55.2-59 Hood latch adjustment

[Missyblue]

Hi there.....super excited we might get to actually move the truck on her own power this week! So I installed my hood latch and having never seen it on before am unsure if I'm missing something or how it should work. It seems latched correctly but the hood sits very high.....now I am by no means anywhere near body alignment yet but currently my fenders and doors are close and cant imagine raising the fenders this much to match? Just want to verify if its installed and latched correct and any ideas if I'm off. Thanks!

[dsraven]

if you take the latch out and close the hood how does it fit? doors and hoods should be adjusted for fit before any latches are installed, then the latch gets adjusted to hold the door or hood closed, with a little tension against the door rubber bumpers or the hood height rubber bumpers. there should be some rear and forward height adjusters, 2 on the cowl at the rear of the hood and some also on the front. the hood should have rubber buttons on the sides of the hood where it touches the fenders.
can you post up a few more pics of the thing with the hood open so we can see what you have under there? does the hood fit between the fenders without rubbing on the sides?
I suggest to put some tape on any nicely painted stuff until you get the hood adjusted. less scratches that way.
if the hood doesn't seem to fit the cowl well, like the gap is more on one side or the other, you may have to rotate the cab using the drivers forward mounting bolt as the pivot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgUwd9PdWiA

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

if you take the latch out and close the hood how does it fit? doors and hoods should be adjusted for fit before any latches are installed, then the latch gets adjusted to hold the door or hood closed, with a little tension against the door rubber bumpers or the hood height rubber bumpers. there should be some rear and forward height adjusters, 2 on the cowl at the rear of the hood and some also on the front. the hood should have rubber buttons on the sides of the hood where it touches the fenders.
can you post up a few more pics of the thing with the hood open so we can see what you have under there? does the hood fit between the fenders without rubbing on the sides?
I suggest to put some tape on any nicely painted stuff until you get the hood adjusted. less scratches that way.
if the hood doesn't seem to fit the cowl well, like the gap is more on one side or the other, you may have to rotate the cab using the drivers forward mounting bolt as the pivot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgUwd9PdWiA

Ok thanks I'll get more photos

Is this what you mean by rubber buttons?https://www.usa1industries.com/1955-...-10pc-kit.html

I dont have those....unless they were painted over.....the previous owner did a lazy paint job......
I know my hood needs adjusting it's high as t the cowl. But I did adjust the fenders so that the hood sits down between before I added the latch.

[dsraven]

yeah, thats it. some go over the big headed adjuster screw heads on those cowl bolts at the rear, some go into holes in the side of the hood.
I'll try to get some pics of my Canadian 57 GMC, they may be a little different as mine uses a chevy rad support. can't remember what rad support yours has but remember you were putting a jigsaw puzzle back together, right?

[dsraven]

here are a couple pics from the archive that show those cowl bolts that adjust the height of the rear part of the hood. of course a lot of that is how the hinges are adjusted but these bolts have those ribber caps that fit over them and keep the hood from rubbing on the paint of the cab at the rear. look on the outer edges of the cowl just where it starts to turn down on each side, there should be a couple of round headed, likely slotted, bolts there. they have rubber caps over them originally and the hood sits on them when closed.

[dsraven]

sorry, not great pics to show that but, if you look at the pic of the dash and cowl sitting on the shop floor, you can see the 2 spots on each end of the rubber cowl seal. thats the bolts. in the other pic you can also see them in the top of the pic.

[dsraven]

looking for hood side bumper pics now.

[dsraven]

Here are some pics showing the rear hood bumpers on the cowl and also the holes in the edge of the hood where the other spacer/bumpers fit

[dsraven]

Well, that worked awesome. Lol.
The hole in the hood edge is shown with the saw blade inserted. There are a couple on each side. You could easily drill them, paint the hole with fingernail polish if nothing else is available (yeah, cause we all have that in the top drawer, left side). The screws with the flat slotted driver on the cowl should have a rubber cap on them.
Hope that helped. My hood latch is not stock so a pic of that would be useless for you. Like mentioned, remove the latch to adjust the hood.

[dsraven]

a wooden paint stir stick works well for setting gaps and easily picked up for free at the local paint store. doesn't scratch the paint and all the gaps get set the same that way.

[dsraven]

when you are setting things up after the truck has been taken totally apart, it is best to take the front fenders off and adjust the doors to fit the cab and the body line behind the door. set that gap first. then stick the fenders on and adjust that gap and body line, some shims may be required at the front cab mounts (really good idea to have new cab mounts and rad support mounts first) or the rad support mounts to get things linerd up and level. good idea to get the frame level first, thrn the cab level, then the door body line level, then the fender body line level. you get the idea. a maget on the front fender body line at the headlight end and anothert one at the rear cab body line behind the door, with a string between the magnets, will really help you set things up level and in line. a piece of tape placed at the front and rear of each body part, with a mark on the body line, will also really help you line things up so it looks right when ity's all together.

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Here are some pics showing the rear hood bumpers on the cowl and also the holes in the edge of the hood where the other spacer/bumpers fit

Hey I remember those bumpers on the cowl now. Mine dont have rubber anymore. And I do have the hood ones they are just painted blue haha

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

My hood latch is not stock so a pic of that would be useless for you. Like mentioned, remove the latch to adjust the hood.

What latch do you have? I swear someone said a vw one worked great

[dsraven]

mine is from an envoy, cable operated. not done that part of the truck yet so it isn't installed. not gonna be hard though. gonna close the hood, adjust it to fit well, then install the latch around the closure part, then build a bracket to keep the latch in that position. with some adjustment slots of course.

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by dsraven

when you are setting things up after the truck has been taken totally apart, it is best to take the front fenders off and adjust the doors to fit the cab and the body line behind the door. set that gap first. then stick the fenders on and adjust that gap and body line, some shims may be required at the front cab mounts (really good idea to have new cab mounts and rad support mounts first) or the rad support mounts to get things linerd up and level. good idea to get the frame level first, thrn the cab level, then the door body line level, then the fender body line level. you get the idea. a maget on the front fender body line at the headlight end and anothert one at the rear cab body line behind the door, with a string between the magnets, will really help you set things up level and in line. a piece of tape placed at the front and rear of each body part, with a mark on the body line, will also really help you line things up so it looks right when ity's all together.

Yes my truck has been a jigsaw puzzle haha. Came mostly in pieces. I think I have located most or all. I hope.......so since you crossed the big bridge haha i better figure out my doors 1st.....kinda passed a few things due to my mechanic needing radiator and stuff in to finish his engine help. I did get new radiator mounts/pads. I defintly need to do door work as my hinges are missing a few bolts I just located. So I'll start with doors and work outward again just needed another set of hands to get bolts started. I had saved a door tutorial somewhere so I'll have to look for it. I'm realizing my local rod shops joke about learning to love taking things apart 5 times is reality 🤪 thanks for the help. I'll see what I can figure out

[dsraven]

If you have a garage doorway or a hook in the cieling somewhere you can hang the door with a ratchet strap as a 3rd hand. Then adjust the strap for rough height to get the hinges in. A floor jack works too but the door can still fall over or scratch up the paint. I suggest rebuilding your hinges or replacing them. It is good to start with the truck cab/frame level and then when adjusting try to also level the body line on the door, otherwise things can get ugly trying to shim the rad support correctly for the "new" level. Also the hood will be tough to fit at the cowl end.