Carl---The four bolts on each side at the front of the hood are for
positioning the hood (gap) in relation to the fenders, side to side, and
to keep the gap straight across the cowl. The rubber cones on each
side, position the hood's height at the cowl, keeping the hood on the
same plane as the cowl and fenders, as well as give the hood some
lateral support. Under 'normal' circumstances it is not necessary to
loosen any of the eight bolts at the front of the hood when repairs are
done to the latch. If you have disturbed these, get the hood 'centered'
first. Sometimes it's necessary to make some kind of an outline around
these brackets, like with a soft pencil or crayon, just so you can
establish a reference point at which to make adjustments.
The recesses (in the hood) that the rubber cones mate with can be rubbed
with chalk. When you lower the hood the chalk will transfer to the
rubber. From there you'll be able to tell which way to shift the cones
till the chalk ends up circling the cones. Wipe the rubber/s off after
each adjustment.
Now for the latch. With the hood up, set the length of the spring to 3
1/8" for a starting point. You can adjust this length with the
slot-head screw inside the spring, after loosening the locking nut
inside the top of the spring. The length of this spring determines also
how hard or easy it will be to release the hood with the cockpit latch.
It's kind of a pain to go thru this, but fortunately it doesn't have to
be done much, if ever again.
Dick T.
'73
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