VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 '32 Hood Door Alignment

Hi,

The louvers on the hood of the '32 just aren't aligned right. They don't close when shut because they're too far back and one doesn't seat right and won't stay open. The louvers were chromed a while back and I wonder if something got out of whack then. Maybe they have worked into a custom fit where if I take them all off and try them in each spot it would work, but I doubt it. The chrome job wasn't very good, btw.

I've got the hood off from when I was doing my work over the winter. Would be nice to realign the hood doors if possible before I put the hood back on, but I'm not very graceful with body work.

Any suggestions you have I'd appreciate.

Thanks,
Mark

Hello mshaw,
I have no knowledge of the hood louver installation for the 1932's. I have a 31. Anyway, the 32 stands out because of the louvers, besides other improvements in design. Your suggestion to remove the louvers and test fit each one is worth a try. I don't know how the louvers work. Are they tied together by linkage? How are they opened and closed? This is more for my learning, but I think by understanding the operation, the installation will become clearer. What say the 1932 owners?

No. Each door opens individually.




By a finger pull on each door.

I would check the fit without the springs. Perhaps a spring has become distorted. You could also swap the springs from one that closes properly to another to see if it helps. If so new springs are available from the FS.

Thanks JYD for the louver door information. I can only think that there may be issues with the louvers hinges. Is it possible that the 32 repair manual addresses the louver installation? As mshaw states, they don't close when shut because they are too far back. Do the hinges incorporate slotted mount holes for alignment? I think I'd loosen all the louver door hinges, center doors 1 and 4 by hand, use straight edge and tape measure for horizontal and vertical alignment and tape the doors in place. Tape doors 2 and 3 to match with 1 and 4. I'm assuming you can do this on the bench. Tighten hinge fasteners and see what's what. For doors that won't stay open, could there be adjustments to tighten any levers if those are used? Just my shot in the dark. Good Luck

Have a look on the back side of the hood .The hindge supports are spot welded to the hood side .If they cone loose two things will happen. The hood can bow in between the doors in the vertical plane and the door hindge wont be where it should be . Also check your springs something comes to mind that there are two different ones ,left and right .I dont have a master parts book but maybe some of the other members can help.

There are different springs for the hood ventilator doors. There is an upper right/lower left spring and a upper left/lower right spring.

Perhaps they are upside down.Don't know if there is a difference but you can play around with it.Could be that the mounting tabs are a little different......Just a thought.

I got a close inspection of the hood doors this weekend. Yes, they are slotted with no real hinge. The springs hold them in place. The springs are old and rusty, so I tried a little hand pressure to emulate new strong springs with no change in seating. The one door that won't stay open doesn't seat properly in the slots, appears to be some bent metal in the way.

My conclusion was that I need a new set of springs before I do anything, so I think I'll just wait for winter. I put the hood back on; it looks good and is purring like a kitten. Gotta get those LED taillights in and all sorts of other work done first.

Thanks for all the information! I'll resume this thread in six months.

Mark