# 1968 GTO Hood Adjustment



## voltaire (Aug 23, 2013)

I have been restoring a 68 GTO and recently put the fenders, nose and hood on the car. The fenders and nose line up perfectly but the hood for some reason sits higher than the nose in the center 1/4"-3/16". The hood also keeps popping up in the back passenger side. I've spent about 8 hours trying to get get it right and its starting to make me car crazy.  Any guidance on how to adjust the hood will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Matthew (Feb 11, 2011)

Have you lowered the front hood bumpers? If not, start there first. Then work the back. Loosen the back bolts, and while pushing up on the hood, tighten them back down (two person job). If the hood is still sticking up, push down on it. If it goes down, you might have bad hinges. If it does not move, you have something preventing it from going down. Examples... you might have a new cowl seal, or you might have one of the 68s that has a hood bumper mounted on the cowl. Matt


----------



## tyscru (Sep 29, 2009)

I had the same problem with my hood popping up in the back particularily on the passenger side. I had to have my hinges rebuilt because the holes were worn excessively. I sent them to Home. 
Good Luck, Leroy


----------



## Matthew (Feb 11, 2011)

Leroy, how much did it cost to have your hinges rebuilt? Thanks, Matt


----------



## bondobill (Oct 24, 2011)

If you can push the hood down in the back after closing, your hinges are shot.
Bushing are worn in the pivot points. If your replacing one mind just as well do both.
If your hood fits good every other then the center of the hood my guess would be your front bumper is bent. How is the bumper to fender fit at the crown of the fenders. It could be the hood but I would doubt it.
Hopefully the car isn't painted yet. 
Pictures would be a big help.

Bill


----------



## mrvandermey (Jun 15, 2011)

There is a small possibility your hood is bent. I know it is common for the hinges to get stiff, so when people close the hood, they create a bend in the middle. I have seen several hoods with this particular bend in it. Hence why it took me a bit of time to find a good OEM hood.


----------



## voltaire (Aug 23, 2013)

The hood is in really good shape. I was able to adjust the hinge and the rear of the hood stays down as it should (took about 4 additional hrs to correct). The front of the hood center still sits about 3/16" above the front bumper and the right and left edges sit about 1/8" lower than the front bumper and fenders.


----------



## tyscru (Sep 29, 2009)

The cost to rebuild the hinges was $125 plus freight and i paid an extra $50 to have them powder coated. They test the springs and if they are weak they will replace them for $30.00. These prices are about 4 years old so they may be a little higher now. You can buy new hinges at Ames Performance but my neighbor that rebuilds cars said that aftermarket hinges are usually made of lighter gage metal so i decided on the rebuild.

Leroy


----------



## Matthew (Feb 11, 2011)

Leroy, thanks. Was wondering if there was a big difference in price. As you put it, the only difference would be the quality. Thanks again. Matt


----------



## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm still trying to figure out what's the deal with the hood on my '69. It's high in the rear corners. I just replaced both springs with new ones from Ames - no difference. There's no discernible slop in the hinge pivots, with the hood closed it doesn't budge at all when I push on the rear corners, and I've tried the adjustment trick of loosening the rear hinge bolts and re-tightening them while someone was applying upward pressure on the hood (to make the rear of the hinges set low). 

Scratching my head over this one...

Bear


----------



## Flambeau (Dec 30, 2013)

I had the same problem, I couldn't figure it out because the OEM hinges looked fine and weren't bent at all. After pulling my hair out, I bought a complete set of Ames premium hinges with springs and Ill be dammed it worked. Good luck.


----------

