Lookings for pointers on adjusting the hood fit please

[wolfturbo]

I've been having a tough time adjusting the fit of the hood on my RS. In particular, the trailing edge closest to the windshield is not sitting flush with the cowl. It is actually resting about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch above the cowl. This lousy fit drives me CRAZY!

Anyhow, I heard that there is a trick or special secret that the Porsche oldtimers know where you put washers between the hood hinges and the hood and use them as spacers. My initial reaction to this is that it would only make the problem worse, but apparantly it is counterintuitive and actually reduces the angle of the hinges and therefore the height of the hood.

If anybody knows this trick, I'm all ears! In particular, do you put the washers on both bolts on each side or just the front or rear bolts. Thanks in advance to any oldtimers out there! Sweet dreams (of 550 Spiders in a barn!) to all.

[pjv911]

I noticed when I installed a fresh set of hood struts the line running down the fenders was different with the hood being about 1/8" higher. I fixed it by tightening the adjustment at the latch. At that time I also found the locknut on the male part of the latch was about 5 turns loose. So im not sure if it was the new struts or just the adjustment came loose. You could easily disconnect the tops of your hood struts and see if the gap disappears.

Kurt Williams

[earlycar]

where the hinges attach to the body you will find three bolts, loosen these and you can move the hinge down. then you will have to loosen the bolts on the hood to slide it back or foreward into proper position. good luck

[Jdub]

Wolf:

This is right down my alley. New hood struts put the hood above the cowl at the base of the windshield.

Since I had no spacers, and assumed that spacers would move the whole affair up, not down, I went ahead and first removed the new struts, then adjusted both sides of the hood down by way of the three bolts holding the hinge to the body proper. Okay, but not perfect when I put the new struts back in.

So I went ahead an replace the hinges, which it turned out had an awful lot of play in them. Found a pair of low-mileage Carrera hinges and they tightened things up considerably. Have a great fit now.

So short story is possibly new hinges, adjust with the struts out (and be sure to adjust low), and take your time. The fact that the hood "moved" after new struts tells you that there is slop in your hinges.

John