New used hood will not close and latch

[smwmustang]

Got the new used hood on and lined up best I can tell. Swapped hardware from original hood but it will not go down on the latch and close. Looking underneath with a light I cannot see anywhere that it is getting hung up.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Unattached a pic of how far hood goes down.

Thanks

Shawn

[ukravit]

The latch piece that bolts to the car with the cable attached is adjustable. You may have to loosen it up and raise it a little at a time until it secures the hood.

[smwmustang]

Thanks I looked at that but I dont think it will pull it down flush. However I am.willing to try anything!! I have not adjusted the latch yet so I will loosen it up and see if it works. Thanks!

[stangPlus2Birds]

What did it look like before?
It looks like the headlight buckets aren't installed correctly. They seem to tilt down towards the center of the car. Iirc, they tops of the buckets should be parallel to the ground/bumper.

My car, before the engine rebuild, and when the hood fit was 100% as it came from the factory:







Fwiw, more pics:
http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/te...Mach1_springs/

Good Luck!

[wraithracing]

Couple of questions first: Why are you replacing the hood? Was there front end damage that might be causing the latch issue? Is the hood overhanging on the driver side more than on the passenger side or is that an optical illusion in the photo? Looks like the corner near the grill opening on the driver side is hanging over the bumper cover and not in line, but as stated may just be the picture. Everything else appears to line up fairly well.

Is the latch open and ready to catch the opening in the hood? Double check that, make sure the hood release cable is pushed back in and not holding the latch open.

Are your hood bumpers all the way down or removed to make sure they are not stopping the hood from sitting far enough down to engage the latch? I thread mine all the way down, get the latch adjusted properly and then raise them up alternating side to side until the edges of the hood are flush with the fenders or as close as possible depending on fit and finish of the vehicle.

[smwmustang]

I think that is an optical illusion as I noticed that as well. The hood lines up straight across the front as it should. I did adjust the latch all the way up and it will now latch but there is too much space between the hood and bumper.

[smwmustang]

30 years ago I did have a small accident and the hood was damaged. It was repaired and there was no bumper or headlight damage. The hood was always a little bent and the paint job must not have been that great as it started fading and coming off. Since the hood was repaired it never really was right and should have been replaced. My dad probably did not file a claim and just paid to have it repaired. So a few years ago I came across this hood that was in perfect shape and bought it for $50.

The latch is working properly and the bumpers are almost all the way down but not all the way. I may try that to see what it does. It feels like something is keeping the hood from going all the way down but with a light there is nothing touching it.

The headlights do not appear to be facing downwards but if they are they have been that way for 30 years. However, if they are that would be the issue and the bumper would need to be adjusted up somehow. It is possible in the accident it was pushed down a bit and because the hood latched and worked it was never noticed.

I will take a look at that this week and see. I would assume something is bent and I might have to take the bumper off to even figure that part out.

Thanks for the tips!!

It does lock but way too much space between hood and bumper....it is probably less than half an inch but it is obvious that it not correct.