boese1978

68 Cutlass- I searched the forums and found info regarding the thick spacer used on the rear of the hinges. See pic, I think this is one, why is it rounded on one side? I put my hood back on yesterday, there are 3 slotted holes on the hinge part that attaches to the underside of the hood as well as 3 threaded holes on the underside of the hood. Why 3? if there are only 2 bolts that hold the hood to the hinge? why can I not use the 2 "flush" hinge holes and skip the back most hole where the spacer would fit- because I have a missing spacer. I used the front 2 holes, not requiring the spacer. Hood is a bit out of adjustment, when I adjust one part something else is out of whack. Any tips and suggestions for getting it to sit correctly? Is it necessary to find another spacer and use the back most holes?
Any input is appreciated!

joe_padavano

When you push down on the front of the hood to close it, the load must be transferred into the hinge to counteract the spring force. The front and rear bolts provide the longest "wheelbase" to turn this force into a torque, thus minimizing the load on the hood structure. Failure to use the rear-most bolt runs the risk of eventually bending or damaging the hood. You can certainly use washers to replace the spacer. Note that the spacer is NOT for adjustment, it is a fixed thickness to fill the gap between the hinge and the underside of the hood. Frankly, I've never really understood why the hinge has that "jog" that requires the spacer, but it is common on a lot of Oldsmobiles in that time frame. Hood alignment is controlled by sliding the hood fore/aft on the hinge and by adjusting the hinge base plates up and down on the fender. Rotating the hinge base plates also changes how the rear of the hood sits. Note that the hood bumper bolts also get adjusted up and down to adjust how the hood sits relative to the fenders.

mrolds69

I'm pretty sure Inline sells the spacers. Those used to be really hard to find, because they would fall out and vanish if the bolt was loosened on the hinge.

RROLDSX

Joe:

When you say "Rotating the hinge base plates also changes how the rear of the hood sits. Note that the hood bumper bolts also get adjusted up and down to adjust how the hood sits relative to the fenders.", if you were looking at the driver hinge from inside the engine bay would it be clockwise or counter clockwise to bring the back of the hood down to be flush with the fender?

joe_padavano

That's a REALLY good question, and truth be told, it's been so long since I did one that I don't remember.

I vaguely recall that it was counter-intuitive, however.

boese1978

great info, i'll use some washers to take up the gap and keep playing for alignment. curious, why the extra set of holes that sit unused then? and, any harm in using all 3 holes? thanks for the replies

RROLDSX

My 69 uses all three.