1940 Ford Hood Alignment

[FRITZ47]

We removed the hood, deck lid, doors, fenders and grille for a complete repaint (painting is finished), and are having plenty of trouble in lining up the hood in that the stainless steel strips on the rear of each side of the hood are up higher than the strips on the door and the side mirrors.

*Note: We ordered a new set of running boards from Bob Drake and after months of waiting they finally should be in this coming week.

Here is the sequence of what we did so far in order:

1)Installed the doors, rear fenders and rear deck lid. So far, so good.

2) The doors seem to be nicely aligned with the stainless strip along the doors and leading back to the strip above the rear quarter panels and rear fenders. Everything to this point looks to be good.

3) We installed the front fenders and grille assembly (no running boards at the time, as were not received yet from Bob Drake).

4) We installed the hood and it lines up nicely to the grille, but the stainless strips along each side of hood are UP about 3/8" high at the door end of these strips. (We have new hood bumpers and hood welt and later removed the hood welt temporarily in an attempt to get the hood to line up).

5) Not only do I think that we have a bigger problem than anticipated with the hood, I am thinking that the new running boards will be either too tight or too loose, since as of right now both front and rear fenders are bolted in place. It seems almost impossible that the new running boards would fit, unless we get very lucky. We may have used the old running boards as a guide to space between front and rear fenders, but I am not sure of this, as was not in our shop earlier this week when front fenders were installed.

I read a previous post with a very-detailed set of instructions on lining up a 1940 Ford hood and it clearly says to install the hood first! Too bad we did not read this prior to going so far this past week.

Any ides on what we might do without having to remove the fenders? In particular, hope we do not have to remove the rear fenders and more or less start over? Hoping for some helpful hints.

Attached pictures were taken as car was being loaded for a new top (rear fenders and doors installed). Upon return from the trim shop, we installed the front fenders and grille assembly and ran into trouble with the hood alignment. (Even if we finally get the hood lined up properly, I am starting to worry about the fit of the running boards).

Thanks, Fritz

[kelly.ga]

Really nice looking car. I had a 40 coupe and had the same trouble. Turned out that the new pivot brackets were my problem. If you are using new one's I would check to make sure they are correct in every way. good look.

[oldrelics]

I just aligned my 41 pickup and it was a BEAR. I spent WEEKS. I'll never do another!

[klicker]

It is a long tedious process..... But you have to start with the hood (no fenders) Fit the hood to the cowl, then fit the fenders and grill to the hood. And you probably want to wait for the running boards to fit the fenders.

Good luck!

[19Fordy]

Perhaps you can FIRST loosen ALL the front end sheet metal bolts, including the grille and grille sides. Then first realign the hood, fenders and running boards as the loosened bolts will give you some "play". If you use 1/4 bolts for the grille, you may find you can move it up and down to help hood alignment. For the running boards you may have to also loosen the rear fenders. Click on photo to enlarge.

[Kube]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

At minimum... take the boards off!

[19Fordy]

Here's more info.

[hope]

Originally Posted by oldrelics

I just aligned my 41 pickup and it was a BEAR. I spent WEEKS. I'll never do another!

I'm not looking forward to doing this samething in the near future on my 40

[19Fordy]

And more.

[19Fordy]

And a few more.

[19Fordy]

Not done yet.

[19Fordy]

We are almost finished.

[gmc1941]

19Forty, great info. I could see that the articles are from SR, but had a hard time figuring out what the dates were. Could you enlighten us, it would be appreciated. Thanks

[19Fordy]

Just a few more and we are almost done for good.

[19Fordy]

This is finally THE END. Hope it helps some folks along the way.

[19Fordy]

Originally Posted by gmc1941

19Forty, great info. I could see that the articles are from SR, but had a hard time figuring out what the dates were. Could you enlighten us, it would be appreciated. Thanks

I found the dates plus tons more on HAMB. You must scroll down and read it all as there is plenty of excellent info. by Kube and others.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=458224

[36tbird]

I assume that you have painted the hood, and if so, you're gonna hate this advice. I found on my '40 hood that the brackets, where the hinges points attach to, tend to bend inward over years of use. I'm talking about the brackets inside and above the Ford script on the curve. Those things bent inward will screw up the geometry of the hood hinges.

[Roger/Sacramento]

I built a '40 coupe a few years ago and recently finished a '41 pickup. Both were a lot of work. If I ever do one again I will make everything right with the motor and radiator out. That would allow easy access from inside the cavity. Then take the hood off and install the motor and radiator and return the hood.

[push_rod]

I might have just gotten lucky when I put the hood back onto my coupe. I used a technique my cousin (WWII dry lake bed racer) told me. I installed the grille and fenders first. I then placed a padded furniture blanket over the fenders. I installed the hood, but left the hinge and hinge plate bolts slightly loose at the attachment points on the firewall. I opened the hood, and gently pushed it up as high as it would go (only enough to take up all the slack at the firewall attachment points.). While I held the hood up, my dad tightened up those slightly loose bolts. The hood shut and aligned perfectly, fitting tightly against the top and sides of the cowl.

[19Fordy]

WOW! Such a simple solution would be great. Thanks.

[FRITZ47]

Originally Posted by push_rod

I might have just gotten lucky when I put the hood back onto my coupe. I used a technique my cousin (WWII dry lake bed racer) told me. I installed the grille and fenders first. I then placed a padded furniture blanket over the fenders. I installed the hood, but left the hinge and hinge plate bolts slightly loose at the attachment points on the firewall. I opened the hood, and gently pushed it up as high as it would go (only enough to take up all the slack at the firewall attachment points.). While I held the hood up, my dad tightened up those slightly loose bolts. The hood shut and aligned perfectly, fitting tightly against the top and sides of the cowl.

Well this is the spot that we were in (grille and fenders were installed first). After reading all of this information (wow), thought for sure we were going to have to pull the front fenders and grille and start all over. Amazingly, our body man was able to get the hood lined up perfectly last Monday in about 3 hours. I wasn't at work that day, so don't know how he did it. (Don't ask - don't tell they say and I know he won't tell me). I am very particular and told my son before looking at the alignment if it was off even 1/8" we would have to start all over. Well we don't have to start all over!

I hope to have some pictures posted soon. The new running boards came in from Bob Drake last Thursday - just in time. Still have some odds and ends, and some small stuff to finish. A couple of hours work - so that means about 2 weeks!

Fritz

[Bigmac48]

I don't know ? I know I'm interested cause my sedan could sure be better but look at this old pic . Hood first ? Not back then!

[ajohn]

I'm in the same boat! My 40 hood simply won't line up. Tried everything except complete disassembly. That's next! James in Tyler

[47Merc]

Love the photo by bigmac48.
Do you think the outer grill is chrome or silver painted? I always thought they were body colour.

[glennpm]

Hi,

I combined all of these pictures a while back when I was reassembling my 40 after painting, etc. I just added push_rod's good input from thread #19 input to the end.

[buzz4041]

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Great information. Thanks to all who put time in on this posting of good information.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Bigmac48

I don't know ? I know I'm interested cause my sedan could sure be better but look at this old pic . Hood first ? Not back then!

True - not back then. However, if you look at numerous factory and / or dealer photos of these cars, the alignment was typically poor at best.

[johnny]

lots of great ideas given .but how does the back of the hood fit to the top of the cowl ? is it down tight ? when the hood is up on just the safety catch [ie there is a gap between the grille and the front of hood ] does the back of the hood fit tighter to the cowl and do the mouldings line up better .Is the hood sitting tight against the fenders when it is down. If for example the fenders are too high the hood will be held up ..If all of these items are ok rotate the hinges [move the front up and the back down ]this will also move the hood back so you might have to at the same time as rotating the hinge bring it ahead a little. .However if all fits except the moulding take them of and file the holes and don't scratch the paint duck tape the area. John.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by Roger/Sacramento

I built a '40 coupe a few years ago and recently finished a '41 pickup. Both were a lot of work. If I ever do one again I will make everything right with the motor and radiator out. That would allow easy access from inside the cavity. Then take the hood off and install the motor and radiator and return the hood.

As can be seen here, it is not necessarily required that you REMOVE the hood to remove/replace an engine in a '40.

Coop

[kensesc]

Coop,
Which hood connections do you disconnect in order to get the hood to go up that high? Which ones are left in place?

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by kensesc

Coop,
Which hood connections do you disconnect in order to get the hood to go up that high? Which ones are left in place?

That was our very own "Mart" from Solihull, England (a frequent contributor) that was performing that swap. Maybe you could PM "Mart" to ask and find out the answer.

Coop


.

[kensesc]

Thanks Coop, but figured it out. Just removed the two spring supports and the hood will rotate up about all the way to the windshield.

[glennpm]

Just be careful since the hood is very unstable like that. Prop it up on both sides.


Glenn

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by glennpm

Hi,

I combined all of these pictures a while back when I was reassembling my 40 after painting, etc. I just added push_rod's good input from thread #19 input to the end.

glenn & 19Fordy ...... MANY, Many thanks to you's two guys for resurrecting these ancient articles, some of which I have searched my butt off for in the past. Man, Glenn even made them more "BIGLY" so us olden guys don't have to squint quite so hard!

Coop


.

[richard crow]

if you remove the hood on a 40 do not touch the bolts that hold the hinge to the car just remove the link bolts. ps the repro hinges are junk

[glennpm]

Thanks Coop!

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Bigmac48

I don't know ? I know I'm interested cause my sedan could sure be better but look at this old pic . Hood first ? Not back then!

If you have looked over as many factory photographs as I have, one thing (of many) that quickly becomes apparent is the numerous hoods that were poorly aligned with the body right from the assembly line.
Some of us are not happy with the "factory fit" when restoring our '40 Fords. thus, all of the extra effort to assure proper alignment.

[1931 flamingo]

Years (decades) ago there was a detailed article in either Hot Rod magazine or Street Rodder on how to assemble a 40 front end.
Paul in CT

[fortyfords]

I have never removed a hood on a 40 when changing engines and I didn't have to remove the springs or any link bolts either. I even changed engines on my 48 Chevy several times and I have never removed the hood on it either. Yes, it's a tight squeeze but the engines all went in alright.