51 Hood release wire broke

charles in east texas

charles in east texas

Senior Member
Any ideas on how to open hood on 51 after release wire broke.
We have worked for three hours with no luck. All and any ideas
Are appreciated. Thanks Charlie
 
Had the same thing happen to my 51' Merc.
Had to remove one half of the grille assy. in order to get at the tab that the Bowden cable goes thru on the latch.
Although it's a different design it may be a possibility

You will probably have to make up a hook out of something like piano wire that will go between the hood striker and the hood plate.
Once and if you get the hood open you may want to do what I did to eliminate having to go thru the procedure again.
Drill a hole in the vertical tab (that the Bowden cable goes thru) big enough to accept a 1/16" cable.
Connect the cable and run it where it will be accessible should this happen again.
 

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We thought about removing the grill. We'll tackle it again tomorrow. This car is-was going to the Texas Tour next week. Thanks for your advice. I'll keep you posted. Charlie
 
Yes it takes around 1 1/2 hrs to remove the grill assembly when the wire breaks. Less or more if you include cussing. Frustrating job but I could see no other way when mine broke. I installed a hidden safety wire for in case of in the future.
 
Problem solved. A friend from Plano gave this advice: cut a10 inch of coat hanger
And put a small hook in one end and slip the hook through a slot that is under the
Latch pan about 1 1/2 inches into the slot, turn the wire where the hook catches
On the ear of the latch and pull. The slot is between the top grill piece and the lower
Latch pan. May take several tries but it worked for us. Charles and thanks for all the help.
 
charles in east texas said:
Problem solved. A friend from Plano gave this advice: cut a10 inch of coat hanger
And put a small hook in one end and slip the hook through a slot that is under the
Latch pan about 1 1/2 inches into the slot, turn the wire where the hook catches
On the ear of the latch and pull. The slot is between the top grill piece and the lower
Latch pan. May take several tries but it worked for us. Charles and thanks for all the help.
Click to expand...

Glad it worked out for you! I know it must have been frustrating to say the least. I'll have to remember how you did this. You just never know.
 
Planojc said:
Glad I could assist you Charles in coat hanger 101. See you on the tour.
Click to expand...

Wire coat hangers have been used to get into many cars over the years, unfortunately some were not for the cars owners. Glad it worked out for you guys!
 
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