Body / Glass: Hawk Hood to Cowl Gap

[wdills]

I spent the morning working of the fit of the hood to the cowl and fenders. I have the hood to fender gaps fairly equal, but the hood to cowl gap is causing me to scratch my head a little. It is even all the way across, but it is wider than I expected it to be. When the hood is closed, the gap is about 3/8" to 7/16". If I move the hinges back to try to narrow the gap, the center of the hood hits the cowl when opening and closing.

My question is, how wide is the typical gap between the hood and cowl when the hood is closed on a Hawk. Mine is a 61 but I would be interested in hearing about the fit on any comparable C/K body.

Thanks
Wayne

[52hawk]

Mine is a 61 also. I had a decent gap at the cowl,but after I painted it I lifted the hood one day and chipped the paint right at the center. I move it slightly ahead and live with a slightly too-wide gap.[more than a 1/4][no one has ever noticed the gap,and it doesn't bother me [much!]
The proper way to open the hood requires that you pull it forward as you lift it. I think this is one of the worst engineered items on the CKs. Who would ever imagine a pair of hood hinges with 4 springs which do nothing to hold the hood open?
One other thing to try is to bend the hood up slightly in the rear center,to keep it from chipping the paint. I worked on a 62 GT Hawk with a real problem in that area.The hood was BELOW the cowl,just in the center.We put a block of wood under the center and closed the hood on the block,[not all the down to latch of course] 5 or 6 tries got a useable gap.
Also realize,these cars were the best fitting creatures when they were new. sometimes you got to compromise,or pull your hair out.

[SN-60]

To: wdills,--- You're describing a chronic C/K problem. That's why (as You probably know) the factory installed those rubber sleeves on the hood cross tension rod. It's always prudent on those cars to go with a bit wider gap and not have to
be concerned about the back edge of the hood rubbing paint off of the front edge of cowl every time You open the hood. Good luck!

[Clem64]

wdills: I just went out to the garage and measured our 61' and its 1/4" on the drivers side and 3/16" on the pass side. You would have to look real close to notice any difference. As 52hawk said, it's proper to pull the hood forward as you lift.

[SN-60]

Yes, it is proper to pull those hoods forward as You lift, the problem is....not everyone knows that!

[studegary]

I have found that after many years, many of these hoods need the center of the rear to be lifted some. I do it similar to what was described. I wrap a wood piece in cloth, lay it between the cowl and hood center and then pressure the hood down on it. Align the hood to the cowl first and then work on the hood to fender alignment. (Do not try to align the hood without the cowl seal piece in place.)

[wdills]

Thanks guys. I have seal in place so the surface of the hood and the surface of the cowl match up very nicely when the hood is closed. But without the seal in place the center of the hood is way down below the cowl when the hood is closed. This tells me the seal is the only thing holding the center of the hood up. I might try the block of wood bending technique to see if can get a little more arch in the center. Hopefully the effect will be a little more clearance when opening and closing but not so much arch to keep the center from laying down on the seal when the hood is closed.

Yea, I know to pull forward when opening. Unfortunately, someone in the past did not. This whole exercise is centered around getting the rear corners bent back down where they should be while getting the rest of hood to fit like it should. Once everything fits right I am going to install a pair of CE's anti-kink stiffeners.

Wayne

[52hawk]

I just measured my hood gap- 5/16ths,really doesn't look bad,even with a light color[silver]

[wdills]

Worked on the fit a little more this morning. Used a block of wood and got a little more arch in the center of the hood. That allowed me to move the hood back to get a 5/16" gap on both sides and still have a little clearance when opening and closing. After doing this I got a nice fit between the drivers side fender and the hood. It is about 3/16" all the way, with just a little variation here and there.

The other side is a little bit odd. I have a nice gap at the rear of the hood and at the front of the hood, about 3/16". But, in the center of the hood, the gap is much wider, maybe 7/16" to 1/2". Just depends on how and where I measure it. It is like the center of the hood is not wide enough. It seems I need to push the center of the hood down to flatten out the arch a little to widen the hood in this area. Just not sure how to do this without causing a dent. Anybody ever run into this? How did you fix it.

Thanks Again
Wayne

[52hawk]

I wouldn't try to bend the hood there.[well maybe VERY gently] Try moving the BOTTOM of the fender outward a little at the front and/or rear to curve it in at the top,then pull the front of the fender out a bit if needed.
I spent DAYS lining up the front sheet metal on mine.

[bowhawk]

"As you probably know"

No I don't know. Where are they supposed to be located on the rod and what is their purpose in life. <G>

Thanks

[SN-60]

To: bohawk,------- Two 3" pieces of rubber tubing, cut lengthwise, and slid over the hood tension rod at (or near) it's center. They should be lined up with the two raised 'crowns' in the cowl. They are supposed to rest
on those 'crowns' when the hood is closed to: 1) eliminate possible vibration and rattle of rod, and 2) to help keep the hood back edge raised a bit for cowl clearance when opening. (3/8" fuel hose should suffice.)

[studegary]

To: bohawk,------- Two 3" pieces of rubber tubing, cut lengthwise, and slid over the hood tension rod at (or near) it's center. They should be lined up with the two raised 'crowns' in the cowl. They are supposed to rest
on those 'crowns' when the hood is closed to: 1) eliminate possible vibration and rattle of rod, and 2) to help keep the hood back edge raised a bit for cowl clearance when opening. (3/8" fuel hose should suffice.)

Just recently, in another thread/topic, someone was going to tear into their dash in search of a rattle. I suggested these two bumpers. They solved his problem (without going into/under the dash).

[bowhawk]

Thanks, mine were on the rod just not in a particular spot.