Hood Latch Not Working

[Pink59Bird]

Hello this is my first post on the forms so thank you for welcoming me.. I just bought a 59 hardtop and my hood won’t latch and stay down. Sometimes the driver side does latch, but the passenger side seems to have a lot of issues. I think something is missing perhaps on the passenger side. There is a spring hanging from the bottom that looks to be broken. I’m not sure how it’s supposed to be attached or where to get a new one. Please let me know what I need to do to get this thing to latch and stay closed. I have lubed both of the latches to make sure that they’re moving freely. I think it could have something to do with the hood pull Cable not retracting and closing the latch due to the spring being broken. Someone please help me I really appreciate it.

Passenger:

Driver:

[jopizz]

First make sure that the hood handle is all the way down against the stop when you shut the hood. If not it won't fully lock. There's a spring on the driver side latch that helps the hood handle return. It's part number 16921 on the diagram. There is also a spring on the passenger side latch that helps it return. See the photo. Also if the cable is not adjusted correctly it won't latch. There are barrel nuts on the cable under the latch that can be adjusted. Most times though it's due to the handle not fully springing back.

John

hood hinge.jpg passenger hood latch.png

[Tbird6]

Pull the hood cable out of the sheath and lube it up then re-install. Also the cable that goes from one side to the other. It will need it. Those springs are "Hood Latch Trigger Springs". B6A-16921-A. I try to take some of the slack/slop out of the cables by adjusting them as tight as possible. Over time and with use your pulling on these everytime you open the hood so things tend to stretch out.

I removed both of my hood latches and cleaned the old hard grease out then re-lubed them. Can't really clean them properly unless you remove them which is simple to do. They look to be galvanized and Evapo-Rust cleans the assembly up nice after the grease has been removed.

I paid $3.95 each from Obsolete Classic Auto Parts, Inc in OKC, OK. Unfortunately they have been on back order for several months but they do expect them to come back in stock. These might be available from other suppliers too?
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[Pink59Bird]

Thank you both for your help! Ordered new springs from Dennis Carpenter and will make adjustments and lube.

[Tbird6]

One more thing that I found on mine? The bottom of the latch has a lever that moves when the cable is pulled. That lever was dragging on the latch and you could see the shiny spots in the metal where it was rubbing. Wear or maybe bent a bit? I don't know but that added to the resistance when I pulled on the cable and it kept the latch from returning to it's normal position after releasing the handle inside the car.

That lever can also drag on the car body where the latch is mounted. Again look for shiny spots in the metal.

This picture shows where I found a problem with mine. The return spring is missing from this picture.

Hood Latch.jpg

Just another thing to look for.
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[Pink59Bird]

Thank you Tbird6