think they can grab it at one corner and slam it down. Drives me nuts. If it ain’t yours don’t touch and if I need help I will kindly ask for it. Ok I’m done.

 
It sounds like the primary latch is not latching, and you are lifting it up against the secondary (safety) latch. It may need cleaning and lubrication also, adjusting, or repair/replacement if the spring is missing or broken or pivot points are worn out.
Click to expand...
Thanks Don for the advice, turns out you were correct as far as the primary latch not latching. I had cleaned it up real good, verified that it moved back and forth and that he spring was there and not binding up and still had the same problem.  Decided to do some measuring, apparently the core support is one of the repops that only measure at 19 1/2 instead of the oem 21 1/4 inches so I loosened up the four mounting bolts and tried moving the assembly up higher, got it about a 1/4 inch higher and now the hood latches properly.  

After that, I measured my new core support sitting in the corner and it measured the correct 21 1/4 inches, so that will be getting installed in the next couple of months. 

I appreciate the assistance on this.

Tom

 
My '71 J Code vert came with round, not the flat ram air hood springs... The date codes on the hinge assemblies confirm that these are original to the car... However, the springs themselves are not date coded so.... But, looking at this set up when i first got the car, the obvious patina that matched the rest of the car, these springs have never been removed, in fact, the hood still incorporated its original factory blackout paint. I'm sure they would deduct at a MCA show, but it is what it is... the way i got the car and i would argue otherwise, to no avail... I reinstalled these on my restoration and yes, they still hold the weight of the ram air hood all decked out, just fine... 

Click to expand...
I have a 72 Q code convertible with round springs, got it from the original owner, it is original rusted condition so no one changed them. I think it is an early car

 
On the hinges. I am in the process of redoing the phosphate on mine. If someone has painted the hinges instead of phosphate that makes the surfaces sticky and harder to open and close. The phosphate is a wear / lube coating used on several parts. 

All NASA hoods got the flat springs nothing to do with the ram air. My 72 & 73 both have them and my 72 Q code vert does and it did not have hood locks even but all Q codes got NASA hood in 72..

The flat springs are stronger and I always rock my hood back and forth as I close to prevent bending even a stock hood.

Spray a little lube on the pivot points in the hinge. It might not stay open then, lol.
Click to expand...
Never use absolute terms like "Always used" when referring to mass-produced cars lollerz . I have a 71Mach that came from factory with round, NOT heavier coil oval springs with factory equipped NASA hood Does not look like it was ever taken apart or replaced, hood still started to bow from years of use. Could use heavier springs though, Hood is 65 LBS.!! flat hood weighed in at 40 LBS>

 
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I won’t  let anyone close my hood. I have a really bad left arm and everyone wants to help me close it. I have to tell them to just let me do it. It kinda pisses me off sometimes, even though I know they are just trying to help out.

But people just think they can grab it at one corner and slam it down. Drives me nuts. If it ain’t yours don’t touch and if I need help I will kindly ask for it. Ok I’m done.
Click to expand...
 

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