hood alignment

Whats up guys? I need HELP!!!! Can someone out there PLEASE tell me how to align my HOOD(side to side).(1980).The gap on one side is a little wider than the other. Which hinges do I work with? Do I loosen all the way?Do I need two people to adjust. Is it a big job?Any help,any secrets are more than WELCOME.       Thanks    Freddie

Freddie,

When we put the hood back on mine after paint, we got it close, then loosened the two bolts on one side by the radiator cap.  Not finger loose, but backed off from tight.

We then used a paint paddle (paint stirrer) regular size for a 1 gal can for the spacer.  The thickness of the paddle was just right for my hood all the way around.  Use four of them, two per side, one closer to the windshield and one down by where it starts to curve to the nose.

Once you have it gapped, the CAREFULLY raise it again and tighten the bolts back.  If it is really close on one side, loosen the opposite side hinge and as you let the hood down slowly, let it come down on the paint paddles placed slightly at an angle to the hood.

I would have two and maybe three guys.  You can never have too many hands when doing this. 

NOTE: Don't let them into the beer you used to lure them over with until AFTER the hood is aligned.

Keep an eye on the hood latches.  They could affect hood alignment. 

Most important as Dennis (dnv) stated............BEER AFTERWARD!!!

DNV.....Dammmmmm, You have to have one of the nicest 80;s i;ve yet to see. .Very Very SWEET. Thanks for the Help, but just loosen the one side? don;t quiet understand.... by the way i'm replacing stock hood with l-88 HOOD

Thanks for the compliment.  I like her.

The reason for one side is there is a bit of give in the hinges side to side.  I would try loosening the side with the least gap first, shift it over and see if that was enough to make it work.  If not, then you will have to loosen off the other side.

The '80 models don't have the spears, we have a traditional hood type latch over rod like some of the front opening hoods have, only without the secondary safety latch, with one on each side like all vettes.

We don't have the issue these guys do if the spears aren't exactly centered so it makes it a bit easier for us.

Suncountry is correct, the bumpers at mid-hood are a great idea and I will be adding them to mine as soon as they get here.

I am currently running with the catch arms off as I lost my 4th crossover cable since I bought the car.  They are VERY CHEAPLY made, and are the same from all the vendors.  In another thread, I talked about finding an Adel Clamp small enough to do the job, but I haven't found one yet.  Before you work the hood over, and with it open, take a few pix of the passenger side latch, play with it to see how it works and see where it is in relation to the plastic plug on the firewall behind it.  You can access the latch thru there if you have a pic for reference, WHEN your crossover cable finally lets go.

Hope this helps!

Thanks DNV....... definitely HELPED....again Thanks.... I'm goin ta see if i could get a hold of another body to help   later    Freddie