1952-59 Ford '54 Mercury Hood Adjustment Problem

I am having a real problem getting the hood on my '54 Mercury to fit right. On the driver's side, along the front fender close to the cowl, there is zero clearance between the fender and hood. On the p***enger side, in the same upper fender area, there is a gaping opening about 1/2" wide between the hood and fender! I bent the arms of both hinges in the direction of the large gap but this had no effect. I drove wooden wedges in the side with no clearance and this seemed to work in evening out the gaps. However, as soon as I opened the hood and re-closed it again, the zero gap on one side and large gap on the other side returned. I pushed on the driver's side of the hood close to the hinge in the direction of the p***enger side but this had no effect either. I consulted the shop manual but there is no adjustment to move the hood to one side up by the cowl. I am stumped. Anyone else ever had a similar problem which they solved? Thanks, Alan S. Freeman

 

Scratch or draw a line where the hinge meets the hood. Lay a folded bath towel on each side with the hood open. This takes two guys. Loosen the hood bolts, pull the left side out 1/4 inch, and push the other side back almost the same.

 

So glad I saw this. I have the same exact problem on my '54. I've always ***umed the car got hit and the fenders were knocked out of alignment. I guess it's still possible (my grandpa hit a few telephone poles back in his drinking days) but hopefully it's just the hood bolts.

 

I had the hood hinges overhauled on our '54 by Rowland Hall in Burbank, Ca. Then took them to the painter and we took about 4 or 5 hours to get the hood adjusted properly. This included re-aligning the front fenders too. Hammer and dolly work also. I almost forgot, we also used a 4x4 block of wood to get it right. I'm glad my painter knows what he's doing.

 

Many times it's not the hood that is misaligned but the fenders . Sometimes you will need to make the holes a little bigger too to make a better alignment of the front end . It can be a real PITA sometimes but if you take your time , it will work out in the end . There really is no quick fix when it comes to doing that job .
Many times it's best to just loosen the bolts on both fenders . Then close the hood and get the hood to cowl aligned first then one fender at a time . But leave the hood alone ! You might be using a 5lb hammer on a big block of wood to get the fenders to line up good but in the end it will look really good .
Now if you try everything and still can't get the lines perfectly spaced , then you might have to weld some metal to the hood or fender to get the lines the way they should be . It all comes down to how perfect you want the lines to be !

Jim

 

Jim is right about having to shim the fenders at times, but don't loose track of the requirement that the fenders must also align with the doors...

 

I hate to be negative but shimming the fenders to move one or both is not going to be a good solution. On the driver's side which has zero clearance, if I shim the fender 1/4"-3/8" to create a gap for the hood to clear the upper fender, this will also create the same wide gap in the area where the upper fender curves around the cowl. The fender is supposed to fit tightly against the cowl in this curved area and they put a thin piece of rubber in the gap at the factory. On the p***enger side with the wide 1/2" gap I would have to trim metal off of the fender to bring it closer to the hood in that same fender to cowl curved area. This does not seem to be a satisfactory solution to the problem on either the side with no clearance or the side with too much clearance. The fault has to be with the positioning of the hood hinges. Thanks, Alan

 

Alan , I totally understand what you are saying . Trying to get a hood centered with springs and hinges that move from side to side is very hard to do , especially by yourself . Now I would adjust the wide gap side and try to pull the hood that way . Leave the other close gap side alone . If you keep moving both hinges , you will end up throwing a wrench through the windshield before the day is done ! Just move the one side and leave the other side alone . Then take the hood and move it very carefully up and down a couple time and see how that looks before you actually close and lock it . It will be a good idea to take some Blue tape and tape the hood and fenders if you have a nice paint job so you won't knick the paint up if the adjustment went too far .
The keep trying with the one side and see what happens . If it comes close but not correct then let the other side in just about a 1/16" at a time . I would make a mark where the hinge is on the side that is close because if you loosen that side and the hinge jumps some , you are back to base one all over again .
let us know how you make out .

Jim

 

I totally understand, too. I guess I just got a little wordy with my advice which, when pared down to the nubbins, is: DON'T SHIM THE FENDERS 'CAUSE YOU'LL GET BIT ON THE **** LATER ON...

 

With the help of a very nice professional body man who agreed to make a "house call" we evened up the gaps on both sides. He pushed, pulled, tweaked and racked the hood and the hinges. Now the only adjustment problem I have is that the upper corner of the hood is very slightly higher than the fender and cowl when closed. I have maxed out the adjustment to put the corner all the way down but it is still slightly higher....not real bad. The body man had no ideas. Any suggestions? Alan