Bonnet keeps popping open

Has anyone had the problem of their front hood popping open? I shut the hood and it is caught on the safety latch when I arrive at my destination. I am not a body guy and do not know where to start.

My baby is a 73 911E

Thanks

Had the same problem with my 73 911S until recently. I think I have fixed my problem (hasn't popped yet) a week ago when I realized that the spring loaded catch was bent slightly towards the larger secondard latch (i.e. tilted towards the left when looking at the hood front to rear). I bent it to be pointing straight down, parallel with the larger latch and it seems okay now. If yours is straight, you can adjust your spring loaded catch by losening the nut at the base (13mm i think) and then using a screwdriver to twist the end of the catch and lengthen or shorten it. Lenthening it will reduce the amount of spring pressure and may make the hood less likely to pop if it was originally under alot of spring pressure. Also make sure that the nut at the base of the catch is tight after you adjust it or it will wobble from side to side and break loose. If this doesn't fix it, make sure there's nothing bouncing around in the front of your trunk area that is hitting the hood from underneath when you hit bumps and making the hood pop. Check and make sure that the latching piece in the front of your car that catches the spring loaded piece on your hood is well lubricated and moving freely.

Brad

Most likely cause is old, dried-out grease on the latch mechanism. Any good quality moly grease, applied after cleaning off the old grease, will do wonders for that latch.

If, after lubricating, the latch isn't 'snapping' or 'clicking' when you push down firmly ... then you may want to back the central stud out a turn or so, until you can hear the click of the latch mechanism.

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Warren is most likely correct. My latch sticks on my 79 SC. I can "fix" it by pushing the release handle back once I pop the hood.

GB

thanks for the tips. I will let you know how it works tomorrow as they are still filling the pot holes here in the North East.

Another thing to watch out for( I learned this in the middle of a CA to AL drive in my '73S): The latch has to be adjusted just right. If the cable is too tight the locking plate won't get enough "grab" on the dovetail bolt on the hood. If the cable is too loose the locking plate will also not get enough grab. It's designed this way so that if the cable breaks the latch will open. Good luck.