I have never been able to get the hood to set right at the driver rear. What are some of the mechanics to aligning it right?

First pic is the hood where it sits after you open and then close it.

2nd is if you push down on the hood with your palm, it will drop a 1/2 inch or so.

3rd 4th and 5th are gaps at the other corners. I am not so much concerned with the gaps unless it effects the corner height in question.

I have been told that the hood hinge can be "sprung" but am not sure how to diagnose. I have marked the hinge location and loosened the hinge and adjusted its location. But cant seem to get the rear corner to drop. Is there a trick?

OK, and now that I've looked at the pictures...disreguard the fact that the chrome bumper in the pass front pic shows the reflection of Jaba the Hut taking the picture. Chrome adds 100 pounds right? lol

The trick is to slightly loosen the hinge bolts into the fender, then open the hood and push it all the way up (open). Then while you hold it there, tighten the fender bolts.

It seems odd, but this works to lower the back tips of the hood in the closed position. It may be that your hinges just need a little bit more oil too, but the idea above may help.

The alignment with the fenders is generally the entire hinge being moved back or forwards. (or the fender may need to move back or forward if not aligned).

If the hood or fenders are repros, they may have issues within themselves.

PS, looks like your hood tach is off a '67?

The above is correct. The gasket that goes on the lip of the cowl panel can also keep the hood popped up in the back so check that too.

Your gap at the back of the hood is too large, probably leading to the overhang in the front. Slide the hood back on the hinge. I like to wad a towel up under the rear hood corner when open as a precaution. Use masking tape to make an outline of two sides of the hinge on the hood and use them as a guideline to move the hinge forward relative to the hood by the desired amount.

One thing I've found is the hood hinges may be worn out and the points where the rivets go through have elongated the holes, this can cause the hood to pop up in the rear due to the spring tension on the hinge. Remove the hinge springs and close the hood if this solves your problem order a new set of hinges and call it a day. Otherwise your looking at panel alignment issues.

Good luck, let us know what happens.

before i put the front end on i cross measure the core support for squareness. the hood should have a little larger gap in the rear. it looks like the front is not square. make sure the front of the fenders are pulled out as far as possible and tightened. i think that the gap on the sides should be around 3/16. thats including the cowel to fender. set the hood down with the bolts loosened and without the latch. make sure you tape the fenders first. then you can grab the hood and twist the hood side ways and pull or push the hood foward or backwards till you have the desired position then open the hood slowly and snug the bolts and close the hood to see if it moved. adjust again if needed. thats one way to adjust the hood .

68 verdoro green # matching 400 ho 4 spd posi.

I have tried the loosen and push UP to lower the rear hood hinge, but I am not sure I have done it right...it was cold and dark, I am feeling more brave with 60's and sun outside.

Refering to the next pic Bolts #1 and #2, how do they attach to the fender...is it just a hole with a nut and bolt through it, or is there threading on the fender itself? I am afraid to loosen to much and drop a nut out the back, I know I cant fit my hands on it. And I did notice that the area i labeled as LIP is higher than on the passenger side. And you can see the bolts are lower on the hinge than what they used to be (by the rust outline). If I loosen both nuts, is there that much play in the hinges? This is a repo fender, I think, It was wrecked in the 90's and a body shop replaced it, with a junl yard find or a new one I do not know.

And yep, that is a 67 tach...I like to refer to my car as a TRUE First Generation Firebird, the guy who had it back in the 80's made sure to use parts from all three years to show his love for the first gen. Why single one year out when you can make it a true 67-69 bird by putting a 69 engine, in a 68 body, 67 accessories, Oh and let not forget our love for Camaros and use one of their rear ends. Heaven forbid we look 20 years ahead and realize that it will be a total nightmare for the next guy who owns it. This thing is like an archaeological find, if I looked hard enough I bet I can find the missing Watergate tapes! Woops, off topic, need to take it to the rambling section.

If the bolts and nuts are OEM, the nut is held in with a retainer, so it won't fall off. If it has been pieced together, who knows what might be back there. It's hard to tell from your picture, but it looks like you were able to lower the entire spring. Perhaps more in the front than the rear. There should be quite a bit of "every direction" adjustment there, you just need to find the right amount.

Your hinges look plenty rusty, I'd add some oil and work it up and down a bunch. That might free things up by itself. If the tops of the hinges are at different levels from side to side, that may be OK depending on fender placement. You have to work all directions and each side to get the best alignment.

I think after playing with them a bit, you will get a feel for what needs to move where to get the desired result.

Good luck.

The position of the hinge needs to drop in the back (#2) but the front (#1) is correct.

this is very often the case....

now, if your hinges are ok...you can check them , look at them closely when opening /closing the hood , if they are worn ,you can see movement at the pivot points...
if they are fine...you best adjust the hood by opening it, loosening those bolts attaching the hinge to the fender , just slightly...then open the hood fully, have someone hold it in full open position , or use a broom stick, then tighten the bolts back up...

and you should not have a lose nut , you can take the bolts out...I just replaced my drivers side worn out hinge...for the second time in 8 yrs...I bought repops...they are about $35 ea, GM origs are $125 or so...each....this time I bought both new again , but only drivers had worn alot...have the pass side to do eventually...
hard to do yourself....need someone to hold the hood or use tie straps to clg or such...hood will flip to side after one hinge is out...

My repops have held up for 2 years now, and my hood goes up and down like a .....well, you know....

My main fear was loosening the bolts and not being able to get them rethreaded...I feel better now about loosening them and jacking them around to see if I get a fit. My hood sags a good 8-10 inches from highest point held open so the springs are gone I guess also.

ok, for the springs.... mine did that too...I bought new OER springs $30 I think they were ,thought it was the best $30 spent...but NOOO... after 2 years they sagged the same amount...not very good new replacements...I bought them from Classic , for Camaro w SS hood ,supposedly the correct ones...

so.....to come uop with a solution... I did...installed these...and now 5 yrs later hood stays up to 98%...
I found that Volvo 240`s had double hood springs during the 80-s` after they changed hood design...the inner springs of a 240 will fit INSIDE the GM springs on the bird , dont show up , and you dont even need to remove the GM springs to fish them in there!

find a used Volvo 240 on a junk yard..!
Volvo springs are painted body color , so if you can find them off a black or grey car is best ,otherwise just spray them black....nobody will know they are there, and they work well in conjuntion with the GM springs!!


the idea came from a guy in Canada...he suggested some Honda springs...I got those ,they did not work, would not fit inside the GM springs.,then my buddy ,who services, repairs ,restores VOlvos had me check these 240 springs!

Now that is awesome, Its amazing the ingenuity...I will make my way to a U-wrench it soon then.

I just wanted to post one more idea. I'm wrapping up on my 68 currently. I had my original hinges and I bought repops. I had repops all painted and on vehicle. The test fit of the hood was not going as planned and nothing would fit?? It could have been the repop fenders etc, but that's a different story. Anyway, the hood still would not fit properly. I ended up putting my old hinges back on w/new springs. Still didn't fit to my liking. The only fix was to auger holes out to fender? With the hood being up in the back like yours is, I would auger the rear hole out on the top to make the hood go down in the back. Let me know how it turns out.

Brad