WTB - '67-8 Mustang / Cougar hood hinges

Was your old hood flush to the cowl and fenders before replacement???

-- Mike

Yes. It was pretty much the same. New "Ford tooling" hood, bodywork done professionally....

Looking at Ebay and other sources. NOS and rebuilt cores ain't cheap...

Scratch the "yes". NO, it was pretty much the same as it is now =)

With the hood closed, can you apply hand pressure against the raised section causing it to lower or become more flush??? I'm having a flashback here thinking about a similar situation with my 69 thirty some years ago. It wasn't the fault of the hinges either. Have you tried adjusting the hood yourself or was it done by a body shop???

-- Mike

A bit, but not enough. It's a good 1/2" off.

I'm having a flashback

Interesting to know they still were prone to that problem when new...

The body man (guy I know, 25 yrs. exp.) said "you need hood hinges", in explanation of how it (still) looked. Rest of the front end's (fenders, hood, valance were replaced) gaps are nearly perfect. Really bugged the crap out of him. I think they're toast. I might try adjusting the hood, but as I recall, he said something to the effect of "did the best I could".

Thanks for the suggestion... I understand these are commonly problematic in the old beasts. I'm gonna take another look. I did replace the springs, but that didn't help much at all

It was about 10 years old when this occured, so roughly 25 years ago. I got the math wrong.

FWIW,

Raise the hood. Loosen the bolts (three per side) securing the hinges to the fender apron. Have an assistant apply additional upward pressure against the hood, causing the hinges to lean back, then tighten the bolts. Be VERY careful when lowering the hood, as this will cause a change in hood position toward the cowl. Lower the hood *SLOWLY*, carefully taking note of any hood to cowl interference. Then raise and loosen the bolts (two per side) securing the hinges to the hood. Lower and align to cowl and fenders. Gently raise and tighten hinge bolts to hood.

If that doesn't help, again, apply upward pressure, only this time with all bolts tightened, and look for hinge movement where it mounts to the apron. It shouldn't move. If it does, the apron nuts may be loose or elongated which means you'll be chasing the adjustments to no end. I believe that's what happened to mine, so I had it repaired at the body shop. My hinges were ok. Hopefully yours have been well lubricated and the scissor doesn't bend toward the center when lowering the hood. With 25 years experience, the body man should know what he's doing, so you may indeed need replacement hinges. That's about all I can remember to help you out...HTH

-- Mike

Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely give it a try, and will let you know how well it works. I'd like to avoid expensive replacements...

Loosen two of the three bolts on each hinge and gently press the hood more open. have a buddy tighten the bolts, or youself if you're able, while pressing up on the hood. Then slowly lower the hood and adjust fore and aft, left and right position. Basically, rotate your hinges the opposite rotation of your tires while driving forward to get it to sit lower in the back. If the hood sits too low, back off a bit.