71 Demon Hood Hinge Issues

[Six Barrel Bill]

Hey everybody, working on my daughters 71 Demon and just about ready to head to the paint shop. When we picked the car up a year ago the hood was not attached. Over the weekend I put it on and for the life of me I cannot get it to line up properly.

What I'm seeing is when I begin to close the hood the left hood hinge bows out and actually rubs against the fender. In the picture you can see where it has been rubbing for a long time because the paint is missing. The right side bows a little but never touches the fender. As I slowly bring it down, it kinda straightens itself out. However, once it tries to close it is laying against the left fender and a huge gap is on the right.

As I said, I've messed with the adjustments on the hinges but it doesn't seem to help. I suspect there is no adjustment on the hinge itself. I would like to fix or just replace both hinges.

My question is, can the hinges be repaired with some sort of bushing kit or do you just have to hunt them down and hope a used set will work?

Thanks, Bill

 

[jonn6464]

Hey everybody, working on my daughters 71 Demon and just about ready to head to the paint shop. When we picked the car up a year ago the hood was not attached. Over the weekend I put it on and for the life of me I cannot get it to line up properly.

What I'm seeing is when I begin to close the hood the left hood hinge bows out and actually rubs against the fender. In the picture you can see where it has been rubbing for a long time because the paint is missing. The right side bows a little but never touches the fender. As I slowly bring it down, it kinda straightens itself out. However, once it tries to close it is laying against the left fender and a huge gap is on the right.

As I said, I've messed with the adjustments on the hinges but it doesn't seem to help. I suspect there is no adjustment on the hinge itself. I would like to fix or just replace both hinges.

My question is, can the hinges be repaired with some sort of bushing kit or do you just have to hunt them down and hope a used set will work?

Thanks, Bill

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You may, or may not, know that the hood hinge operates via an upper and lower piece. The lower piece is the coil spring that provides the lift. Over time, these pieces get out of calibration and develop some slop on the joint.

Since the car is going to the paint shop, I am assuming that the fenders will be coming off. That is a great tine to ditch the lower coil and replace it with a gas strut. Similar to what you find on an SUV rear hatch.
There are numerous threads on here by guys who have done it.

 

[retroron]

If you really want to fix the hood/hinge issue, drill and tap the end of the hood hinge post and use spacers to keep the hinge from walking sideways. Or better, bush the hinge itself so the hinge/hinge facing surface has more to purchase on. I've got some good pictures of what I did, go look at "sneaking towards the finish line" in the restoration forum. Or PM me and Ill send you pictures. I used a 200 pound gas spring with a 5 inch stroke, I can get you the information if you need it.

 

[Six Barrel Bill]

Thanks for the information guys. I guess I'll see what I have to deal with once I get these fenders off. A lot of really good ideas and I appreciate it.

Bill