My hood never fit correctly since I had my T everything I read said frame sagging so today I ran a string the entire length of the frame and measured down from the top rail every 6 inches and it only varied 1/16 of an inch. The hood does not sit tight to the frame on firewall and has a gap along bottle where it sits on frame rail and works forward on the lower part of radiator shell
There SHOULD be a small gap between the bottom of the hood and the top of the clash strip, or hood block as some call it. Very roughly, it varies between 1/4" and 1/2". You want the gap to be even (more or less), equal on both sides (ditto), and the rolled edge of the hood to be within easy enough reach of the hood hooks so that they aren't too tight when in place.
If the hood seems to "tilt" or overlap at top or bottom, adjust the radiator stay rod to pull the radiator top in or push it out.
If your hood over laps your radiator shell a the bottom edge of the shell and there is a gap at the lower back edge of the hood at the lower cowl ..That is usually a situation of the cowl/body being low from sagging frame or poorly mounted body ...or ,or or?bUt you say you O,K, with the frame.
A high radiator may also contribute or aggravate the trouble..Many radiator springs mount sets are really incorrect and or stiff ,holding the radiator up too high and that can cause what you have...A few cars I've reworked the radiator mounts as much as possible to lower the radiator to correct the hood..Just be sure that radiator can float a bit..andnot be ridged,even if youi end up omitting the top spring and let the spring cap sit on the frame with a very thin rubber pad, . All else fails and you can't live with it , You'll have to omit the dash/firewall bracket to frame bolts at the frame. Loosen the body bolts and raise up the cowl end with shim material like 1/8" to 1/4 leather or rubber at the front body bolts and then taper the thickness of shims going backward to other body mounts if needed as not to screw up too much of the door adjustment..which opens another can of worms!
First I have a pie wagon, no,doors the firewall is total separate free standing,there is at least one inch or a little more gap between the bottom of hood and frame rail, the radiator is as low as it can go the bottom tank is only clearing the frame by less half inch. The back of the hood where the center pin is will not sit down on wooden lip on firewall everything seems to high on the back the front of the hood near radiator sits all the way down like it should just not the back
If the hood is higher near the firewall, that sounds like perhaps your hood support (hood former) is higher than it should be. The bottom edge of the hood support should be exactly 3/4" above the frame.
When I say the hood is high in the back what I mean is it will not sit down on the former there is about one inch of space and you cannot push it down
What year parts are you using from the cowl forward. Sounds like you have the wrong hood.
I'm confused! Do you have hood blocks installed? Do you have a ledge of some kind for the hood to sit on as a former, or is it a hoodformer like on the brass era T's? (For example, on my hack, I used a stock metal firewall and built from there--it positioned the hood correctly). Do you have any pics of the problem area?
here are some pictures( I hope) I measured the hood it is the 17-23 low
popjpeg{382100,hood}
In the 3rd photo, could the wood firewall be mounted too low? Is it home made? Do you have the firewall brackets installed? The hood former on the firewall looks kinda like it's the wrong one, for a brass radiator car with a different shaped hood, maybe.
To me that hood looks weird in that first photo. It looks like the hinge is at an angle. Are you sure its a Model T low steel hood?Does it measure the same as Ken's posting of the low hood? Front AND back? Or is this an optical illusion of some kind?
It measures right for the low hood, I almost was wishing it was wrong may be easier to fix
Well if its the right hood and the right firewall mounted as it should be then maybe the curve on the rear of the hood needs to be adjusted.Sometimes in the life of a hood they get squished down when they're laying around not on the car.The curve of the hood should match the curve of the firewall pretty much.
John,
Looks like it needs a regular radiator adjustment! Try to loosen the jam nut on the rod going from the firewall to the radiator, then with your fingers or vice grips turn the rod until it pushes the radiator forward and the center hood connecting rod goes where it's supposed to on the firewall and the radiator then tighten the jam nut back up.
Just wanted to see if this unposted image was the front of the hood.
I guess it isn't. A shot of the radiator side would help but I think Mike is getting close.
This 1917 hood looks different to me than John's. Compare the hinge line to that of his first pic.
Yeah, looks like the side panel(s) was cut down for some reason.
Do you have the wood blocks under the hood shelf in the rear? Bob
I have 2 low cowl T's. A 19 Runabout and a 21 Touring in restoration. Both low cowl cars.
My T's hoods don't have the angle like the above hood does.
For some reason its cut wrong or maybe someone made a speedster hood out of it.
I wonder where you got it. At a swap meet or is it a reproduction or ?
The hood on my 21 has the taper and as far as I know it has never been apart. My spare hood also has the taper. Photo taken at about the same angle. The rear is about 1 3/8 to center of hinge line and the front 1 inch.
no hood blocks going to make some and bring up the shelf to meet hood