Whats the purpose of the J hook?

[Michidan]

I mean besides scalp removal....

Kind of assembling the last pieces of the 52, getting the hood on, etc. The REAL hood latch is the dovetail bolt. Is it really so untrustworthy that a backup is needed? I installed the J hook and the little spring it has. To me the thing just gets in the way, you have to be mindful of it when you close the hood so you don't smash it on the grill.

Then opening the hood, I guess after you pop it you just flick the J hook out of the way as you open? Am I missing some glorious higher purpose here??

[41 Frank]

Dan the hook is there as a backup in case of hoodlatch failure, most any vehicle with a front opening hood has one. You are not missing anything here.

[Michidan]

Shutting the hood... I sure feel like I'm missing somethng here. The J hook does not go into the hole in the grill unless you hold it back with your finger.
Once it is in the hole, the hood is pretty much closed. But not latched.
So you only get about 1 inch to push on the hood to latch it.
My hood is covered with fingerprints now.

I guess Im used to other cars where you can drop the hood from about 10 inches up and it latches. No can do with a Stude?

[rockne10]

No can do with a Stude.
I'm sort of pleased to be able to show folks the Stude is so well engineered nothing needs slammed.

[pyrodork]

perhaps that's why the one on my car has been cut and bent back.

[jclary]

I have several Studebakers with that "safety latch." I try to guide them through the hole just to keep them from scratching the paint in that area. However, all fit through the hole without binding, hanging up or missing the hole. I suspect yours needs some sort of adjustment so that it would close through the hole with slight contact. If you have a fellow club member with a similar latch, maybe you should study theirs and make sure yours is installed and adjusted correctly. It may seem like a $2 piece of crap to you, but if you have ever seen a car where the hood had come unlatched, caught the wind at speed, slammed into the windshield, caved in the roof and cause the driver to wreck the car...you would never doubt its true value.

[Michidan]

Jclary - i hear you for sure on its function. But whats to adjust? There is one spring, and its job is to push the hook towards the rear of the car.
So that it will catch when the hood opens. It's always pushing, even when closing the hood, so you have to hold it back.
I can't believe the spring is too stout after 58 years.

[jclary]

Jclary - i hear you for sure on its function. But whats to adjust? There is one spring, and its job is to push the hook towards the rear of the car.
So that it will catch when the hood opens. It's always pushing, even when closing the hood, so you have to hold it back.
I can't believe the spring is too stout after 58 years.

If I don't forget overnight (I'm kinda old ya'know), I'll take a better look at mine tomorrow and get back to you. I know about the spring, but I don't think mine push so far as to cause the hook to hang up or miss the hole. One of mine had a broken spring. I fabricated a spring by robbing one out of an old wooden clothes line clip.

[41 Frank]

Dan are you sure the hook is not bent some?

[Clem64]

Dan, I am the survivor of two hood bending incidents at speed during my lifetime . Both times I was the passenger and had to grab the steering wheel to keep us from going into the other lane or off the road. Believe me it's a thrill you can do with out. Make dang sure that you get that safety device functioning properly!

[Michidan]

Hook isn't bent. I don't know, i think we're fine here guys.
The hook is doing its job I guess. If the spring was weak enough to let it fall straight into the grill, it also might not catch it on the way back out.
It's like Rockne10 said, just a different method for me to get used to.

[StudHawk60]

Anybody got a spare hook assembly they care to sell?

[jclary]

Ok Dan, I did get out and look at four different years of Studebaker hood safety latches. The only one that is very different from the others is my '55 President coupe. All of the standard "J" hook types will slightly contact the edge of the hole as the hood is lowered. That is the reason for the "hook" area of the "J." The contact is slight and travel is only 1/2 inch or less. The way these are designed, there is a built-in "stop" in the base where the latch pivots on its pin. If yours travels too far, the only way I see to adjust it would be to bend or pry it with a screwdriver or small pry bar. It only needs to move forward enough for the inside of the "hook" in the "J" to catch the underside of the hole. If yours is moving too far, I would guess that something has been bent, worn, damaged, or the wrong safety latch has been put on the car. I still think that you can cure the problem with a little tweak of a bend or skillful placement of a washer shim. If you were a few hundred miles closer, I might be willing to sprint over and help. Good luck with it.

[Deaf Mute]

Re-installing that J hook on my 53 coupe was a real PITA! I could get the pin into the hook.. and sometimes into the center of the spring… but not the opposite side of the hook and base. Bifocals aside, it still was almost more than one guy could do… put perseverance… and the thought of a tall cool one at the end of the job finally got ne through it. My neck was sore for a couple days as well. Isn’t there a small tab on the spring end some of those the you can bend to set the angle?

[DEEPNHOCK]

And I thought it was an improvement over the A thru I hook....
They must have killed a lot of people.
The J hook only maims them.