MKIV Hood Fit and Hinge Questions

[haroldd1963]

Mounted the body on our MKIV Roadster for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

I have some questions about the hood fit and hinges.

First, the hinges seem very sloppy to me. Are they supposed to be? Or is there a solution to tighten them up some?

Second, when the hood is opened all the way, it touches the front corner on the hood opening on the passenger side and there is a large gap on the driver's side. Because of the sloppiness in the hinges, adjusting the hood over does not stop this from happening.

Last, is it required that the body be riveted to the upper frame rail around the hood opening? On our car, there seems to be a gap between the bottom of the hood opening and the top of the upper frame rail.

Thanks!

[michael everson]

If the hinges are sloppy, they are not assembled correctly. Pay very close attention to how the washers go. There are two different size washers. The large inner diameter one is to slip over the bronze bushing when it isn't sitting flush with the hinge arm. the 3/8 ID washer must be centered on the shoulder bolt so that it can go over the shoulder and not get hung up on the threaded part. If you watch the shoulder bolt and nut as you assemble it you will see what I mean. You should be able to tighten them up so that they cannot move at all. They just back them off a bit.
Hope that all makes sense.

Maybe the hood is crooked on the hinge brackets. Open the hood all the way and see if its straight. If it is, maybe the body is higher on one side than the other.

You don't need to secure the body to the rails. Some cars need it to get the hood to fit better. If your hood fits ok then its fine. It might improve your problem #2 though
Mike

[skullandbones]

X2 on what Michael said. You should have a several page instruction sheet for the hinges. I spent quite a bit of time putting them together and didn't get it right the first time. There are several ways to get it wrong. But when it's right it's a pretty impressive piece of hardware. What I have noticed on my MKIII roadster is that I may have to increase the slots in the driver's side hinge to get enough adjustment for the final fitment. You can get the hinges so tight they will not move. However, if left very tight, you will find that they loosen up to a firm feel with the hood installed. If you install them like you think they should be, you will probably have to readjust the tightness for the weight of the hood. I don't think the hinge system is authentic but it is one very good quality feature of the roadster.

BTW, I was at Barrett Jackson and saw several roadsters on the auction block. Every one of them were out of adjustment on the hood from a little to way out!!!

Good luck,

WEK.

[Jester]

Hinges: as per above posts - tighten properly assembled hinge bolts and back off 18/ - 1/4 turn to allow movement of the hinges. There will be no slop in the hinges. The shoulder of the hinge bushings need to be properly seated eliminating excess movement of the hinges

Hood fitment: for proper hood fitment, you may want to double check the body of fitted and aligned properly over the frame (and the installed bulb seal or insulating tape), the front and back lip of the rounded edges of the body cockpit are properly fitted over the frame, the windshield is properly installed, the lower body frame mount bolts are installed and finally the front and back quick jack body mount bolts are properly fastened and tightened. All of these (other than rear quick jack bolts) will impact hood fitment. Nose positioning and nose height adjustment is achieved through the front quick jack bolts resulting in proper hood fitment.

good luck

[michael everson]

not sure why, but I noticed something with the FFR hinges lately. the hinges have been at the extremes of there adjustment. They have been as far back as they could go. I have even had to slot them some more. Seems like something has changed slightly.
Mike

[FFinisher]

not sure why, but I noticed something with the FFR hinges lately. the hinges have been at the extremes of there adjustment. They have been as far back as they could go. I have even had to slot them some more. Seems like something has changed slightly.
Mike

I have seen this as well. ...