Opening stuck hood

Hey guys!

I'm having a bit of trouble getting the front hood / bonnett open on my 74 Super Beetle. I can pull the release lever that's in the glove box all the way and it still doesn't release it. It has worked in the past so I do know to push the button on the exterior handle and such.

I'm looking for the easiest way in and for the best fix so this doesn't start happening again later.

Thanks ya'all,

Chris

Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo
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Get a helper. Have him pull the lever. You: vigorously yank up and down on the hood handle while keeping the button pushed.

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

Dang Jim, you are speedy!

Thanks for the reply, I have tried that method w/o any success.

Other ideas?

Chris

Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 18:44:52 -0500, "Chris D'Agnolo" shared the following:

Well once I drove my '63 (before I baja'd it) to my friend Scott's house... I took my wife and my friend Chuck along with me for a night of hanging out and shooting pool and drinking beer with Scott. When we got there, the hood was stuck. I tried and tried to get it open but it wouldn't budge. The problem was quickly solved by my friend Chuck when I told him that it was stuck and that his bag was in there. Now, the way it was solved is that his bag apparently had another "bag" in it and he *really* wanted to get to it. I'm not sure how he did it, but he walked back outside of Scott's house and returned about

2 minutes later with his bag and "bag." No damage to my car. Hmm... Maybe you should just tell someone you know who is a serious beer-drinker that there's a 12-pack in there and that they can have it if they open it up without causing damage. Once they get it open, just buy them a 12-pack. "Necessity is the mother of invention." ;-)

-- Travis

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meek shall inherit the earth. After I'm finished with it.:wq!

Reply to
travis

Good point Travis!

Chris

Reply to
Chris D'Agnolo

I had a similar problem with the hood of my 72 SB, but this time I knew that the cable releasing the hood lock was gone:

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I cut the handle, unscrew it and put a new handle (and fix the thing so it never hapnes again).Try everything else before cutting, then cut the handle. It is not such a big deal anyway. hope it helps.

Ant

Chris D'Agnolo wrote:

Reply to
Ant

I have understood that in supers (I don't have one) you can have access from under the front to the spare wheel area. And from there you could move the spare wheel aside and try to hassle with the opening mechanism by hand. Could work or not, mainly if the reason is broken release = mechanism cable.

To similar problems the yanking like hell, Speedy suggested, has always worked for me (and my father-in-law's SB72). Push the handle down = hardly, at the same time push the lower part of the hood towards the back of the = car and then lift the hood from the handle with a quick pull. The hood seems = to bend slightly doing this allowing the lock mechanism to turn slightly. I = have not found it to do any damage to the hood or paint though.

And then you can always cut the handle as final resort. There are = instructions and picture how to cut the handle in the Bentley manual.

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Uh oh, I forgot to tell, that you should also use proper magic words while yanking. "Perrrrrrrrrrkele!"

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Olli,

I tried the yanking-like-hell technique without success, but my neighbours found it very amusing! ;) I didn't want to cut, but it really seemed the only option. Regarding accesing the mechanism from below the front it is not possible, it is the first thing I tought of too.

Ant

Olli Lammi wrote:

Reply to
Ant

.................There are so many 'sayings' in Finland that the manual must be in multiple volumes!

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Damm! that must be it! And......what manual do you read?

Olli Lammi wrote:

Reply to
Ant

Yes, the manual only contains this one word, but there are thousands of use cases and instructions to use the proper volume, amount of r:s in the middle and the stressing of the word.

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Yes, the manual only contains this one word, but there are thousands of use cases and instructions to use the proper volume, amount of r:s in the middle and the stressing of the word.

.............heh heh..........You just got tripped up by one of those English words that has more than meaning. Volume can be similar to the word 'loudness' or.......it can be a book that is part of a larger group of books such as an encyclopedia that consists of lets say twenty volumes. I'm still full of envy that you know my language so well and I can't even begin to understand yours.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

Yes and a container also has a volume ;)

The difference must be that I have been learning english at school since I have been 9 years old. Quite a lot of movies and some TV=20 programs are in english and in Finland we use the subtitles (not the annoying dubbing as in the most part of Europe). I also have a masters degree in computer science which more or less means that I have had to read lot of books in english and most of my profession related materials and jargon is in english.

As of the english language, I mostly enjoy the different dialects in the England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland etc. and the words and sayings they use. They show some good TV shows from UK here and I have enjoyed them quite a lot (my favourite still is the Fast Show = ;) The american way of speaking is not so fascinating. Either it is quite boring in every part there or the media that is broadcasted=20 around the world is somehow sanitized.

I bet, you did not learn finnish at school ;)

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Olli, you really need to spend some time in the different parts of the US to be able to "hear" the difference and place it on a map. What you hear on tv is as you guessed, sanitized.

You need to talk to some real people and listen them talk.

If you can keep a straight face (hehehe) I'd recommend someone from the south, and not just some northern state immigrate but a born 2nd or 3rd generation southener who hasn't ruined his or her beautiful southern drawl with "proper" english :D

There's a difference between west coast and east coast too.

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

The american way of speaking is not so fascinating. Either it is quite boring in every part there or the media that is broadcasted around the world is somehow sanitized.

.................If you're talking about things like CNN, yes it's very 'sanitized'. On the other hand, many of the movies that probably make to your country have American English that's more typical. It depends on which one though. Same thing for American television programs. The Beverly Hillbillies are an example of caricature on more than one level including language. An average sounding American is hard to choose but if you recall Tom Hanks in 'Saving Private Ryan' then that's a good example of many of us I think. On the other hand, if the only movie that you ever saw with Tom Hanks in it was 'Forrest Gump', you'd be thinking that we're all very deliberate & careful speaking rednecks who are a little slow upstairs.......lol

I bet, you did not learn finnish at school ;)

.................Are you kidding? I almost failed English when I nine years old but Mrs. Bowen decided to get rid of me by sending me on to the fourth grade.

Reply to
Tim Rogers

hehehehe that was a fun movie... Roadkill Stew, anyone?

Jan, your resident thread hijacker

Reply to
Jan Andersson

Yes, should but I haven't yet been to USA or any of that part of world. Should visit the Russia also some day. Never been there either, just on the border.

Reply to
Olli Lammi

Been there, done that. They were fresh out of t-shirts. :)

I did see one cute brunette in St.Petersburg (Of Russia, not the one in Florida although I did drive through/past that one too I think) but sadly she was a beggar. And had 2 little kids that appeared to be hers.

Russia: decent ethnic food culture, cheap booze if you avoid the obvious tourist traps, and the big fancy hotels are safe and pretty well equipped. Been there twice. Can't navigate the city to save my life, but I did roam around some with a group of people from work. Didn't find anything spectacular to buy and take home with me. Probably because I didn't know where to look. People are friendly, but some are friendly for reasons you don't want to know. I don't mean "trust nobody", but you get the idea.

In general, it's much like stepping into a time machine and traveling back in time some 20 years. In some areas at least. Lots of things like public transportation, infrastructure, buildings etc. look a bit "worn". Well duhh, they are! :D

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

I know two St.P. natives who could tour me some (both living in=20 Finland now). I think that would be the city I would choose if I=20 am to visit Russia. They both have spoken very highly about the city. But I also know that it is very divided: rich people and poor people.

Any Russian people here in RAMVA?

Reply to
Olli Lammi

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