'47 hood opening

cabrioletgalaxie

Senior Member
Recently purchased a '47 convertible and when hood is open there seems to not be much space in which to work under it. This is my '47 so I am not sure how high it should open, or if it has 2 positions and I'm not finding the higher position.
Can someone enlighten me?
Thanks,
David
 
It has only one position. As the springs weaken with age, they will not hold the hood as high. You can replace the springs or the whole mechanism. But, even if the springs are good, the hood still does not open far enough for me.

You can save yourself a difficult fix and carry a 1x2 stick cut to the max open height in the trunk, like I do. Better; safer.
 
Another option is to add an additional steel rod prop which folds down along the inner fender as a PO did on my 47 Mercury.

These cars are even worse than the Fords as the hood is longer and therefore weighs more.
 

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Another option is to add an additional steel rod prop which folds down along the inner fender as a PO did on my 47 Mercury.

These cars are even worse than the Fords as the hood is longer and therefore weighs more.


I have a 46 Mercury which has a prop rod fitted as above. The hood would not stay up without this rod. I thought it was a standard fixture as Mercury has quite a long heavy hood ( referred to a "bonnet" here down under).
Phil NZ
 
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