Hood issues

Hey guys, maybe you can shed some light on this for me. I have an '80 L-48 that is completely stock so I doubt the hood of this vehicle has ever been off. It only has 39,200 miles on it and I think these are original miles as near as I can tell from all the past paperwork on the vehicle. Anyway, the hood sits nicely on the vehicle except up around the windshield. It seems to sit up about 1/4" above the fenders. I have seen this on some other Vettes of my vintage, is this a fairly common issue that is not fixable? I have looked and don't see any particular adjustment for this other than some springs on each side that the hood rests on. These springs did not have adjustments as near as I could tell. The hinges did appear to have some shims under them but I am a bit leary to mess with these as I have heard you can get your hood to lock down and keep you from getting it open again without some serious cursing and tool throwing. Any of you guys been down this path before and were you able to come up with a fix?

CVT4ME

I don't know if your 80 is different than my 73, but the center latch on those spring things screws in and out, and there are stops mounted on there, too. Between the two you should get the hood down where you want it. Just make sure the stop isn't higher than the spring latch or you'll bind up the hood and have a hard time opening it. There should be a little play. Joe

I have seen on a couple of other 80s where one side will be up 1/4 inch. Mine is starting to do this more often now. One time I close it, it is level and tight. The next time the pass side is down but not tight, up 1/4 inch. It's also been on my list of things to figure out but haven't got to yet.

Joe,

I am not familiar with the '73 but I don't think they are the same. I think your is more like a '69 that a fellow Vette owner has that I checked out. He has stops and what not, to do adjustments. We both checked out mine and he was surprised to see how little there was to adjust on the '80. I will give mine another look when I get a chance,but the stoppers I think you are referring to are not adjustable on the '80. The '80 has a dual latch system, one on each side, not one in the middle. I am not sure what yours has. The whole deal looks a little on the cheap cost cutting side of the deal, like many things that American Auto manuf. companies were doing during that time. Thanks to all of you who have replied to my query.

CVT4ME

I've got the same sort of problem, tips are 1/4" high, but the part next to the wheel well is about 1/8" LOW. I don't think I can make enough adjustments to fix that.

Rest looks straight...

Scot

yep, its definatley the springs.. turn them in till the desired hieght

Hi Corey,

Love the paint job and color, it really looks great. Chrome trim on those gills would make it look fantastic!

Scott
I've got an after market hood, so i don't know if the stock ones are the same as mine. (I'd be willing to bet they are though) On mine, up and down adjustment on the latch end is made on the hood itself, not at the latches. The two "loops" that engage in the latches are bolted to the hood, and there are shims between these and the hood. If the hood's too high at the back, try taking out a shim or two.
I've got to adjust the fit of my hood at some point, so when i get round to it i'll let you know what problems i encountered.

Theo,

I have got some really chuncky looking shims there. I am afraid to remove them due to the previously mentioned fear of locking myself out of the engine compartment with getting the stuck. I have read of people doing this before and what a nightmare it can be to get the hood unstuck. If that is the only adjustment, then I guess I will slam down a cold one and give it a shot. Someone else mentioned turning the springs, that won't work on my '80. They do not turn like the older model Vettes. Thanks for the replies boys.

CVT4ME

|UPDATED|7/11/2003 8:54:29 AM|/UPDATED|