Hood lock install

[mustang7173]

My take is the main hood latch is the main middle primary locking point with its secondary catch. Now, going down the highway, the outside edge area of the hood does lift a little, causing a very slight flapping from side to side, thus causing the air cleaner housing ram air seal from disengaging from the ram air plenum. I see the hood locks as a hold down to help keep the outside edges of the from from doing that, thus proving a better seal to the hood plenum.

mustang7173

 

[mpbsr]

On my car if you hold the hood release open and lift the hood it comes right open. If you engage the release start to lift the hood but let the release go the secondary latch prevents the hood from fully opening. In other words if you hold the release all the way to the left while opening the hood it bypasses the secondary latch. Hopes this makes sense.

I'll check this out tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[mpbsr]

On my car if you hold the hood release open and lift the hood it comes right open. If you engage the release start to lift the hood but let the release go the secondary latch prevents the hood from fully opening. In other words if you hold the release all the way to the left while opening the hood it bypasses the secondary latch. Hopes this makes sense.

I'll check this out tomorrow.

Thanks

Good news for me.

The 2nd latch does work as posted.

Thanks

 

[jbojo]

On my car if you hold the hood release open and lift the hood it comes right open. If you engage the release start to lift the hood but let the release go the secondary latch prevents the hood from fully opening. In other words if you hold the release all the way to the left while opening the hood it bypasses the secondary latch. Hopes this makes sense.

I'll check this out tomorrow.

Thanks

Good news for me.

The 2nd latch does work as posted.

Thanks

Good to hear.

 

[Cole]

Well I bought them some time back, but the thought of cutting holes in my hood kept me from getting to this project for some time.  Well Sunday I decided that it was time to either do it right or mess it up.

First I mounted the brackets.  I removed the hood adjusters and the brackets installed in holes that ford equipped the car with.  The kit did not include the hardware to mount these brackets, but thankfully I had plenty laying around.  Install these brackets loosely as you will need to adjust them later.

The bottom side of the hood has two circular cut outs  of about 4 inches.  From under the car I looked up with a flashlight and was able to see that the hood cut outs were located appropriately to the brackets.

Using a 3" hole saw from underneath and centered in the opening I drilled the center pilot hole on each side.

I laid newspaper under the hood and closed it and taped over the area to be cut with clear packing tape.  Using the hole saw with light pressure and moderate speed I cut both holes with no damage at all to the surrounding paint.  I peeled up the tape, used a bit of sandpaper to clean up a few burrs and painted the raw edge of the metal.

Before installing the hood locks, I took a file, chalked the teeth to keep it from loading up and removed some light flashing around the bottom edge to ensure that I would not damage the paint.    Actual installation is simple enough with just two screws on a retainer bracket on the back side.

The next parts to install are the "strike plates"  these again are held in place with two small screws and should be installed loosely.  The provided screws really need larger washers so I headed to the coffee can of hardware and found four likely candidates.

Now comes the tricky part  you do have to align everything to get acceptable operation.  With everything tightened just snug so it would only move with intentional pressure I crawled under the car and used a flashlight to check alignment.I started with getting it close side to side then tightened the hood adjusters and the upper bolts on the brackets completely.  This leaves the striker plates still loose and the lower leg of the bracket still a little loose.  Next I repeated the procedure and adjusted the strike plates fore and aft and snugged them down.  Now with this adjustment the only remaining adjustment was height.  I twisted the locks down, latching them, and measured the amount the locks sat above the "cup" they sit in.  I then opened the hood for the  umpteenth time,  and pushed the bracket down and tightened the final bolt on each side.  Again I crawled under the front of the car and inspected alignment of the pins to the strike plates and made some final adjustments.

Some hints

Drilling thru the paint is not a big deal if you r paint is in good condition-juse sensible precautions of taping the paint and using a fresh sharp drill and no more than moderate pressure or speed..

Tape the hood latch in the open position while you are working as you will raise and lower the hood a number of times.

plan for the hardware that does not come with the kits.

The hood pins thread into the lock and lock with 9/16 nuts  This does allow you to alter the depth a bit in your install.  If a hood pin becomes trapped in the latch somehow and you keep twisting counterclockwise the pin will unscrew.  Snug this part down and keep an eye on it, it might require a drop of locktite, but you could end up with a hard to unlock hood if there is ever any misalignment induced by percussive influence.


and I am new here so be nice

I'm sitting on a pair of these too. I've even bought a brand new 3 inch hole saw, LOL.

Could ya post a pick of the bottom brackets if you get a chance?

The 3 inch hole saw does still leave about a half inch around the under hood hole. It's centering that has me scared. Thinking of loading up the hole saw with electrical tape so it just fits the opening and is centered. Open for ideas here.

 

[NG8264723]

One thing. The round part of the floating tab that attaches the pin to the radiator bracket faces backwards! On both sides. Ths D faces the same way....

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

One thing.  The round part of the floating tab that attaches the pin to the radiator bracket faces backwards!  On both sides.  Ths D faces the same way....

Here are a couple pics of an original bracket on one owner car that would be me.

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

The 3 inch hole saw does still leave about a half inch around the under hood hole. It's centering that has me scared. Thinking of loading up the hole saw with electrical tape so it just fits the opening and is centered. Open for ideas here.

Use the hole saw to cut a core from some 1/2 - 3/4 plywood.  Wrap tape around the plywood core until it fits securely in the factory hole.  Since you already have the center hole drilled in the core, use that to locate the initial drill hole in the hood.

If you try to tape the hole saw itself, the tape will tear and create a wad, which could offset the center.

 

[Cole]

The 3 inch hole saw does still leave about a half inch around the under hood hole. It's centering that has me scared. Thinking of loading up the hole saw with electrical tape so it just fits the opening and is centered. Open for ideas here.

Use the hole saw to cut a core from some 1/2 - 3/4 plywood.  Wrap tape around the plywood core until it fits securely in the factory hole.  Since you already have the center hole drilled in the core, use that to locate the initial drill hole in the hood.

If you try to tape the hole saw itself, the tape will tear and create a wad, which could offset the center.

I like this idea alot! Thank you so much.  :goodpost:

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

a compass or divider works well for locating the center of the hole for the first punch and drilling. A proper fitted piece of styrofoam or really anything rigid that is easy to cut can be used to fill the underside and locate the center

 

[rackerm]

On a related note, anybody have a problem with the hood locks creating a depression in the hood surrounding the lock? Kind like an oil can effect. No matter how lightly I tighten/loosen the two hold down screws it starts to pull down the top surrounding sheet metal. Any suggestions on how to solve it?

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

The pin is threaded at the top which is used to adjust the length. When I did my initial adjustment, it took a bit of patience and lots of raising and lowering of the hood and looking up at things from below to get it right. What I ended up with was a slight deflection of the sheet metal while pushing down to engage the lock and it returns to normal when you let go.

 

[jbojo]

On a related note, anybody have a problem with the hood locks creating a depression in the hood surrounding the lock? Kind like an oil can effect. No matter how lightly I tighten/loosen the two hold down screws it starts to pull down the top surrounding sheet metal. Any suggestions on how to solve it?

Is the indentation there before locking down the pins?  Did you drill a large enough hole for the lock?  I had the same problem when I first installed mine.

 

[rackerm]

I should have mentioned it before.....The holes were already there since it is an original hood, but I don't know if it was replaced before I got the car. The locks appear to fit flush in the hole. The depression is there with hood up or when unlocked. So I know its not from the mechanism pulling it down when locked. I can't loosen the hold down clamp any more than it is. The hood around the hole just seems very weak and easily flexes.

I have a few ideas I am going to try, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jbojo]

If I remember correctly under the base it is beveled so if the hole does not extend past the beveled edge when you install the bracket on the bottom it will pull the edges of the hole and cause the indentation. I think that the hole is an odd size so what I had to do was use a file and make the hole a little larger, it didn't take much. I did this before the painting so it didn't matter that I used a file and having to worry about the painted surface. It's been over 2 years ago that I did this and this is what I recall having to do. And yeah the metal is thin and flimsy in that area. Good luck.

 

[rackerm]

Thanks all for the feedback. I update the post with any results once I get up the nerve to try something. I just hope I don't make it worse.

 

[Cole]

Made this jig with the hole saw, (2) 3/4 pieces of plywood and taped till it fit snug. Added the wood screw to keep it falling into the hole and as an index. Awesome tips here. All that's left to do it the adjustments like Jeff originally stated.

Many thanks.

 

[Horsin' Around]

This thread seemed the most likely place to ask, rather than starting a whole new thread.

I would like to use a flanging punch to make the hole so the lock will sit down in the hood similar to the 69 Shelby. Is there enough adjustment in these locks for the roughly 3/16" shorter spacing that I'll end up with? This will also add some strength to the hole.

Thank you.

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

The shaft unscrews from the lock, so shortening it should not be a problem. It uses a jam nut to position it and there was significant;y more than 3/16th extra thread.

I'm curious about the use of a flanging punch as I have no experience with them. do they just leave the hole with a depressed lip that looks something like this -----__ __------ that the housing would sit in?

If so that would be a neat and clean detail to work into your hood.

 

[Swells1409]

Well I bought them some time back, but the thought of cutting holes in my hood kept me from getting to this project for some time.  Well Sunday I decided that it was time to either do it right or mess it up.

First I mounted the brackets.  I removed the hood adjusters and the brackets installed in holes that ford equipped the car with.  The kit did not include the hardware to mount these brackets, but thankfully I had plenty laying around.  Install these brackets loosely as you will need to adjust them later.

The bottom side of the hood has two circular cut outs  of about 4 inches.  From under the car I looked up with a flashlight and was able to see that the hood cut outs were located appropriately to the brackets.

Using a 3" hole saw from underneath and centered in the opening I drilled the center pilot hole on each side.

I laid newspaper under the hood and closed it and taped over the area to be cut with clear packing tape.  Using the hole saw with light pressure and moderate speed I cut both holes with no damage at all to the surrounding paint.  I peeled up the tape, used a bit of sandpaper to clean up a few burrs and painted the raw edge of the metal.

Before installing the hood locks, I took a file, chalked the teeth to keep it from loading up and removed some light flashing around the bottom edge to ensure that I would not damage the paint.    Actual installation is simple enough with just two screws on a retainer bracket on the back side.

The next parts to install are the "strike plates"  these again are held in place with two small screws and should be installed loosely.  The provided screws really need larger washers so I headed to the coffee can of hardware and found four likely candidates.

Now comes the tricky part  you do have to align everything to get acceptable operation.  With everything tightened just snug so it would only move with intentional pressure I crawled under the car and used a flashlight to check alignment.I started with getting it close side to side then tightened the hood adjusters and the upper bolts on the brackets completely.  This leaves the striker plates still loose and the lower leg of the bracket still a little loose.  Next I repeated the procedure and adjusted the strike plates fore and aft and snugged them down.  Now with this adjustment the only remaining adjustment was height.  I twisted the locks down, latching them, and measured the amount the locks sat above the "cup" they sit in.  I then opened the hood for the  umpteenth time,  and pushed the bracket down and tightened the final bolt on each side.  Again I crawled under the front of the car and inspected alignment of the pins to the strike plates and made some final adjustments.

Some hints

Drilling thru the paint is not a big deal if you r paint is in good condition-juse sensible precautions of taping the paint and using a fresh sharp drill and no more than moderate pressure or speed..

Tape the hood latch in the open position while you are working as you will raise and lower the hood a number of times.

plan for the hardware that does not come with the kits.

The hood pins thread into the lock and lock with 9/16 nuts  This does allow you to alter the depth a bit in your install.  If a hood pin becomes trapped in the latch somehow and you keep twisting counterclockwise the pin will unscrew.  Snug this part down and keep an eye on it, it might require a drop of locktite, but you could end up with a hard to unlock hood if there is ever any misalignment induced by percussive influence.


and I am new here so be nice