photo of a studebaker hood latch failure

[Chris_Dresbach]

I have an unusual request. Does anybody have a photo of what it looks like when the safety latch on the hood of a lark or champ truck FAILS resulting in the hood flying up and hitting the roof? The reason for this is I'm trying to show a friend why installing a safety latch is important.
Thanks

[Milaca]

Hmm, will the bent hood on a 1973 International Harvester pickup suffice? The top-front edge of the cab left a deep indentation.

[Chris_Dresbach]

Sure. Just to get the point across

[dpson]

It might also be worth noting that there have been reports of the hood bending over the windshield frame and hitting people in the head (through the roof) causing serious injuries.

[Rocket3pilot]

I had The latch fail on 2 Dodge Ram 1500's. In the 98, I was going 35 mph and it was scary. Was able to shut it with just bent hinges, In the 2001, I was at 65 on the interstate. Busted windshield, dented roof and ruined hood. Had to make my way off the exit looking through a 1" space under the hood. The body shop said they have had several Dodge Rams in for the same problem. Sorry, no pics, but def an important component.

[oltrknut]

I don't have the photo but I just supplied a hood and some misc. parts to repair the damage to a 54 coupe. His hood came up at 55 mph and did 9000.00 in damage. Crushed the roof, tore the fenders, damaged the hinges, it Looked like an elephant fell on the car.

[swvalcon]

Just have him sit in the car open the hood and ask him how well he could drive the car at 65 mph with the hood in front of him. Had one pop on a 57 chev just as I rounded a curve you dont see a thing.

[LarkTruck]

I had The latch fail on 2 Dodge Ram 1500's. In the 98, I was going 35 mph and it was scary. Was able to shut it with just bent hinges, In the 2001, I was at 65 on the interstate. Busted windshield, dented roof and ruined hood. Had to make my way off the exit looking through a 1" space under the hood. The body shop said they have had several Dodge Rams in for the same problem. Sorry, no pics, but def an important component.

My late Buddy had that happen to his RAM, and Chrysler Corp. replaced the hood, no questions asked.
JS

[stude dude]

I don't know of anyone who has had a Lark or Champ hood fly up. And I know of only one Hawk where this has happened, and that was after the car had been in a minor front end collision and the lock plate had been damaged. I later supplied the owner with an N.O.S. hood and luckily the original grille shell was undamaged.

Chris.

[Alan]

The only one I have around here is off a 68 MGC that I bought for $300, 25 years ago. Hood popped up and the woman driving it slammed on her brakes and was hit in the rear too.

[55s]

My dad had his 63 GT Hawk hood fly up when it was about three years old. (and those are heavy!). While the hood and hinges were wrecked, there was surprisingly little damage done to the roof, fenders and grille. The windshield was was not broken. He did say it was one of the scariest experiences ever because you can't see anything.

[oilnsteel]

I had a Champ hood fly up once at 55 mph. I don't remember why, too busy scraping out my underwear. If you like the adrenalin spurt and driving leaning out of the cab like a steam locomotive engineer, this is the adventure for you. The truck needed a new hood and hinges, but other than that the damage was surprisingly light.

Jim

[kamzack]

Seems that nearly every used sedan hood 53 to 58 and 53 to 64 C/K has bent corners. While some would've been kinked from stuck hinges being forced open, Studebaker hoods do have a reputation for coming open assisted only by the wind. I wouldn't drive at speed without the safety latch. I've had one come open at low speed and is quite alarming. Owned a 62 Gt that had n NOS hood installed sometime in it's life, still had remnants of parts # sticker and 3 small dents on the front edge of the roof.
Kim

[studeclunker]

I had an eighties Mercury Zepher wagon that did this several times. Usually it was at low speed. Often what I did was just slam on the brakes and the hood would slam shut and latch itself. This usually occured at relatively slow speeds and was, as such, not much of an issue. It finally occured when I was entering the freeway and I wasn't able to catch it quick enough. The damage was extensive and I had to tie the hood down so that the car could be driven home. We took it to a local body shop and they told me to take the car to the dealership. I asked why and he said to just do it. So I did. The fellow at the dealership came out looked the car over and told me to return on Thursday next and they would fix it. I asked how much and he said "nothing, it's a warranty fix. I see you have the V-six. How do you like it?" I replied it was a pain in the wazoo. He just nodded. I found out later that quite a few of these cars, both sedans and wagons had this issue. They did a great job. Replaced that lemon with another from Chrysler.

[rodnutrandy]

On my M series my hood has came loose twice , being caught by the safety catch both times , the scary part is I don't know it is loose still I stop and see it , Doesn't show up driving down road . I try to be sure it is latched good now !