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.