Hood Latch Restoration

[Tony G]

Hi Fellow A'ers , Ive read someplace that they restore hood latches. How do you disassemble them? I see the pin on the bottom needs to come out but I cant see how the internal rod & spring come out that way.

Any tips on this type of operation is appreciated.

Thanks,
TG

[Kurt in NJ]

When you remove the rivit that holds the barrel to the bracket the shank of the hook can slide down more and a pin taken out ---then it comes apart --I have brazed up the holes and re-drilled them -,used pieces of nails for pins --drilled the hole to make them into hollow rivits ---formed the head on a beltsander---probably now they can be bought

[mrtexas]

You can buy a kit. It has a new spring, hollow rivet and tension pin, all stainless steel. Or you can buy just the special hollow rivet, buy the tension pin at the hardware store and re-use your spring. I just completed an AR set myself and have another one to go. If the AR set wasn't special I'd just buy a new set as they are cheap.

[Kevin in NJ]

You can do it yourself.

Once you get them apart make a copper form that has the inside diameter and weld up the outside. Do not worry about the split line, just reform it with a dremel tool and a cut off wheel. Keep in mind you only need to make a line, not cut it apart.

Put a copper rod up inside and weld up the top. Drill out a hole that is bigger than the rod of the hook so it can pass through. Then use a counter sink drill to make it tapered. The originals were rolled sheet metal with flat edges that were rounded at the top. This would cause the edges to be about a 45* angle. The counter sink will make it look right. Making the hole smaller is functional as a larger hole does not allow the latches to work properly.

What I describe may not be show points quality, but they will function well and look decent.

[wrndln]

There is an excellent article that goes through the restoration steps to disassemble, restore and reassemble hood latches. The article is in the Nov/Dec 2006 Model A News. The article even has a list of part numbers for the pins and springs. I restored some latches using this article and they came out great.
Rusty Nelson

[Tony G]

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Thanks for the info. I have the latches apart now and I found the springs and pins at an industrial supply store.When it's time to refinish them I think I'll use POR 15 on them.