55.2-59 Hood wont close

[lynx5653]

The hood on my 55-2 wont go down in the front, further up on drivers side. The pictures show only drivers side. Any suggestions on what I need to do.

[mongocanfly]

is it against the hood bumpers?

[lynx5653]

no not touching bumpers.

[idbeast]

It appears you are using repop (aftermarket) hood and fender. I had to cut my hood and reweld mine to make them fit like I wanted.

[lynx5653]

It was the same with original fenders and hood. Just where did you cut to make it fit? I cant seem to see anyplace hood is hitting to stop it from closing all the way. All I can figure is core support may be to high and the latch is holding hood up in the front.

[mr48chev]

If you remove the latch does it close right? I'd get it all lined up without the latch and then figure out how to adjust the latch placement so that it fit and worked right.

[mongocanfly]

Somethings obviously holding it up....like 48 suggested...remove the latch and see what happens
Can you push down on that hood corner and make it go down any more?does it seesaw on the hood latch?

[lynx5653]

Already removed latch plate no help, am now working on lowering front of fenders. have to redo core support bracket in order to do so. Will try and post progress as I attempt this. was just now working on replacing right fender ,when I opened bax it was another left fender big hold up on any real progress I was hoping to make.

[dsraven]

before reworking anything start by checking the basics. ensure the rubber bumpers are all installed in the door openings and under the hood etc. the front end sheet metal fitment is dependent on the cab placement for alignment. with that in mind check the cab mounts, front and rear. i mean the integrity of the mounts on the sheet metal of the cab as well as the actual rubber parts. this whole area needs to be solid and is one of the most rusty spots on these trucks due to water entry through the grille in front of the windshield that runs down the cowl and, if the cowl drains plug, the water enters the cab through the kick panel vents and sits on the floor, rusting things out and making the area soft. the cab basically sits right on the frame at the front and a set of rubber blocks at the rear. the cab needs to be sitting level on the frame in order for the rest of the system to work properly. check the assembly manual to ensure the spacing is correct at the rear between the cab and the frame. if all is good there then ensure your door hinges are solid and adjust the doors to fit the cab properly. this needs to be done to get the door to fit the hole properly and get the door seals to seal properly. adjust the doors without the latches installed so the door freely fits the opening without the latch pulling it into the correct position. then adjust the front of the cab to sit properly so the body line is parallel with the frame. installing shims under the front of the cab will get this right unless there is no room for shims, in which case you will need to shim the rear cab mounts. then check the rad support for rot and integrity and also the rubber mounts below that so the rad support can be bolted in. then get the fenders fit to the doors, the rad support height can be adjusted to get that body line and door to fender gap sitting as square as possible. there are shims to install under the rear of the fenders at the upper mount, as required for fender height and the lower mount for fender in and out adjustment. next is to ensure the hood hinges are in good condition and free moving, lubed etc. then install the hood and adjust to fit. there may be shims required between the fenders and the upper section of the rad support, as required, to get the hood to fit between the fenders properly. when all that is done install and adjust the hood latch. sometimes the hood fitting like yours is a simple hood hinge binding issue and can be fixed with a bit of lube. it does look like the hood needs to come ahead some though.
remember these old trucks didn't fit well when they were new. it's why there are articles on gap fitments.
check classic trucks site, they are redoing a task force and have a few articles on "minding the gaps". the latest issue has one on door fitment.
this is just the way i do it but seems to work.

maybe this will help as well.
look around sheet 47 area for cab mounting instructions
https://www.trifive.com/55-59Assy.pdf

[Clarance J]

Hi lynx5653. One of the things that has not been mentioned yet is the cross brace under the hood. New brace/old brace/no brace. I had the same problem on my 55.2. When I removed the cross brace I could twist the hood to line up better with the fender. It doesn't take much. Take the two front bolts out and see what happens. good luck.

Earl

[mr48chev]

DSRaven said it before I did. FIRST Make sure that the cab is level on the frame and the right distance off the frame.

I don't know if the TF assembly manual has the info like the AD truck manual does but having the front and rear of the cab spaced correctly off the frame is very critical with AD trucks and I'd think just as critical with TF trucks.

[lynx5653]

Thanks for all the advice and info. guess it is back to the drawing board and take truck apart to find the problem.

[my56chevytruck]

Originally Posted by lynx5653

Thanks for all the advice and info. guess it is back to the drawing board and take truck apart to find the problem.

Before you go to the extreme of taking everything apart, are you using the prescribed cab mounts? Do you have everything tightened down? Are the fenders mounted up to the radiator support and tightened down? My simple recommendation is to loosen everything up first and foremost and lay the hood in place without your hood hinges mounted and see how it lays first. You merely could have fenders/radiator support crooked to begin with. Start with the simple things by loosening everything up and see how the hood lays then start tightening everything a little at a time.

[dsraven]

another question I would have is was the frame checked for straight and sag before assembly was started? it's always best to start with a good foundation and work from there.
-straight frame
-sag free frame
-cab solid around all mounts. door hinge pillars solid. floor solid, lower fender mounts solid
-good or new cab mount rubbers. installed and checked to ensure the cab height dimension from the frame is within specs. cab bolted down tight
-anti-squeak shims in place under front cab to frame mounts
-cab is square to frame and parallel with frame rails
-door hinge pillars solid, top to bottom and under floor area. also front fender mount brackets at bottom of hinge pillars are solid.
-hinges in good shape and operate properly
-door fit into opening properly. bolted to hinges and no apparent slop in the system. these trucks are known to rust out or crack inside the doors where the hinge mounts are located and this can have an effect on the door fitment, allowing the door to flex and making it difficult to get the door to fit the same way twice after opening and closing a few times
-after the cab is fit and checked, fit the doors (no latches until the door fits good) and check gaps etc before assembling and fitting gaps for the front sheet metal
-rad support solid and mounts good or new
-front sheet metal mounting points solid
-assemble front sheet metal loosely and check fitment as you move parts around to get fitment and gaps as you like them. no hinges or hood latch assembly yet. use wooden paint sticks as gap checking tools and/or to hold a gap in an area while you snug fasteners. shim under top rear area of fender at the cowl to achieve the correct height with fender. use shims between lower rear mount and cab bracket to achieve proper fitment against door. keep the "X" brace installed but not tightened up under the hood until you get things right. it's nice not to have an engine in the bay at this point because you can slip under the truck and come up inside the engine bay in order to tighten fasteners or install/adjust hinges when the time comes for that. fender washers also work well to keep a gap on each side of the hood to fender joint. stack a few together the same on each side to keep things the same.
-a couple of magnets and string line ran fore to aft at the body line will assist you to keep the parts parallel as you go. if fitting and then disassembling for paint drill a small hole through the parts in areas like door hinges so when you reassemble you can use a line up device and/or a pin that fits the hole so you get it all back together the same. less scratches that way.
post up some pics as you go so we can see how you are progressing. if the task seems more than you can handle just start at the beginning and do a task at a time. soon you will be done.

[lynx5653]

All the info and suggestions given to me make a lot of sense and I should have check all those things as truck was being put together. However I did not do the assembly myself, I paid to have the truck built with the understanding the people I paid knew what to do. Truck was all put together runs and drives I am just trying to get a better fitment of body panels before I attempt any needed minor body work and paint. Truck is very solid no sign of any rust or major damage to any parts. I have to assume that all that offered me advise did not read my signature stating it is 55-2 on an 86 chassis. Knowing this I have no reference points to measure since manual only gives points on original frame. I will still try to follow suggestions the best I can and hope for a better outcome .For the most part door gaps look pretty good to me it is the front sheet metal giving me problems. Will do my best to level and square cab to frame. Then start hanging front sheet metal according to directions given from others on this forum. I do not plan or want to remove engine ,trans or other major parts just to achieve perfect gaps which is almost impossible anyway. my main concern was really just getting hood to close properly but I guess that has opened a whole new can of worms. Really want truck on the road by spring just looking decent not like a show truck as it will be used daily for work related tasks.


I thank you all for your replies and suggestions and hope I can accomplish this task without too much hard work or a lot of swearing.
David

[mongocanfly]

"all that offered me advise did not read my signature stating it is 55-2 on an 86 chassis"
yep....I missed that

[my56chevytruck]

Having said that, I agree with you. Don't remove a thing, but try simply removing the hood hinges and lay your hood back on and see if it lays down properly. Perhaps it is twisted or the hinges could be mounted incorrectely. Good luck

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by lynx5653

hope I can accomplish this task without too much hard work or a lot of swearing.
David

Most of my automotive projects require hard work and swearing

I am fighting with the hood fitment on my 53 AD so I feel your pain.

Wade

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by my56chevytruck

Having said that, I agree with you. Don't remove a thing, but try simply removing the hood hinges and lay your hood back on and see if it lays down properly. Perhaps it is twisted or the hinges could be mounted incorrectely. Good luck

Good point there. Eliminate things that might be wrong that you (and we) didn't think of before. you can probably just take the hood loose from the hinges and let the hinges drop down and set the hood back on and see if it fits on the nose right and then figure it out from there. No cost except time.

The stand back and look from 20/30 ft away comes into play here too.

Is the front of the cab slightly down compared to the nose in that the gap at the bottom of the fender is slightly wider than at the top or the opposite is it close at the bottom and wide at the top. A shim under the body mount or a shim under the nose mount might be all it needs. Its close enough that you don't have to take it apart but you still may have to do some fine tuning.

[mr48chev]

It looks like the gap between the fender and the door is noticeably tighter at the bottom than the top meaning that the front of the nose may be slightly low.

I'd still go with that roll it out the door where you can get back and look at it and see if it all lines up right. Take a couple of photos for other eyes to look it over.

Still there are a lot of threads on this board and most every other hot rod or truck board about guys fighting with reproduction sheetmetal parts. Quite often the parts that were stamped in one GM factory as apposed to another don't all fit the same let alone those that were reproduced by an outside aftermarket source using an oem piece for the pattern.

[lynx5653]

To add to my frustration I just opened my right side fender box only to discover a left hand fender. Now have to wait for a replacement before I can continue. Original fender had some weak mounting points that I did not want to deal with so bought new.

Oh well such is life.

Thanks again for all replies. Will keep this thread going as I progress.
David

[mr48chev]

When it rains it pours.

[mongocanfly]

Just remember....dont expect a good fit from a repop....

[lynx5653]

I had fitment problems with oe parts and so far repo parts seem to be fitting ok just not the hood.

Will do what I can to make it look good to me. After all it is going to be a work truck don't expect to win any awards for it.

[duramax55]

hi if you want to see if th fender is lined up horizontly you can run a string on the body line from back of cab to front of fender . Tape a string on the body line and put something under the string so it is not touching the body if string follows the line then fender and cab are straight. some of the repro can be way off and some are not bad. Could maybe return hood and get another one. did you put the cross brace in and how did it go on maybe remove brace and see what happens. Good luck