Technical Rear hood hold down clip - what's wrong with this picture

Brookville 1932 Ford roadster body, Rootlieb Hood, does a stock rear hood hold down clip not work on these bodies? Uuugh!

 

Works fine on my Brookville roadster.

 

You need to pull that firewall in tighter. I used a stock firewall in my Brookville and every thing fit like a glove.

 

Yup, the gasket looks like it needs to go back about 3/8" to 1/2".

 

I'm lost now. not sure how you can get the gasket in any position but this?
Are you saying the gasket should be under the cowl lip and not visible?

 

I'm pretty sure I have that firewall and gasket installed properly - bicap55, who I admire and respect, installed his exactly the same way and there doesn't seem to be any other way to install it... The firewall is a recessed Brookville unit. Here's a thread that bicap posted awhile back...https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/installing-flat-firewall-in-a-brookville-coupe.1042981/

 

The C. owl/Firewall gasket is around
00.100 thousands between cowl & firewall , the problem is all except Drakes ( @ least Drakes that where made 15 years ago) rear hinge mount are not made like Originals, & after market firewalls are not the same as Original , I sold my original fire wall (because I did not want to cut it up)
Wish I did not sell, 4 different aftermarket same issue , "rear hinge"
& all I did was changed firewall,
Been around many Originals & after market

 

Saw a brookville that had no gasket it still looked like to OP’s shot.

 

Lots of 32 virgins don't understand how important the fit of the firewall into the body is. Basically everything is dependent on that joint. I tried a few different cowl gaskets over the last couple years, and found the Vintique gasket to fit the best. All others (Drake, Carpenter, and an unknown brand one) were too thick vertically and horizontally. I had to grind one of the others thinner to get it to fit.

Looks like the OP's car needs the body to fit downward a bit, as well as forward a bit on the firewall.

 

I agree with @alchemy , the seal may need some sanding to make it fit properly. Here's a link to a post I made earlier in the year that shows some other info.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1932-ford-rear-hood-mount.1223109/#post-13976533

 

When Ford made these cars, the piece in question was called the dash, not firewall and was counted as a chassis part. Just a couple of interesting side note facts.

 

I appreciate your experienced candor...

I used the Bob Drake cowl seal, but have both the Bob Drake and Vintique seals - I had a similar idea that I would choose which one was thinner, so I took calipers to them and they are both technically identical in cross-section. I used the Bob Drake unit because it seemed like a lower durometer - "squishier". I also gave it a hell of stretch when I installed it - that thinned it out quite a bit from where it started. It actually looks a lot like 19Eddy30's gasket and measures similarly.
After reading your posts, I think I've gotten to the root of the problem...
The hood hold down clip itself is too wide to fit in the channel on the cowl. The dstance from the backside of the T thing (that receives the hood hinge) to the front edge of the two ears (that bolt it to the cowl) is much wider than the width of the channel on the cowl. Either this clip is goofy, or the channel on the cowl on the Brookville roadster body is too narrow.
I'm trying to discern what material the hood hold down clip is made of, so I can plan my attack for correcting that problem. I got the clips with my hood from Rootlieb and the baggie they came in didn't say what brand they are. I'm hoping they're stainless, because that would make modification of them easy work.

Keep in mind, I have a Brookville body and a Brookville flat firewall (Not exactly like an original firewall). I'm using an aftermarket hood with an aftermarket hood hinge and aftermarket hold downs... It's not really a wonder that something doesn't fit right.

 

Thanks for posting that link - that's exactly what I'm experiencing as well.
It seems that everyone who has a Brookville body and a flat firewall has the same issue. One testament to that is that when I ordered my hood from Rootlieb, the guy originally sent me two front hood hold down clips... He said that's what people do with those bodies and it would actually be a pretty good solution if the ears on the front clip fit down in the channel on my cowl.

 

After reading your posts, I did some more investigating and have gotten to the root of the problem...
The hood hold down clip itself is too wide to fit in the channel on the cowl. The dstance from the backside of the T thing (that receives the hood hinge) to the front edge of the two ears (that bolt it to the cowl) is much wider than the width of the channel on the cowl. Either this clip is goofy, or the channel on the cowl on the Brookville roadster body is too narrow.
I've included a picture of the packaging for the front clip (couldn't find the packaging from the rear one). Anybody recognize this brand? I'm going to order one from another company today.

 

All of the aftermarket rear Hood brackets are made wrong. An original bracket will fit perfectly.

 

I'm beginning to realize that - I looked at a couple other threads regarding this same situation, some on Brookfield bodies, some on other bodies (even originals)...
I went out in the garage and measured the hole centers on the front hold down bracket and realized that they are also off - stock distance from hole center line to hole center line on those supposed to be 1 1/4". The center to center whole measurement on Walker radiator is the same... The front hold down bracket I got from Rootlieb measures a little over 1 3/8".

I'm sending both the front and the rear brackets back to Rootlieb for a refund and ordering from Bob Drake, a lot of people say theirs fit pretty decent.

 

My experience is limited to 2 Brookville bodies ( roadster and coupe) and Henry firewalls. Both worked fine with Vintique brackets. Roadster had a Vintique gasket. Coupe has an original gasket which fit great, thankfully still in serviceable condition, but I have a Vintque in reserve. Brackets sit nicely in the cowl and firewall. Never seen cowl braket with packaging like that pictured!

Chris

 

B-8220 comes up as a Bob Drake.


This statement is "TRUE" not made like Originals!!! There is a lot of 32 Owns here, But yet alot have not built one from scratch or total junk & most do not have access or a Compleat all Original 32 to compare aftermarket too , to see difference in parts,
Fortunately I Knew /know guys some owning more then 25 to 40 plus & few that have owned there 32 for more then 70 years a few before WWII now deceased,
When needed to check a part as simple measurement ,a trim screw ,brackets interior, different tool making ,
Its just a big source of information,
Even on the BARN , there only Hand full , a few years ago I contacted David G about a few things seen on a 32 was being taken apart not seen before .
My 32s are not show cars , do not enter into judging contest /show ,Just drive & race,
I like small detail of the original parts replace as I find .

 

If they're stainless, a magnet won't stick.

 

What?? A magnet won't stick to stainless "steel"? Since when? I have magnets stuck on my stainless steel fridge..

 

Unless they are Chrome plated brass or bronze

 

Thanks
I think the B-8220 refers to the original part number that it replaces... I see lots of other places selling that part and having the same reference number.

I'm going to call Rootlieb tomorrow and ask who makes those.

I'm considering buying an original rear bracket - they are buku expensive, but I'm pretty sure it will work... If you look at pictures of them on the internet, you can immediately see that they are different than this thing I have.

 

Only true for austenitic (i.e. 300 series) stainless steels. Lower grade stainless steel like 400 series commonly used in exhaust systems, are magnetic. So are 200 series, and some of the high strength precipitation hardened stainless steels like 17-4PH.

 

I understand that the thickness of the cowl to firewall gasket is critical on an original Henry Ford unit as your firewall feet are permanently attached.
The Brookville roadster body firewalls come without the feet attached - with the body on the frame, you stretch the rubber seal onto the firewall and then put the firewall in place... You clamp the firewall in place with welding clamps (I used 10 and got them so tight that a few left a mark in the groove on the cowl), and then install the feet. It's totally arbitrary.

 

If your firewall isn't high enough in the body (cause the gasket is too thick) your hinge bracket won't fit right either.

You obviously have other problems as well, such as the bracket being too thick to fit into the body's groove. But once that is solved you still might find the front feet of the bracket don't sit down fully onto the firewall's ledge.

 

could you just grind a bit off the bracket,just to see if it fits?.Might be cheaper then sending it back,how much are they to buy?I would look for a real ford one if it was me,or at least find one to measure to see if thats whats wrong,possible the channel is not wide enough. harvey

 

The aftermarket rear hinge as of 2008 that where made .Since then @ leas last 6 years ,I have not seen a aftermarket made correctly /shape.

 

I called Rootlieb to return the front and rear foot hinge brackets I got from them with the hood.
I asked who manufactures them - the front one with 1 3/8" hole centers (versus the 1 1/4" of all Walker radiators and original Ford front brackets) is made by Vintique (no surprise there).
That rear bracket that doesn't fit down in the channel on my cowl is from Dale's manufacturing (DMC).
I'm returning them and am going to try a set of both brackets from Bob Drake.

 

The Bob Drake hood hold down bracket arrived -
The front one has the proper 1 1/4" hole spacing.
The rear one appears to fit down in the channel on the cowl, but the groove that accepts the lip on the front of the cowl is still not deep enough... I'm sure that can be remedied by trimming that lip in the area where the bracket goes.

I've attached photos of a measurement I've taken on my cowl - can somebody with an original cowl please measure this same thing, for comparison sake?

Thanks

 

I just measured two bodies, my 5W is .165 deep and the Fordor is only .143 deep. Both those bodies were made by Briggs so I’d chalk the differences up to manufacturing tolerances.