Car bonnets that try to kill you

Is it just me an' Buicks? Sheesh! The 52 tried to chop my fingers off every time I tried to close the bonnet what with that dual side closing arrangement that it had.
And now my 55 doesn't stay up all the way and gradually creeps down. Twice now I have nearly knocked myself out on the damned thing.
Anyone else have a killer bonnet?
I've tried greasing the spring, but it might need replacing. Maybe these cars just bit you from the factory?

 

No, but you made me think of this scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihaUU83k6F8

 

Yeah! Man, what a great movie...and soundtrack! Nasty car!

 

Hood on my 47 cad is a two hand operation to lower it, two hands to get it going downward and then get the left hand behind the back when it gets close to closed! Like working on an electric panel, damn thing will take your hand off if you let it.

 

Years ago I had a neighbor "customizing" his '55 Bel Aire convert and was headed out to the junkyard for some parts with the top down. At hiway speed the hood flew up, bent over the windshield, hit him on the noggin and damn near knocked out! He had a knot on his head(he was a knot head anyway)size of a baseball and bloody and a green hood instead of red hood when when he got home.

 

When I read "bonnet" I looked to see where you were posting from...lol! I have a wicked scar across my nose where the hood of a 55 Merc tried to cut it off. The hood came down on a car I was trying to get the 4 barrel intake off of. I wasn't quick enough. The doc had to glue the end of my nose back on. Told him I felt like Michael Jackson.

 

Driving to school in old days, in my friends 1958 Stude hawk . The hood came up about 55 or 60 . Our heads went out the windows on both sides just to figure out how slow and stop without crashing. Very common problem with that type of hood.

 

The 1947 Mercury that I got in 1967 has a 392 and torqueflite. It also has a tilt front end and the only way I know to set the shift cable is with the engine running. I blocked the wheels, hood open and was trying to find neutral. It went too far and when I moved it the other way, reverse jerked hard enough to slam the front end down...on me! I was stunned and then realized that the front wheel had rolled over my pants leg, trapping me and I couldnt reach the shifter or the ignition.

 

Springs wear out or lose their tension over many years. There should be some kind of adjustment. Old GM cars had a series of holes to hook the end of the spring into.

You can hold the hood up and pack washers into the spaces in the spring then lower the hood and relocate the spring.

 

The bonnet (hood) on my '47 Chevy was designed specially so that when you remove your fat head from under there, it takes a scalp sample and saves it for you on the hood latch. Blood, skin ,hair and grease!

 

Springs are weak. My 54 Buick is fine in the hood holding department but I do cram my head into the sharp corners/leading edges of it all the time.

 

Old rake handle worked for me in the past.. !!

 

A broom handle cut to length works well too

Back when I was in trade school I had a 55 Buick Special that had something wrong with the hood hinges so the hood would pop out a few extra inches and catch who ever was lifting it under the chin if they didn't know how to lift it right and stay out of the way. Needless to say it decked the new kid at the gas station I stopped at regularly even after the owner of the station told him not to open the hood. The kid never attempted to open the hood again when I stopped for gas after that though.

 

Haha when I started reading this I was remembering my 56 merc I had with my dad. Had a couple of close calls with the hood dropping and use to put a cut off broom handle under it. We both busted our heads raising up in the engine bay with that long hooked over front. Working on the car and raising up thinking we were clear wham.

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I'm just the type that finds a spot to hit his head on anything. Hoods, trunk lids, tilt frontends. If I'm in and out working, I'm usually going to figure a way to hit my head eventually.

 

Oh, okay. This happens to lots of people. Maybe our car isn't cursed and out to get us.


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Same problem with my 47 chevy. Old hinges and spring hood wouldn't stay up. Old hinges and one new spring hood stayed up partly. New hinges and new spring hood stays up but closes a thousand miles an hour. New hinges with no springs it does nothing, lazy good for nothing hood. I waiting for the guys that make 47 ford hinges to invent some for chevy's.

http://www.cool-leds.com/1946-48-hood-lifter.htm

 

That's why we call them 'hoods' hereabouts. (never can trust a 'hood'...)

 

The one on my 49 Mercury tried to swallow the car whole one time around 11:00PM at night when I was going to the then girlfriends house. Pitch black, late for a date, 70 miles an hour and wham, it opened up, bent the cowl, turned the poor hood almost inside out. If it weren't for the almost 200 louvers I would have likely crashed the poor old thing! Left flat spots on the tires and skidmarks in my shorts for a good long time....Never broke the windsheild glass though, good thing too, was chopped 5 inches..

 

What are these hoods of which you speak ??????

Don

 

I've had a couple '51 Buicks...same as '52. Mine were Roadmasters, which are even bigger than the Special/Super/Century. Those early Buicks already have a prop rod at the rear-center, but if the four hinge/latches aren't adjusted and working real good and come undone, it does no good whatsoever. The hoods sure are hefty, with no springs involved at all. Once they let decide to let loose, there's no way to safely "catch" it...and you'll catch it! And with the ability to come completely off at speed, they'll fly like a big-ass deadly frisbee. I never had mine come of at speed, but it obviously did for a previous owner. All the corners were banged up. Luckily I found a 4dr Roadmaster parts car with a real nice hood. Not much I can tell you, except to get those combination hinge/latches working properly and to be careful! Maybe an auxilary prop rod and/or some blocks of wood or a 2x4 laying across the fenders to catch it just in case it does decide to come down.

The safest hood I ever had was on my '47 Hudson coupe. That hood flips forward, and it's balanced nicely. No way to fly up when traveling, and not much chance of smashing fingers.

 

Lol! 1958 Fairlane fellas. Shit opens the way a hood is supposed to!

Cheers
Hodge

 

1959 austin healey sprite one piece hood will fall on you. Like one old guy once asked me when he saw my bugeye sprite. "has the hood fallen on you yet?" I told him no, he then laughed and said "don't worry it will" ...He was right. I have even had a Triumph GT 6 try to kill me the same way.

 

Car hoods fucking hate you!

 

My 51 Pontiac hood tried to kill me.... but in a different way. Going 75 mph.

 

When I saw killer bonnet... made me think of this.

 

Sounds like a rich-guy problem to me. No hood springs on the lowly Ford Falcon.

 

Great post. Ive had two blow open while driving OT cars. Thats not much fun either. My daily driver rod dont have no bonnet/hood.

 

My 59 corvette hood tried to decapitate me on a windy day. The wind pushed it up and let it go and whamo slapped me on the back of my head. *********LOL

 

afew years back i Had a 69 f100 (hence the name) that had bad hood springs so it would slowly sag down about an inch from where it was opened all the way. cant tell you how many times i smacked my head into the latch. then making things worse I lowered said truck 4 inches all around, the head knocking got worse. Now just the other day i got the truck in question back in my possesion, almost exact same as i left it worn spring and all, only difference is im 6 foot 2 now. the damn hood is coming off before i kill myself from concusions.