I have a 26 tourer and I've noticed since day one that the hood isn't lined up right. It's tight to almost overlapping on the passenger side of the body and has a 1/4 inch or more gap on the driver side body. Similarly, the hood to radiator gap is out.
I tried to adjust the radiator with no success. What is the best way?
Here's a couple of things to look at:
1. Make sure the frame is straight and square.
2. Check the body to frame mounts--Body square on frame.
3. Check the firewall-to-frame brackets--These are often cracked/broken.
With the frame square and body mounted square, the hood is matched to body. After that, the side gaps are adjusted by moving the radiator. A top gap is adjusted using the radiator brace rod. There should be about 1/4-3/8" fore/aft movement over the lower radiator mounts. About the same on the rod.
The hood is automatically lined up with the body at the cowl and there is not much you can do to adjust the location of the radiator, so that leaves the body to chassis adjustment. If you look, you will notice that the body securement bolt holes are quite large which allows a lot of leeway for the body to be moved around on the chassis. Loosen the bolts securing the body to the chassis and slide the body over to the left or to the driver's side about 1/8" to 1/4". This will cause the hood to move over from the tight passenger side to the loose driver's side. Jim