Hood stuck/52 Champion

[bwoltag]

I am unable to open the hood on my 1952 Champion.
I have removed the grill work and sprayed WD 40
on the exposed area around the hood pin and worked
the manual hood release cable back and forth. I
cannot tell if the cable is still attached to the
latch above the air deflector. I am aware on previous
models the latch can be moved with a screw driver by
poking through the holes near the area where the hood
pin drops down, but this has been unsuccessful. Does
anyone have any ideas as to how I can proceed.

Thanks,
Barry Woltag
Austin, Texas
(512)835-6468

[Sonny]

That IS a tough one Barry. If it's anything like my '50, it's a hell of a deal if that little clip breaks or some how gets off the end of the cable. I was able to get a real long screw driver with a fairly substantial blade, in behind the hood pin and push that "half-moon looking" latch pushed back. Is the cable still connected to the latch and it's just corroded? You can take the whole handle assembly off from under the dash, then try to pull the whole assembly. Bad news there is that you will pop that clip newr the latch holding the outer cable, (and they're hell to find), or it will catch on something under the hood that will prevent it from being pulled. I dunno, but I think you can get enough pull to get it released like that. I hope so, otherwise I can't think of anything else right at the moment. Hey, wait a minute! Can you see the slotted end of the hood pin? Can you loosen and remove it? I know it's supposed to have a jam nut but I've seen quite a few without the jam nut and the thing was easily removeable/adjustable.

Sonny

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