The Dodge Challenger Message Board

I have a T/A fiberglass hood on my 70 Challenger. My autobody man has made me aware of a problem wih the hinges. When you close the hood the back of the hood doesn't close all the way you need to push down on it. He is worried that while driving the hood will pop up. I checked it out and it looked like there was a lot of play in the hinges. You can lift and push down on the back of the hood it moves about 2-3 inches. I was wondering if anyone else has had a problem with there hinges? and was wondering how they fixed the problem?

Thanks Matt
p.s. I hope all the members from London are ok.

They all tend to lift a little at the back but usually only a quarter inch or so. The plastic hood uses lighter springs. i don't know if that effects it or not?

Sorry i can't be of more help.

Sounds like your hinges need to be rebuilt. Make sure you have the T/A springs, too.

I have T/a springs on it right now. Is there a easy way to rebuild them? or does anyone sell a kit to fix them? Also has anyone done this before if so how did they go about it?
Thanks
Matt

matt wrote:He is worried that while driving the hood will pop up.

I think that the chances are quite slim that the hood will pop up due to worn hood hinges as long as everything is OK with the hood catch and the locker in the front end of the hood. (....but I can´t guarantee that, of course )

matt wrote:I checked it out and it looked like there was a lot of play in the hinges. You can lift and push down on the back of the hood it moves about 2-3 inches.

That sounds like a lot to me. On my car, it is possible to move the right hand hood hinge about half an inch upwards and downwards.

matt wrote:and was wondering how they fixed the problem?

I haven´t fixed it so I can´t help you there. It strikes me that it probably is a good idea to add a little oil on them every now and then to keep them in running order. (That is if you have a working set of hinges and want to keep them that way.)

Hey guys I fixed my hinges, and I wanted to share how I did it. There was a lot of play in the hinges, so my body guy and I heated the rivits that hold the hinges together and we hit them with a hammer to tighten the rivits. This has totally fixed the problem. Hinges work like new.
Good luck guys!!

Good tip! I would try that on mine but I just painted them...