Hi my name is Phelan, I have a 1958 fairlane four door, unfortunately the hood cable has snapped and I can’t open it from the vent or from under the car. Does anyone know how I can approach this?
There should be a plug or slot under the carpet that you put a screw driver in and turn. Center of the dash location. I have never done this but I remember someone telling me about it years ago. Good luck, let me know if I’m crazy or not.
Hey, thank you so much, but as of what I can see that latch is already all the way to the left, and wiggle-ing it to the right and back didn’t do anything
Did you look at Kustchops link? Rubber plug that needs to be removed first. Might not be real easy to see or get to. I bet a more detailed answer is in the 52-59 Ford social group page.
Yeah, I already removed it, the little metal rod is all the way left, and doesn’t change when I push it all the way right
Damn, that’s all I got. Maybe some blaster spray and have some one push down on the hood while you play with it.
I don't know nothin about them. But I would suggest having someone apply a bit of down pressure, and also lift up on the hood, as you manipulate the latch. Lubricant might help too. oops, wray got it first
First question I would ask is did you ever have it open? Then if you didn't it probably needs some lubricant like others have suggested. Also have someone push on the center rear of the hood while you move the latch and move the hood from left to right.
Yes it was open, I had it open and closed it before I had checked the oil, I tried to open it again and it wasn’t budging, I pulled a little harder on the latch and it broke completely. (I’ll jack it up and check out the broom stick method more tomorrow)
My 58 had to be opened with two people off and on, have someone load it up and down while forcing the latch.
What Kustchops is trying to say - have a buddy on the outside trying - maybe pound just a little in the middle where the latch is - while you push the lever on the inside - sometimes you have to do the little pounding on the hood with the palm of your hand to spring the latch open while someone punches/holds the bar on the inside to open - if that makes sense.
Yeah, that makes sense, unfortunately I don’t know what way open is, because the lever is tight in either direction up to a point, then lurches all the way to that side and nothing changes. I really do appreciate all of this help. And with all the fiddling I’m not sure if I have the right place, it’s the only spot under the center console that had a 2 inch rubber plug, but a buddy of mine said due to the location he thinks I might be messing around with transmission stuff.
If the cable isn't broken you should be able to do as they are saying and have someone bop the hood in the middle while you pull on the cable. The deck lid on my OT daily wouldn't open and a friend asked if I had tried pushing down on it while someone hit the release lever and sure enough it opened. You might try spraying some WD-40 or other penetrating lube at the latch through the hole in the firewall and see if it will loosen up.
Unfortunately, the cable looks like it was jerry rigged or already almost broken, the cable snapped about 3 feet in and I pulled the broken side out, but I can’t reach the wire where it’s still attached, because it’s in the engine bay and the spring housing won’t let me pull it from there.
If you can find a factory service manual, they probably have a process to go through to open it with a broken cable. You would think the problem of a misadjusted or slipped cable would happen every once in a while and the dealer shop would have to know how to handle it without damage to the hood.
Are you sure that you have the correct plug? If I’m reading it right the plug is up under the dash through the fire wall, not in the floor. It also reads that you turn it with a screw driver and that you go to the left.
I’ve read it up down and sideways. The aftermarket engine blocks the release from underneath, and someone was messing with the plugs and I can’t get it from under the dash, because they (very messily) closed it up. I’m taking it to a hobby shop Saturday to see if they can help.
Not familiar with your car, but if you can get to or even see the cable through the grille area you can make a tool like a long 2-pronged fork, slide it over the cable and twist it to tension the cable to release the latch. Works pretty good on later models. Learned that in the fire department. If that doesn’t work we punch a Halligan tool through the hood and pry it up, but you probably don’t want to do that. John
I think the '58s all have a forward opening hood, so reaching through the grille will just put a hole in your radiator. Is there any play in the hood? Or is it stuck 100% closed? I know my Dad's '58 Fairlane had a similar issue, but somebody (I wasn't there to witness it) got it open from underneath. Not sure if it was the broomstick method, someone with long skinny arms, or what. Not much help, I know.
I know a guy who had to remove his engine so he could open his hood. The latch was messed up that bad.
I understand what you're saying about not being able to get at it, but can you at least access from underneath on one side or the other of the engine (more than likely driver's side) and perhaps use one of these long-neck jobs to grab the remnant and twist the heck out of it ? Even if you broke the latch clamp, or even the latch mechanism, it wouldn't be that bad of a part to replace. Amazon...... HF has a shorter version, but probably not long enough.
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