Re: 55PackardGuy's '54 Clipper Deluxe

Posted by 55PackardGuy On 2014/8/17 15:04:19

Quote:

Thanks for the pic. It really shows a difference between the square receiver hole on yours and the one on mine. (The piece I was referring to that is bent on mine is not the moveable one, but the top of the "square" that receives the safety catch.) Yours is really square except for the radius curve at the top edge, mine has the curve on the top edge, but with another square slot that seems to have been cut or hammered into it. This is the edge that the hook has to push clear of on the way down.

I just got done adjusting it so the main latch catches after I pull the safety latch out of the way. I looked closely with the hood resting on the safety latch, and the bottom of the hook hits the metal part of the square hole directly head-on. It can't push itself out of the way when it's lined up like that.

I loosened the bolts on the top and moved that (male) part of the main latch mechanism (which includes the safety hook) all the way forward like the manual said.

There is a screwdriver slot on the end of the pin that you turn one way or the other to adjust where the ring at the bottom of the spring will be when the hood is closed. (That ring is what goes through the round hole and serves as the main latch, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

With the hood fully closed, I noticed that the gap between the hood and the grille is uneven and excessive.

The hood itself is adjusted all the way back, with little room between the back edge and the cowl. This may well be why the safety latch is out of position.

It looks like a major hood adjustment is in order before I can let anyone but me close the hood without risking they'll slam it and break the safety catch again,

The instructions in the manual for hood adjustment are meager to the point of useless. I guess it's just going to be "loosen, yank, repeat" until it sits right.

The relationship between the mating surfaces of the receiver won't change with movement of the entire hood, though, so I might not gain anything.

NOTE: As you can see in our pics, there is a screw head on the bottom plate with "X" shaped slots. It sure looks like an adjustment screw, but what it adjusts I have no idea.