Hood to cowl fit

[Billludwig]

Hi all,
I'm new to the Model A and new to this GREAT forum. I have a '30 Roadster and am wondering if this hood to cowl gap is normal. The hood is tight up against the center rod bracket, and I don't see how it could fit any closer, but it just doesn't look normal. Is it just me?
Thanks,
- Bill in Tucson

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by Billludwig

Hi all,
I'm new to the Model A and new to this GREAT forum. I have a '30 Roadster and am wondering if this hood to cowl gap is normal. The hood is tight up against the center rod bracket, and I don't see how it could fit any closer, but it just doesn't look normal. Is it just me?
Thanks,
- Bill in Tucson

Hey Bill,
IMO, looks a little tooo far forward, i.e.- mabe should bring adjustment rods/top of radiator back a little . Nice even line across cowl tho (parallel) !

[juke joint johnny]

Hi Bill Welcome to the ford Barn !!!
It looks like that is the wrong bracket at the cowl but difficult to see in the photo .The gap looks to big, best to post some more pic's close up on that hinge and on the side panels and also how they fit compared to the rad

John Cochran

[Smurkey]

The hinge leaf should be snug up against the hinge bracket. I agree with hardtimes, I think that will tighten it up. Looks like the correct bracket to me.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Get someone on the other side of the hood and both of you lift the sides up and down while pulling/pushing rearward. It should slide up tight to the bracket.

[Billludwig]

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Thanks for the suggestions. I adjusted the radiator rods, and it closed up the gap -- the hood is now tight against the hinge, leaving about a 1/4" gap. On to the next issue...
- Bill

[Cape Codder]

Is that a correct bracket for a Model A? Mine goes over the cowl band or is mine wrong?

[Smurkey]

The one that goes over the cowl band is on deluxe models, the one shown in billludwig's pic should be body color though.

His might be wrong if its a "deluxe" model...

[Terry,NJ]

On my coupe, someone had put plastic inserts (The kind you use in sheetrock) in the threaded holes and used 10-32 screws in the bearing, in place of the original 12-24 oval heads (2). This allowed too much motion in the bearing and it moved around. Things got better when I replaced the screws with the proper 12-24 s.
Terry

[Doug in NJ]

Also check the gap at the front.

The hood has a tendency to slide forwards (in other words downhill), and the front edge of the hinge will bear against the mounting bracket on the radiator shell. Over the years, the front edge of the hinge can get worn a bit, and then the gap between the hood and the radiator shell can become too small, and the gap between the hood and the cowl can become too large.

For my car, I need to find something like a stainless steel ring that is about 3/32" thick, that will fit over the hinge rod at the front.

Doug

[Billludwig]

Doug in NJ, you nailed it. That's my issue. I can see that when I get the front gap opened up, the rear will be much better. Thanks to all of you for the suggestions.

- Bill