Hood adjustment

There could be some frame sag in the rear motor mount area, this is common . There are so many possibilities that a person can only guess without hands on adjustment .
 
Purdy, I think there could be some frame sag, but my goal is to get the alignment like it was before I replaced the radiator. There was a gap, but not this bad. I will start on the many good suggestions I have received to see if I can make it better.
 
Brassworks...............nuff said.

Is it the correct radiator? 28-9 front cross member different than 30-1. FWIW

Paul in CT
 
mhsprecher said:
Purdy, I think there could be some frame sag, but my goal is to get the alignment like it was before I replaced the radiator. There was a gap, but not this bad. I will start on the many good suggestions I have received to see if I can make it better.
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Even if the frame is sagged it can still be fitted one way or another. Many of the repro radiators have fitting issues. The common problem with some of the 28-29 radiators is that the upper hose connection is angled downward and the tip of the fan barely hits the upper edge of the radiator hose. I did a bunch of shimming to fit the hood .I still ended up cutting 3/4 inch off each end of the aluminum repro fan blades. It all finally worked out and the radiator cools real good.
 
do any of you guys feel he will end up elongating the mounting holes in the front cross-member?
 
ericr said:
do any of you guys feel he will end up elongating the mounting holes in the front cross-member?
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Nope, He will either shim the body up OR straighten the chassis if needed OR remove radiators shims to a minimum OR cut off and raise the radiator base plates OR live with the gaps.

There are still a few things to check , like is the radiator shell sitting right down where it should ?

It may have to have the shell to radiator bracket holes elongated if it is sitting too high because of lousy repo quality.

The shell may be hitting the top tank as Quickchange found out recently .

The hood sits on the shell , not the radiator.
 
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I do think one issue is the shell brackets, but I think I will need to make a variety of other adjustments. It does make me appreciate all the work that goes into making a car - especially back in the pre-computer days. The fact that Ford built a new car from scratch in the time that they did and that it turned out to be such an excellent car is nothing short of amazing to me.
 
the thing is, he did not have such a gap problem with the old radiator, upon reflection I like best the suggest of removing the radiator mounting bolts and shifting shell/radiator around to test fit.

adjusting body shims on a '29 roadster is no walk in the woods. he will have to loosen/remove body bolts, the steering column bracket, gas line, rear fenders at running board, (Electrolock) ignition cable, and maybe other things I have omitted....
 
larrys40 said:
You may have to add a fiber washer/shim between the shell and the front of the hood rod to push the hood back if need be. I don't like to do this unless absolutely necessary... as sometimes they show.
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Digging this thread up. How exactly does the fiber washer/shim you describe work in this instance? Do you mean it goes inside the hood hinge rod retainer on the shell or goes on the rod against the hood hinge and shell?

I've been fighting hood adjustment on a '30 coupe and it seems my hood keeps shifting forward when I go to tighten the support rods. It seems like I need to shim the hood rod.
 
Have the same issue on a 31 Tudor. Seems like the answer lies with the forward hinge rod retainer. Have looked at pictures of new ones and they seem to have an integral rod stop within the retainer which would accomplish the same thing as a synthetic washer at the end of the rod which would push the hood aft. The forward edges of my hood are in contact with the rad shell and actually wore the paint off the edge. Welcome any thoughts on the proper way to hold the hood back and close the gap between the cowl and hood.
 
I've read somewhere, and I don't know where now, that the Model "A" hood had a tendency to creep forward on the hood rod. It's counter-intuitive to believe that or at least hard to believe that occurred on the car during its earlier decades of life. Maybe it was simply a result of wear between the rod and hood hinges.
 
Mulletwagon said:
Have the same issue on a 31 Tudor. Seems like the answer lies with the forward hinge rod retainer. Have looked at pictures of new ones and they seem to have an integral rod stop within the retainer which would accomplish the same thing as a synthetic washer at the end of the rod which would push the hood aft. The forward edges of my hood are in contact with the rad shell and actually wore the paint off the edge. Welcome any thoughts on the proper way to hold the hood back and close the gap between the cowl and hood.
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I stuck a 3/16" thick and 3/8" diameter nylon spacer inside the front hinge retainer earlier tonight and it seems like it will work good. It pushed the hood back where I wanted it, I still need to adjust and tighten the support rods.
 
Mulletwagon said:
Have the same issue on a 31 Tudor. Seems like the answer lies with the forward hinge rod retainer. Have looked at pictures of new ones and they seem to have an integral rod stop within the retainer which would accomplish the same thing as a synthetic washer at the end of the rod which would push the hood aft. The forward edges of my hood are in contact with the rad shell and actually wore the paint off the edge. Welcome any thoughts on the proper way to hold the hood back and close the gap between the cowl and hood.
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Are your front cowl bolt rubber shims toast?
Perhaps you need to do a total body adjustment at all 8 bolts, how do the doors line up?

Regards
Bill
 
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