Hood alignment

daveymc29

daveymc29

Well-known member
Is there a sourse for information available on alighning the hood? My 29 roadster had issues with a bent frame horn and misaligned bumpers. After that repair the fenders bolt right up and the hood shelves fit well, bolts drop into place and the fender bolt to fender brace alignes well. Now the gap top to bottom on the hood panels apears off on all four panels. Radiator appears to be sitting very close to center and upright correctly. Any tips appreciated.
 
Alignment of the hood starts with alignment of the body making it parallel with the frame. (Most bodies do not sit in alignment with the frame rails.)

Most body blocks are not the correct dimensions as compared to originals, so this factors in. Most anti-squeak pads are not the correct thickness. Some cowl lacing is too thick which can cause issues too. I guess what I am saying is that the best resource for this is experience. It has taken years for me to just be able to look at something and see if anything looks abnormal. I don't think any online resource can do that for you unfortunately. I would start by centering the body using a tape measure under the rear, and a string line on the top. Get that located and then work on the hood.
 
I will go with Brent on this one but add that the frame must not sag. Sagging frames are more prevalent on heaver cars like 30's Fordors. But could happen with roadsters if they are used to do jumps. See photo at left.
 
nkaminar said:
I will go with Brent on this one but add that the frame must not sag. Sagging frames are more prevalent on heaver cars like 30's Fordors. But could happen with roadsters if they are used to do jumps. See photo at left.
Click to expand...

Neil just to clarify a couple of things, you are very correct that frames really should not sag (-and thank you for bringing out that point) however, for hood alignment purposes, the sagging frame (-as long as the rails still remains square along the centerline) really does not affect hood alignment. The thing it does affect is the Hood Clips (latches) not being able to hold the hood properly due to the hook not reaching the hood. The body can generally be shimmed to compensate for the frame sag. My point above was where the gaps start becoming a problem is when the body is installed in such a manner that it is angled in one direction and the radiator is not truly 90° perpendicular to the body.
 
Hi Brent,

Davey said that the hood panel gaps are different top to bottom. That would indicate to be that the body is not mounted correctly in elevation or a sagging frame. Could also be that the body is not mounted correctly in yaw or roll if the gaps are different port to starboard. Sorry to mix nautical and aviation terms.

I have the same issue with my 30 Fordor but the body has never been off so I suspect either worn out rubber pads or a sagging frame. I am going to replace the pads first then if that does not completely cure the problem, then on to the sag. In my case the gap is not bad and the car is a driver so the gap thing is not on the top of my list.
 
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Good timing on this thread. Last night I thumbed through my How to Restore Your Model A Volume 2 second edition. Great article on hood alignment.
 
we have had a number of posts lately about the '29 front end issues. much of the issue even after the frame sag comes from the lack of much slop/adjustment in the design and fitment of radiator/shell/hood shelves. It took me a long time to understand then locate good original parts, after which the parts aligned fairly easily, but it's still a close fit. And we have seen in the Service Bulletins about dealers being advised to pry apart squeaking radiator shell contacts with a screwdriver.
 
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