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Discussion Topic:
'41-'48 Hood Adjustment
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supereal |
07-03-2017 @ 12:52 PM
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Senior
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Years ago, I watched Fords being assembled at the Rouge Plant. If they had any hood, door, etc, problems the vehicle was shunted to a repair area. I watch in awe as then used a rubber covered sledge hammer to "adjust" the car body. I don't recommend doing that, but it showed how slight misalignments affect the various parts of the body. Even then, nothing was close to perfect.
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len47merc |
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07-03-2017 @ 7:38 AM
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Senior
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Got it - thanks woodiewagon46
Steve
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woodiewagon46 |
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07-03-2017 @ 3:54 AM
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Senior
Posts: 723
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I think the bottom line is that there are many factors that all contribute to a perfect hood alignment, if there is one. Worn hinges, weak springs, fender fitment, etc all play a part. I wasn't happy with the way my hood fit on my '46 Woodie and spent half a day with a friend playing with it. We got it to where I am satisfied with the fit but it still is not perfect. You and a friend are just going to dig in and keep at it until you are happy.
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len47merc |
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07-02-2017 @ 4:37 PM
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42wagon - I suspect it's a combination of processes, yours and 1 or 2 others, as the three bolts that hold the hinges on to the cowl/body allow for slightly more than a bit of forward/back, up/down adjustment that makes a big difference in where the hood ultimately lines up with the cowl & seal. Had to be something the assembly workers had to guide them because this just seems way too vague and nebulous an adjustment to leave it to them to get it right in time for the next car coming down the line.
I never mentioned above that the '47's hood has never been properly adjusted since pulling the motor to change the clutch a few years back. The question is the foundation for advance research to hopefully keep me from pulling what little hair I have left out when I start the process.
Thanks for the comment -
Steve
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42wagon |
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07-02-2017 @ 1:45 PM
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Steve
I'm going to go out on a limb here and probably will be corrected by someone else.
What I think Henry probably did was to have some sort of sling that would hold the hood at the proper angle in alignment with the hinges on the cowl so that two guys -one on each side could insert and tighten the bolts. I can't imagine doing it any other way under assembly line time constraints.
42 wagon
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len47merc |
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07-02-2017 @ 1:05 PM
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Senior
Posts: 1168
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Thanks Bob (supereal) and everyone for weighing in. I guess somehow everything I've written (trying to be succinct) hasn't been clear so I'll put it this way:
1) My first question above contained a link to a discussion from this Forum in 2010 on hood adjustment
2) As noted above at the bottom of that link to the referenced page 2 of that discussion thread are two separate links to an image of each page of the article "The Alignment of the 1946-48 Hood" by Mark Kicsak appeared in the May/June 2009 V-8 TIMES"
3) My original question was whether this article is the only process documentation in existence for aligning a hood or not, and if so, is it assumed this is the 'gospel' on this subject. Seems the article was basically a trial-and-error guide and I assumed surely Ford had a better process than this to get it close to correct in manufacturing
My apologies if my written word was somehow unclear. Thanks again to all for weighing in - movin' on...
Steve
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supereal |
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07-02-2017 @ 11:07 AM
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Senior
Posts: 6819
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I found the issue and the article submitted by Mark Kicsak of NY. It is two pages with eight photos.I If you want or need a copy, send a stamped envelop to
MAS Auto & Machine, 54 Commercial Ct., Iowa City IA 52246 It is a very good explanation of hood adjustment for 1940-48.
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len47merc |
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07-01-2017 @ 10:31 AM
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Thanks guys -
Steve
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woodiewagon46 |
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07-01-2017 @ 10:04 AM
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Posts: 723
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Also, don't be surprised if you need to adjust the fenders for a perfect hood to fender gap.
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trjford8 |
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07-01-2017 @ 7:16 AM
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Aligning the hood is a tedious operation. The article is a guide and does save some time, but at the end of the day it's still a time consuming task. Generally it's also a two person operation.
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