Properly Fitting Hood

[jj280z]

Per my attached pictures, I am having a problem getting the driver's side of the hood to sit down flush with the mating fender. I tried adjusting and readjusting the hinges, but that really didn't help. My question is: does it make sense to take of the left torsion bar that connects to the left hinge and readjust/bend/reform so that the hood will sit flat? 

 

When the hood is down, the front left side sits up right over where the hinge is. You can push down on the hood at that point, but it will want to spring back. Anyone have any suggestions to fix this problem? 

 

These last 2 pictures show that the torsion bar that goes under the passenger side driving light has a healthy gap whereas the driving light on the driver's side has no gap.

 

 

 

 

Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated.
 

 

 

 

 

[Patcon]

Loosen the bolts in the left hood hinge. Remove the light or turn signal. Push the hood down and then tighten the hinge bolts while holding the hood down. See if that helps

[grannyknot]

You may also have to remove the grill to get at those 3 bolts holding the hinge mount to the body, a second person is a real help with this adjustment, have them push the left side down even if it goes down father than you want it to, don't worry it will spring back up once those 3 bolts are tightened.

[madkaw]

14 hours ago, Patcon said:

Loosen the bolts in the left hood hinge. Remove the light or turn signal. Push the hood down and then tighten the hinge bolts while holding the hood down. See if that helps

Do you really loosen and tighten the three hinge bolts or the 2 bolts that are directly attached to the hood ? 
Yes you do hold down on the hood , but it’s the 2 bolts that will hold it there . 

[madkaw]

I have been trying to close off the area behind the grill for aero dynamic reasons , so I removed the torsion bars . When I removed them I was able to align my hood better than I have ever done before . I just couldn’t get it adjusted to where I was happy until I took the tension off the hinges. Currently I am not running the torsion bars and I come to realize how heavy the hood really is :0

 

[Patcon]

I believe I loosened all three, but it's been several years since I have done this

[87mj]

I had the same problem.  Except every time I pushed down on the hinge while tightening, then removed the weight, it would come back up.  Finally, I was able to loosen the hinge and tie a dumbbell to it with a tie strap (60 lbs).  That allowed it to be held down while i tightened it back up.  The hood (mid '70 car) has holes in the front.  I was able to put a strap in that too and tie a dumbbell to it.  Believe it or not, it worked.  In my case, I needed to be careful that the hook on the strap didn't put a dent in the sheet metal of the hood.

[madkaw]

1 hour ago, Patcon said:

I believe I loosened all three, but it's been several years since I have done this

There is 5 bolts when adjusting the hood . 3 to bolt hinge to chassis . 2 bolts hood to hinge 

[Patcon]

4 hours ago, madkaw said:

There is 5 bolts when adjusting the hood . 3 to bolt hinge to chassis . 2 bolts hood to hinge 

Yes, the three on each side. As I recall there is a little movement in each hole but more in some than others. I also recall the hinge sort of rotates when you push the hood down. Then ighten them up...

The other two, I really use for lining the hood between the fenders and cowl

[grannyknot]

10 hours ago, madkaw said:

Do you really loosen and tighten the three hinge bolts or the 2 bolts that are directly attached to the hood ? 
Yes you do hold down on the hood , but it’s the 2 bolts that will hold it there . 

The 2 holes on either side of the hood are for front to back adjustment, no height. The 3 holes on the body side of the hinge are height adjustment and sometimes back and forth depending on how a PO has modified them for their needs.

 

[madkaw]

14 hours ago, grannyknot said:

The 2 holes on either side of the hood are for front to back adjustment, no height. The 3 holes on the body side of the hinge are height adjustment and sometimes back and forth depending on how a PO has modified them for their needs.

 

I have found that you can get height adjustment from the two hood bolts . When hood is closed and hinge bolts are tight(3) , sometimes the hood sits a bit proud compared to fender/ scoop . If I hold pressure down and tighten the two bolts I can get the hood to stay down in that position . I’ve gotten as much as 1/4” .

Not saying that’s the ideal way to align , but it has helped me . 

[grannyknot]

8 hours ago, madkaw said:

I have found that you can get height adjustment from the two hood bolts . When hood is closed and hinge bolts are tight(3) , sometimes the hood sits a bit proud compared to fender/ scoop . If I hold pressure down and tighten the two bolts I can get the hood to stay down in that position . I’ve gotten as much as 1/4” .

Not saying that’s the ideal way to align , but it has helped me . 

Sounds like one of those previous owners I was talking about had a go at your car, mine aren't slots anymore either, someone drilled them out.