1983 911sc front hood latch

[ramonesfreak]

Ever since I bought this car 12 years ago, the front hood latch has not functioned properly.

I assume one should be able to drop the hood and maybe give it a final push, to close like most other cars

On mine, if I drop it, I still have to reach under and move the latch in place and then push it shut

I assume something is bent?

Is there a way to adjust this or should I look to replace these parts?

Thanks

[proporsche]

yes there is grab wise grips and bend the pivot hook to the right -facing the car-so it(bottom hook) clears the latch at the bottom .

Ivan

[JSZ]

If you look closely there is a metal stop on the top of the latch, adjacent to the spring. You will notice this is bent allowing the latch to further rotate from its engagement plane. Which in turn will not allow it to engage unless you push the latch to the side prior to the final closing. Mine was bent also, still toying with how to fix and is it even worth the time to disassemble and straighten or get a new latch.

[proporsche]

this fix i have written takes less than a minute and you will be fine for a long time until somebody slams the hood again and the hook will bend.
That is the main reason with this latch not catching..i`ve done this milions times-the repair


Ivan

this (red) section has to slide on the bottom latch piece so it has to be bend back to it`s original position.Also apply lube on the edge...

[JSZ]

Well maybe for you, however in a few situations I have observed including the photos attached the stop has been bent enough that the latch arm over rotates. See my first picture, pointing to the stop which has slowly been bent away. I surmise this happens from excessive force shutting the hood over time and causes the stop to be pushed out of place. Note I am holding the latch and that is why is shown not engaged with the stop. Second picture shows how far the latch is out of perpendicular because the metal stop no longer can stop it at the perpendicular plane.

[proporsche]

well..i guess you did not get my point.??either way the little nip is worn out due to not being ever lubricated or hood slammed way to often .The fix to this problem is as i have mentioned above ..like it or not it works;-)
bend it about 3mm to the right that is all you have to do.....
Ivan

[JSZ]

I think you missed mu point, the nib or stop what ever, is not worn out, it retains the original finish and was well lubricated. The finish was scratched by the former owner trying to straighten it out. It clearly is deformed and bent out of place, from slamming.
This requires a lot more the 3mm to correct, my estimate is 10-12mm which will severely compromise the latch sheet metal. So I carefully close this until I correct it.

[proporsche]

everybody does what they want......... good luck....
Ivan

[JSZ]

Sure.... Thanks, no luck needed but a new latch.

[ramonesfreak]

Thanks. Good information. Perhaps buying a new one for $80 is the way to go. I don’t mind bending but still not sure how I’ll bend it without damaging it too much to be useful. Bending is probably worth a try but I think it’s gonna be more than a few millimeters. Anyway thanks

[proporsche]

true, but 80 bucks buys a lot of beer;-) yup try it so the part(red circle) just hits the bottom and slides in..
Ivan

[gomezoneill]

Ivan I think you should calm down.

[proporsche]

i`m calm as Sahara wind dude;-).no harm intended;-)........

Ivan

[schoward]

Had the same thing and the top part (the stop) was shot or out of alignment causing it to travel too far - not the hook. Back then the latch was maybe $60 and it took more time to read this thread than it did to change it.