37 hood alignment

[marlinman]

I have a 37 coupe. The gap between the hood and the side panel on the drivers side is 1/8" the length of the hood. looks good. On the passenger side starting at the centerline of the grill it goes from nothing to 3/8" in just the length of the grill and continues at 3/8" all the way to the end of the hood. The hood lines up with the cowl on Botha sides. Any ideas on how to fix this problem?

 

[don's 37]

Try adjusting the hood hinges. If that don't work either the hood where the cowl is might be twisted or you may have a bad hinge(s). I had a heck of a time getting mine (almost) right because at one time someone didn't "lift" then set the hood down which caused some damage to the back of the hood brace.

 

[bill3337]

Can you post a good picture of that whole side showing both ends of the hood where it meets the body, side panel and grille?

 

[marlinman]

I've tried to upload some pictures to send but it won't do it. I'm stuck!! I need some help.

 

[bill3337]

Tough to recommend anything without a picture. Could be the grille is out of plumb, leaning to the left a bit. Is the hood itself straight from the nose to the cowl on that side?

 

[felix37]

It could be a number of things causing your problem. There is a lot of adjustment from the alignment of fenders,grill,hood sides and hood. They were never perfect from the factory! but a little time and patience will do wonders!

 

[TNDoug]

As far as pictures go-you need to make them small enough (pixel wise) so they will upload (800 x 600 works best). Adjust your camera to a lower quality setting or run the picture through a program to make them smaller. Alignment is another issue. My problem was the running boards being too tight-keep everything loose and it will work out.

 

[37 Coupe]

As I told you on the Early V8 site it is more than likely the hood itself,they are very flimsey and if an original 75 year old one it has been through some torture. It was probably the one area on my 25,000 mile original 37 Ford that needed the most attention and it still does not align that great,mine is closest to the pass side of the grill which I think yours is Every now and then if it bothers me I place a rubber shim on top of the rubber stop on grill top and close and lock hood.The proper thickness rubber will equalize the two sides. As I said before hood is probably sprung from years of improperly closing it,mine had the tell tale crack on drivers side where all the force is applied. If you still have the original 37 Ford hood support never let anyone else that does not know how they work close hood or walk away from car with hood open like at a car show and someone thinks it has started to sprinkle,well thats another story.

 

[keith oh]

Right on 37 Coupe, it has been sprung from many times over the years being pulled on too close without releasing the hood prop. Sad thing is, I doubt if it will ever be fixed completely without removing.

 

[marlinman]

I'll readjust my camera and try sending some pictures and do a little measuring. I'll get back to you guys. Thanks for the help!!

 

[marlinman]

I measured both sides from the cowl to the top corners of the grill. They are within a 1/8" of each other. You can see in the pictures that the hood touches the top of the grill at the nose. Is it possible to lower the font of the grill by racking it down with would close the gap along the side of the hood?

 

[cvstl]

Don't mess with the grill, its the hood. As already mentioned, it needs to be sprung back. Easier said than done, but with some thought and help from a friend or two, it should be able to be pulled back straight.

Nice looking '37, more pics please.....

 

[bill3337]

From the pictures, it does appear as though the hood itself is bent on the passenger side. I think a good bodyman with a little patience and courage should be able to tweak that into place with some blocking and gentle hand massaging.

 

[marlinman]

I want to thank all of you for your input. I'll try to find a good bodyman in my area to tweak the hood back. Right now I'm waiting for a dropped axle from Sid in Oklahoma. The whole front end is out of the car. None of the pictures I have on the computer will upload to Ford Barn so when I get the car back together next week I'll take some new pictures and send them.

 

[cvstl]

Sid is the man...... he dropped an axle for my '37 and will be doing one for my '35 later this summer.

Best way to upload pic is to use a server like photobucket and then just copy in the direct link address.

 

[marlinman]

I haven't got the hood problem fixed yet but I did get my dropped axle from Sid and got it installed. I finished it yesterday and it put the car on the stance I wanted. Took her out for a cruise, everything works fine. I told you I'd take some pics that would work on the upload to Ford Barn. Here they are.

 

[37 Coupe]

Its "plum purty".