Has anyone had this problem with a 1956 Cadillac hood in trying to get it to line up with the cowl section and the fenders? At the hinge sides of the each fender up at the cowl where the edges of the hood roll down, my hood drops off at least 1/'2 inch below the fixed cowl line and binds terribly when attempting to open the hood. I have lubed the hinge thinking that it wasn't allowing the hood to rise where it should. When this didn't help, I attempted to draw up the actual hinge assembly itself at the firewall. That was to no avail as the hinge assembly mounts are small round holes with no play to speak of for adjustment up or down. I am to the point of taking the hinge mechanism off the car and routing out the holes so I can have play up and down and left to right if needs be. I have tried to shim the hood itself but that didn't help either. I had at least a 3/8 inch stack of shims at all points and it really seemed to only make it worse.
Does anyone have a suggestion? It does not appear that the car has been in an impact that would have changed the hood. There were a couple of low rocker area bumps like someone hit a low curb somewhere along the line but again, that doesn't seem to have been the culprit that I could tell.
Any tips would be appreciated before I get my grinder out! Thanks much. Chuck
The hood is supported at the back by rubber bumpers slided into the weatherstrip located on the cowl. The bumpers are available in 3 different heights. Steele rubber can provide them.
Chuck,
The hood hinge adjustment fore and aft and side to side is just to keep the gaps at the cowl and the rear of the fender. The movements for these are just slightly not much.
There are also felt pads at the corners that are sandwich in between the hood and hinge bar to stiffen the hood and also help keeping the hood to cowl arch.
As Roger stated the rubber bumpers keep the hood from dropping, section 15 has some additional details on these pieces and adjustment.
Good luck..!
Thanks for the help, fellas! Unfortunately, my problem is more extreme than either of those bumper or pad changes have made. I have not added any significant rubber under the cowl side as of yet, but in order to get the raise I would need to add 1/2 inch chunks along that edge. I already am getting a tremendous binding along the cowl as I try to raise the hood. My eyes are telling me that the hood spring assembly needs to rise up along the firewall to meet the hood as opposed to trying to raise the hood with rubber spacers keeping the spring tension where it is. My other 56 lays across the cowl gently, sealing along the rubber gasket but not compressing it under extreme pressure. When that hood unlatches, it pops up smoothly and easily. Not so with this present car. I will try to add some lift using rubber at the cowl and see what difference this makes. It just seems like something is tightened at an improper angle and needs to be relieved. I have "relieved" every bolt and nut I can find though, and it still acts the same.
I'll keep at it! Thanks again, Chuck
Chuck, it could be that once the hood opened during driving. This event deforms permanently the hinge assembly. When I did my Biarritz, the hood hinges were not no nice and I bought a used assembly. I cleaned it, painted it just to notice with the reflection that the surface lying against the cowl was deformed. Have a look here and compare with your other car.
Is the center "foot" still in place? I am talking about the little U-shaped bit that is suspended from the back center of the hood and has a rubber roller on the bottom of it. That bit helps to keep the center of the hood propped up, as I understand things.
Art & Roger,
Thanks very much for your input.
I know the center piece that you mentioned Art, is in place but I don't see any roller that you spoke of. It is just bolted together (and doesn't look like a "factory bolt either, now that I looked at it) I thought that was there to hold the center of the hood intact from flopping as it is such an expanse of flat sheet metal. I'm curious about the roller part?
Regarding the hood being tweeked from opening while underway, I'd say that is exactly what it "feels" like but everything "looks" just fine with no stress history showing anywhere. The hoods not kinked and nothing looks like it was repaired along the way.
I took the hood off this afternoon and removed the springs on the hinges to lube it all up good. Appears to operate correctly with no "slop" in it. As long as I have it this far apart, I think I will take the hinge assembly off and rout out the holes in a downward direction so I can lift the unit up on the cowl as I tighten it back down. Aside from that little move not being exactly Cadillac kosher, what could that hurt? Chuck
49 :<)
In case any are interested in the outcome of the hood alignment project, here you are. I removed the hinge assembly and drilled and ground each of the 4 holes another hole's dimension. I was able to get at least 3/8 to 1/2 inch up and down play adjustment. I set the assembly at the highest point I could to begin with, mounted the hood back on and closed it. Viola! The hood lined up perfectly with the cowl and each fender.
I'll call this an "engineering modification" that should have not been necessary but was. It was the only way I could think of to remedy the problem and it worked ( for a change!) I still need to dampen the hood with some pads along the hinge bar to quiet it down, buit the case is all but closed now. Thanks for each of your input!
Chuck