Hood Alignment - Final Solution Sought

[Gibson]

Ok, so I've read a bunch of posts on this but I'm still not positive I'm doing my adjustments right, so I did a little illustration (see below).

I just finished putting the fenders and hood on after paint, and I can't get the hood aligned correctly. It is an aftermarket dual cowl hood, but it was on this truck with these same fenders before with no problems. It sits about a half inch too far forward, and the back side near the windshield won't go down all the way - it sits a couple of inches too high. These are new hinges from LMC (the old ones were toast).

I keep reading that the trick is to "rotate" the hinges but it doesn't seem to have any effect in my case, or I'm doing it wrong.

Do you rotate clockwise (as seen from inside the engine compartment) or counter clockwise?

Because if I can't get this stupid hood to behave, I'm going with "Option 3".

Here is an illustration of what I'm talking about:



Any help appreciated!

[Jonboy]

You will want to rotate it clockwise (opt. 1). You may need to pull the hinges and slot the holes a little more also. When these trucks were designed, fit and finish wasn't as high on the list of things to worry about as it is now.

[Gibson]

Yeah, so this is where I get confused because in some of the posts I hear people say things like "it's counter intuitive because you have to move the hinges UP to get the hood to go DOWN" and in Option 1, I would say that is rotating it "down".

Has anyone else used the LMC hinges? Did you guys have to extend the slots or anything?

[Gibson]

Ok I tried last night to rotate it clockwise, but it didn't seem to change anything. Do these hinges have like a "threshold" in them where after they close a certain amount they kind of snap shut in the back? Is that what I should be looking to happen?

[rs72z]

Rotating the hinges clockwise will lower the back of the hood and also move the hood back some. You might still need to loosen the bolts on the hood and slide the hood back to get the front of the hood and fenders to line up.
If after you rotate the hinges all the way clockwise the back of the hood is still to high you may need to like Jonboy said and slot the holes on the hinges.

[Gibson]

Cool, I will give that a shot tonight. I think I'm at the max already, so I'll pull them and extend those slots a bit.

[ron350]

Gibson if you made those illustrations (pictures) they look great.

OK if you are going to remove the hood and hinges could you compare the new and old hinge placement?
With the springs removed and the hinges loosely mounted to the inner finder would that help tell you which way to adjust?

[Gibson]

Thanks ron - yeah I made them. It seemed clearer than just typing it out (especially "Option 3" which is what I REALLY want to do to this thing ).

Hopefully once I get it resolved I can make one for the solution I end up using for folks in the future.

I did compare the new to the old, but the old ones were so worn out it was nowhere near.

[Bowed]

It is an after market dual cowl hood

The back side sits a couple of inches too high

You are absolutely sure the original hinges were not modified for a difference in the after market cowl hood ?

[4x4k30]

I have the lmc hood hinges and I cant get my hood to align I have a nos gm hood it looks good on one side but not the other I may try to slot the bolt holes and see what happens.

[Just call me Sean]

Originally Posted by 4x4k30

I have the lmc hood hinges and I cant get my hood to align I have a nos gm hood it looks good on one side but not the other I may try to slot the bolt holes and see what happens.

Which is the side that looks good? lol

[4x4k30]

Originally Posted by Just call me Sean

Which is the side that looks good? lol

well it looks bad at every end now that you said something

[wjjeeper]

Originally Posted by 4x4k30

well it looks bad at every end now that you said something

You better just sell me that beauty then

[Gibson]

Originally Posted by Bowed

You are absolutely sure the original hinges were not modified for a difference in the after market cowl hood ?

Yep - I still have them. The slots and hole are totally stock - no modifications.

[Gibson]

Originally Posted by 4x4k30

I have the lmc hood hinges and I cant get my hood to align I have a nos gm hood it looks good on one side but not the other I may try to slot the bolt holes and see what happens.

Love that color - sweet looking truck!

[Gordonr1973]

You can always shim your fenders out a bit to get the gaps good after you get your hood sitting better.

I agree --- slot the holes bigger on the front hole of the hinge and only worry about one side at a time.

[bnoon]

I need to do the same thing to Green Jeans. Right now it sits a good inch higher like I'm a ricer trying to get cheap cowl induction or set up extraction vents or something.

[nhra]

I never trust other peoples work. I would set the hood on a flat surface and make sure the paint shop didn't tweek you hood. Those after market hoods normally are a little lighter material than factory. It fit when you gave it to them and it doesn't now so it makes you kinda wonder.

[Gibson]

Unfortunately, I'm the "paint shop" (at least for the hood) I'm sure I did not tweak it. Keep in mind, these are brand new aftermarket hinges, so I'm guessin that is where the problem lies.

I did find part of the problem: I had installed an electrical project box to contain some relays and fuses for some new bits I have added (fog lamps, fans, etc) and it was interfering with the passenger side hinge a little bit. I've taken that out now. Still doesn't close correctly, but it is closer.

I think a big part of my problem is that the hood is too far "forward" so the latch post doesn't seat well. I'm going to start by slotting the top holes in the hinge (where it bolts to the hood) and sliding it back till that goes in well. Then I'll tackle the "rotation" slots in the fender side of the hinges.

[Gibson]

Played around with this a bunch this weekend. I modified the holes in the passenger side hinge to try to give myself a bit more play, but it didn't work. I've moved the hinge back as far as possible, rotated it as much as I can and it still sits high and is angled too far to the driver side. I also checked to make sure the engine compartment is square in case there was a fender mounting issue and everything looks good.

I'm going to try rebuilding the OEM hinges and removing the slop from them and putting them back on and seeing how things look.