Hood latch poked hole in radiator

[cyruscat]

Closing the hood on Deuce and it got away from me and slammed shut last foot or so.

This caused the hood latch to fly back into radiator and poke pinhole leak.

While fixing the damage I found that it had been been damaged once before in same spot and soldered up.

I'm going to make a protector plate of some kind to prevent future screwups.

Also has anyone rigged up a prop rod or pole to open/close hood easier?

 

[doghead]

Can you post a picture? I have dropped several hoods and never damaged my radiators. Not sure how that would happen.

 

[gunboy1656]

Ditto, what DH said. I have never seen a rad get a hole from dropping the hood. I am curious to see a pic of the hole.

 

[krall]

I often wondered if there was a kit out there to hold it up instead of having to rest it on the windshield.

 

[wsucougarx]

There is a kit however it is pretty hard to find. It was for the M66 ring mount. It was simply a swing arm type loop (similiar to the hood hold down arm. But this one was mounted in the upper corner of the windshield frame on the passenger side.

 

[stumps]

I have some issues with the hood latch on my deuce too. The radiator is about 1/2 inch too far forward at the top, and part of the latch's mounting bracket can hook the solder seam on the radiator tank. The only way to open my hood is to pull out on the hood's handle to make more clearance, and then lift.

One possible solution would be to give the radiator's top brace a crank or two and move the top of the radiator closer to the engine by a bit.

-Chuck

 

[nk14zp]

I just stand on the ground to open close my hood.

 

[Tinwoodsman]

You must be one big dude!

 

[gimpyrobb]

You can adjust how far out the radiator leans toward the grill. Maybe you should try to adjust yours. Just make sure it doesn't tilt in too much and hit the fan.

 

[bratpackdad]

I just went outside and tried to see how that might happen. I don't see how??

 

[gimpyrobb]

What might happen? Adjusting the angle of the radiator? There is a bar across the top of it facing the motor. The bolt connected near the valve cover should have a turn bar on it. You pull the bolt, screw it in or out to adjust the rad. angle. Clear as mud?

 

[bratpackdad]

I see that...his radiator must be waaay forward.

 

[KsM715]

I just stand on the ground to open close my hood.

I like the use of my right hand to much to try that.

 

[cornrichard]

I had the exact same thing happen with my hood right after I purchased my first deuce. I had just flushed the radiator and changed the antifreeze. I drained my new coolant and cleaned off the 3 or 4 layers of paint. It soldered right up. I just decided to be more careful with the hood but a guard of some kind would also be a good idea. I went out and looked at both trucks, the radiators seem to be in about the same place.

 

[Recovry4x4]

Shim the safety latch out a bit.

 

[Stretch44875]

Being 6' 8", it's not a problem to open and close the hood from the ground. Now a truck on 395's might be a problem. And fitting in the cab is an issue.

Dennis