Secret to closing the hood on a 56?

[Guest frank bullet]

Just bought a 56'. Went to close the hood and it seems locked/and or stiff. Don't want to bend anything. Is there a secret? Or just muscle it shut from the open position? Thanks!

[miker98038]

Is the hood fully open, or are you just trying to latch it?

[Guest frank bullet]

Hood us fully open. But heck while we are at it, the best way to close it as well would be great. Might as well keep asking silly questions. So is the hood locked in place in the open position by some mechanism you need to release, or does it just require effort? Car is totally restored.

[miker98038]

My bird's in storage right now, so from memory. There's a set of springs in front, grill area, that act over center to keep the hood open. It will stay up in a bit of a wind, not a lot. If it gets blown about, or shifted, they might not operate as smoothly as they should. I'd GENTLY give it a little wiggle, then try to lower it. Two people would be better than one. It doesn't move very far till it comes over center, so,don't drop it. No force, it's a long lever arm, and I'm sure you could warp the whole works with force. Mines never locked up, but on occasion it's a bit "sticky". I always figured that was part of some poorly repaired front end damage.

Once it's lowered, I press down on each latch separately to seat it. I don't have the reach or strength to do both at once. The latches should be lubed, etc. makes 'em look ugly, but it's better than a hood stuck down.

Edited February 16, 2015 by miker98038 (see edit history)

[paul2748]

Because of the springs, there is some initial resistance when closing the hood from a fully open position. You should be able to lower it without breaking anything. There is no mechanism holding it other than the normal springs.

To fully shut, I hold the rear center of the hood and raise it about 8-10 inches from the shut position and just drop it. If everything is in alignment and the latches are lubed and work properly, it should fully close. Most guys I know do it that way, but I have seen a lot of guys just lay it down and then press on the ends at both sides to latch it. Do what ever you are comfortable with.

Edited February 17, 2015 by paul2748 (see edit history)

[Guest Ian57Tbird]

As mentioned by others it should lock in by being dropped from a small height, if is does not then something is wrong. Check that your catches are moving freely and lubricated and that there is some grease on the pins. If that is all good but it is still not closing freely then there is probably an alignment issue with the pins.

Be very cautious about pushing down on the hood as it is a good way to produce dents. If for some reason mine does not close both sides when dropped I open it again rather than push down on it, it also avoids fingerprints on your nice polished paint work.