Hood Adjustment??? '55 R112

I can't honestly say for sure the hood rubbed or not previously. I don't recall seeing specific rub locations. The front sheet metal has been off my truck since about 1984 and anything could have happened to affect the fit of the hood and fenders during that time. I didn't pay specific attention to see if they rubbed. Didn't have a reason to look. They were stored out of harms way during that time, but that doesn't guarantee that they weren't bumped or ????? those few times they were moved and or transported. I certainly can't vouch for how they were treated during their stay at the builders before re-install. I trust he did a good job of protecting them, but there are employees and spectators in and out of his business, too. The builder tried to get the gaps right by assembling the sheet metal before priming and painting and could not make them pivot without a lot of rubbing. That's when the custom rubber spacers were made. It doesn't appear there is any difference between the 4 hinge/latch pieces on the L. If there is, it's minute and he didn't get the correct order of assembly. I can't imagine this to be the case. If it was, there wouldn't be as much in the way of slots to adjust them. Manufacturers are all about consistent pieces that are interchangeable and reducing the inventory. I do believe that there is a specific alignment of fenders, inner fenders, grill, etc. that would result in the perfect fit. My builder couldn't find it and he spent a lot of time on it. I know, because the cost during that phase was unbelievable.

And like Jon says, these trucks were made for the ease of getting into the engine bay for maintenance out in the pasture or woods to make on the spot repairs/adjustments. These are intended to be working trucks, not shiny show pieces. My truck is out of it's element now!

Knowing there are many parts that come together before getting to the hood and knowing there are clearances allowed for bolts, it seems having it match up perfectly after being taken apart is wishful thinking and lots of luck. If the hood brackets were removed from inner fenders that adds to the increased odds of misalignment. Now I wish I would of paid more attention to the hood gaps before taking mine apart. It's nice to hear the solutions others have found to help with the rubbing.

I think mine doesn't rub because the spacing is the amount of the round rubber bumpers on the bottom of the hood. The gap may look wide, but it looks appropriate to me. I put an album in my gallery to show closeups of the details - the first two images you have to click on the picture frame, then a very large image comes up. My hood has a series of round button type rubber pads (that look just like the ones on the base plate of the hinge) along the edge of the hood, they seat down when the latch is closed, but there is no rubbing on the pivot side, just make sure the pivot side is latched before you lift the other side! - Bob