Technical REVISITED: Shoebox hood hinges - GRRRR

REVISITED IS ON THE SECOND PAGE..LOOK FOR "REVISITED"..

Hey guys, I've been fighting these hood hinges all afternoon.

Here's what I have going on.

1. Fenders are off, so I can pretty well get to everything.
2. Upon first bolting up the hinges, the rear edge seems to waay too low on the left and right side. (and it's still that way. It doesn't seem there is any vertical adjustment. Is the hinge mount supposed to be on the top or the bottom of the lip on the firewall?
3. Also, the rear edge interfered with the body lip, but I think I have "sorta" fixed that by adjusting the hood/hinge bracket all the way to the rear to bring the hood forward just a little bit..about 1/4". BUT I still have the hood hitting the lip on the firewall. When it's closed, it looks pretty good, but will not open without serious paint damage....
4. I have springs that I got from either Shoebox Central or that other place in Oklahoma.
5. There is a stud on one of the hinges that appears that the spring(s) are to catch on.
6. There is a slotted hole on the front edge of the hood/hinge bracket that looks like the other end of the spring should go into, but not 100% sure of this.
7. It would seem that with the springs on it would help pull the hood forward when you open it.

Can anybody shoot me a picture of how it all goes together? I would appreciate it.

 

post pics

 

ok.. but ya can't tell a great deal about what's what here...

 

That spring doesn't appear to be correct. There should be a spring that has a long wire on one end , reaching from that little stud down to the flat panel below the hinge area (there is a hole in it, iirc) . I'm missing my springs and it catches like hell on the body as well. The 4 hood hinge bolts on a 49 are eccentric as well to help correct that stuff also. Mine made marginal results ...

 

Thanks Buddy.

 

good info. thnx

 

I can get some pics when I get home tonight. Won't be for another 7 hours or so....

 

I just called Dennis Carpenter.....and guess what.. the green springs I bought are for a dang Mercury, not Ford. The correct springs, as Buddy mentioned, have a "long hook" on both ends for a Ford. So I just ordered the correct springs... maybe things will be better with the correct springs but the geometry still looks all screwed up.... we will see.........

 

Can somebody post a picture of the correct springs installed? I don't see a hole for the lower end of the spring attachment.......

 

The lower hole is a small slot near the firewall in the horizontal inner fender panel below the air duct. We don't have the springs but it works ok. We did have to remove the hood brace that the hinges attach to and move it forward to improve the fit to cowl line, not perfect gap but ok.

 

Thanks, Kiwi... I think I found the hole you are speaking of....sure doesn't look like a straight line between the little stub on the hinge and the hole when the hood is closed though... hmmmmm we will see.....

By the way, when you moved the hinge mount, did you still use the two screw holes where it screws to the lip on the firewall? ... Also, are the two screws that is part of the hinge bracket mount to the top or the bottom of the lip on the firewall ???

Thanks in advance..

 

Anyone ???

 

Ah crap! I totally forgot to get a pic. I'll getcha one tonight.

 

hey..FlatheadPete.......................................

 

Wow, Ford really changed the hinges for 50-51. As you can see the Hinge bolts on top of the Flange and to the face of the Firewall. Clearly no help to you, sorry.
The Wizzard

 

I have the same problem with mine...I just thought that the hinge assembly had been bent then corrected at some point, making fitment sketchy at best. Now I am starting to think that I am missing a part or something. The back of the hood rubs slightly on the edge of the top of the firewall. I have been putting some thick, smooth paper along the edge every time I have to open the hood. It works well enough but I need a fix for it too. I'll see if I can take a better picture of my '49 hinge assembly for you tomorrow so we can compare notes. Otherwise here is the best pic I have now. Looks like no springs in there.

 

I was told once [fact or fiction] that a 49' can be changed to 50/51 hinges by swapping the rear brace in the hood to 50/51 so the 50/51 hinges will bolt up..

 

Thanks for the efforts, guys....................but still............. not a settled issue.... By the way, Channel49, there should be a rubber "very flat u-shaped" strip across the top of the firewall that should keep the rear edge from crashing into the top of the firewall. I have one but not going to install until i get her painted, as once you tack in the "nails" that come with it, it's pretty permanent...there should be a series of holes across the top of the firewall for that....

 

The spring goes from the stud on the hinge thru the large hole in the hinge plate to the slot below.
We had alignment issues , a PO had added more than 1/2 of filler to the firewall to hood gap. We removed this filler and removed the cross brace that goes from side to side under the hood and slotted the screw holes to give us a little more movement .i am not sure if this brace was factory welded or not as a PO had done a lovely job of filling the hood with 272 louvers to match the 272 Y block, so this brace would have been out for the Louver job.
We left the hinges attached to the firewall where they were , though the two screws that the firewall lip and hinge attach to isn't particularly robust.
We used to have quite a bit of rain getting through where the edge seal fits on the firewall so we welded up the holes and urethaned a simple rubber strip across.

 

THANKS for the guidance on the spring, etc.... Only thing is.... there doesn't seem to be any slot anywhere in the vicinity of the other end of the spring when the top hook is on the stud.

Can ANYBODY post a picture of the correct install ?????????????? Showing whether the "two screw" tab is supposed to be on the top or the bottom of the firewall lip ??

Thanks in advance for any help....

 

Took this for you at the car show today. When I popped my hood I remembered this thread!

 

DANG.... that hinge looks nothing like mine... are ya sure that's a '49? ..hmmm... I wonder if my hinges are '51?

 

Ok, guys... Just got my "correct" springs from Dennis Carpenter... ..and please forgive my lack of "searching" capabilities. I found that hole....It was reeeally covered up by some of my after market wiring bundles... and on the passenger side, one of the A/C hoses was right on top of it..... sooo the only other thing to clear up is whether I have mounted the hinge plate in the wrong position. I think I may have screwed up by mounting the plate on the bottom of the firewall lip. Can anybody confirm that the mount is to be on the top of the lip?.. it would make about 3/16" difference in the problem i'm having with interference between the firewall indentation and the bottom of the rear edge of the hood....

 

It's a 50 hinge, wasn't sure if there was a difference so I snapped a pic anyway

 

Here is a picture of my hood hinge on my '49. Not sure if this helps.

 

Thanks channel49. .you just answered all my questions! !!!

 

Ahhhh nice. Glad I could help!

 

Perfect, now all can see the 49 and 50 hinge differences.

 

Yea, the 50-51 hinges work well, and the 49 hinges are total shit , lol !

 

Guys........sorry to bring this up again....but........I just removed one side of my hinges, and it apparent that the hinge was first mounted at the factory with the rear tab on the BOTTOM of the firewall lip (see picture attached). Channel49 was kind enough to post a picture of his hinge mount, and it's mounted with the tab on the TOP of the firewall lip. In addition, when I try to position the hinge on the top of the lip, I get interference between the part of the bracket that bolts to the firewall vertical surface, so it doesn't "want" to be placed there.

I wouldn't otherwise bother ya'll, but as you may realize, when a guy is working alone, it's a reeeeal pain in the arsh to remove/reinstall hood hinges by one's self.. And if it comes out wrong, I'll have to do it all over again...

So... how about this... can anyone else confirm which side (top or bottom of the firewall lip) their hinge is mounted on?? Only because maybe one of the prior owners of Channel49's car may have remounted the hinge in the wrong position. Thanks in advance, guys........