how do i adjust my hood?

[OrangeCrush1970]

it sits up higher than the cowl. do I need new hinges or springs? is there an adjustment that I can make?

Thnx

[ChevLoRay]

It's probably the springs, but the hinges could be tweaked, too. I am replacing both springs/hinges, but not yet done.

Saw a picture where someone put spacers (wrenches) in the open spaces of the springs that he was removing, which maintained the overall length of the spring and enabled their removal from the hinges, more easily. Opening the hood a little bit more would stretch the springs out and enable removal of the spacer/wrenches.

Paln heada. Avoid errors.

[LONGHAIR]

There is an adjustment, but there is no way that we can judge your hinges from here. You will have to inspect them. As long as all of the pivot points are tight/solid there really isn't much else to them.
The springs really don't do much other than hold the hood open. They don't have any bearing on the adjustment.....unless the hinges are really loose, they can then but they are not supposed to.
To lower the hood simply loosen the rear bolts on the hinges and push upward on the front of the hood.....I know, it sounds backward, but it works. You are rotating the hinge back, which lowers it.
Never loosen all of the bolts at the same time, you will lose everything

[OrangeCrush1970]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

There is an adjustment, but there is no way that we can judge your hinges from here. You will have to inspect them. As long as all of the pivot points are tight/solid there really isn't much else to them.
The springs really don't do much other than hold the hood open. They don't have any bearing on the adjustment.....unless the hinges are really loose, they can then but they are not supposed to.
To lower the hood simply loosen the rear bolts on the hinges and push upward on the front of the hood.....I know, it sounds backward, but it works. You are rotating the hinge back, which lowers it.
Never loosen all of the bolts at the same time, you will lose everything

10-4...that sounds logical to me. Im going to try that out and let you know. my springs are tight so im pretty sure they are doing their job.

thanks guys

[Huck]

Raise the hood to it's normal height and hold it there. Now loosen the two rear bolts that hold the hinge to the fender. Now push the hood up another few inches--and while holding it up like this, tighten the rear bolts. You are preloading the springs. Now carefully lower the hood watching for rear hood to cowl contact. This preloading will lower the rear of the hood so it will line up with the cowl and fenders. Huck

[LONGHAIR]

You are preloading the springs. Now carefully lower the hood watching for rear hood to cowl contact. This preloading will lower the rear of the hood so it will line up with the cowl and fenders.

You aren't "preloading" anything. Doing this tilts the entire hinge in relation to the pivot point, which is the front bolt in this case.
There is more pressure on the springs when the hood is closed. The springs help to pull the hinge to the open position, which raises/holds it open. The springs are nearly contracted to their resting postion when the hood is open. The hood and hinges would be functional with out the springs even installed...the hood would be considerably heavier/harder to open and you would have to prop it to keep it up, but it would still work.

[haysonj]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush1970

it sits up higher than the cowl. do I need new hinges or springs? is there an adjustment that I can make?

Thnx

You also need to check the cowl seal if it is new you will have to trim it.

[tcb-1]

I adjusted my hood this last weekend with the "loosen the rear two bolts and push the hood a few inches up" trick and it worked like a charm.

learned that little trick right here!

[rscam]

I tried every adjustment the hinges would allow. I lubed them and bingo. The hood was actually lower than the cowl after that. So I had to raise it. I was amazed that lube would do that.

[JCA1972]

I have this same problem but only on the passanger side, I can push down on it and it pops right back up, I have tried adjusting the bolts and no go. I just ordered a new passanger side hood hinge and I'll let you know if it fixes the problem when I install it.

[mixermike]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

There is an adjustment, but there is no way that we can judge your hinges from here. You will have to inspect them. As long as all of the pivot points are tight/solid there really isn't much else to them.
The springs really don't do much other than hold the hood open. They don't have any bearing on the adjustment.....unless the hinges are really loose, they can then but they are not supposed to.
To lower the hood simply loosen the rear bolts on the hinges and push upward on the front of the hood.....I know, it sounds backward, but it works. You are rotating the hinge back, which lowers it.
Never loosen all of the bolts at the same time, you will lose everything

just got done adjusting my hood. it worked perfectly.thanks for the tip,

[OrangeCrush1970]

It slipped my mind, but I got it adjusted. Thanks guys for the help! Although, I actually had to loosen the front and rear bolts to settle my hinges a little lower. I wish I had taken a picture, but it sits perfectly now...dents in the finders and all-

Love this site!

[Huck]

Some may disagree with my fix but---some will buy new hinges and new springs trying to fix the alignment. What tickles me is if the hood was fitting good before and it was removed ---if it had warn hinges or weak springs, why did they all of a sudden go bad when you try to reinstall the hood?
I have given this adjustment trick to dozens of guys and have personally done it to dozens of trucks--a little lube, tweeking the hinges by pushing the hood up a bit and bingo, all is well. Maybe we need a poll to see how many 67-72 trucks we can count with popped up rear hoods? I saw one yesterday. What we need is a % of popped hoods for trucks seen. hehehehe

[dznucks]

put me down as the number one on that poll.

glad this question was asked. every time i look at my truck i wish i could get the hood to sit down. i always figuered something was bent.

i'll give it a shot this weekend.

[OrangeCrush1970]

Originally Posted by dznucks

put me down as the number one on that poll.

glad this question was asked. every time i look at my truck i wish i could get the hood to sit down. i always figuered something was bent.

i'll give it a shot this weekend.

I let mine sit like this for a year b/f I finally 'popped the question'...so to speak. Honestly, it took me about an hour to do and 45 minutes of that was trial and error. I was worried my hinges were worn out / loose. It took me finally loosening all of the bolts and dropping the hinges down as far as they would sit on the bolts. I started out w/ loosening just the rears, as Longhair suggested, but after some more adjusting it wasnt enough. I agree...start w/ the rears, then if need be lossen up the fronts as a last resort.

Hell, if I could do it then anyone could. And my front end looks So much better

One more thing, I had to use a deep socket and an extension to work around the blower motor on the passenger side.

[dznucks]

preciate the tips orange.
mine has been that way for 4 years now. and i am sick of looking at it. its the first thing i see everytime i look at the truck.

what side of atlanta are you on?