1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

When i last closed my hood it seems the whole hood had shifted forward 3/8-1/2". It did latch tho upon remembering it was harder to close the latch down :(

Any suggestions on how to unlatch it? I can not get the main latch to lift. Tried to look between the grill bars but dont really know what to look for to try and get it to release, plus i have a sheet metal air deflector covering the latch area.

Sorry if I'm not using the correct terms for the parts :(

This is a hot rod/street rod, not an original.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Maybe it's an engine transplant rejection, like a body rejecting a transplanted kidney.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Have you tried pressing down on the hood while you try to pull up on the latch? Its going to be tough if it is jammed somehow.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

do you still have the front fender cross support bar? if so remove the center bolt and raise it up-doing this will also raise the hood and let the latch slide back a little

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Does the air deflector prevent you from putting a bread knife between the grill and hood to push the release lever?

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

A 40 is nothing like the 41 in the photo.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

If the hood actually shifted forward 3/8-1/2” there should be a huge gap at the rear of the hood and cowl. The only way I can see that happening is the hinges must be loose . Might try shoving the hood back towards rear.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

I agree with Ken that your best option is to push that hood back. Towels around front nose of hood and check that the back hood edge is not hung up. Maybe a few wood tongue depressors or plastic shims to help it on it's way.

Pushing on the hook part of the latch is not going to help. The whole latching system is eccentric and kept in position with springs. Removing the hood handle pin would release the hook but there is no way for you to get at it with a closed hood, installed motor and radiator.

Worse case is that you'll have to remove the grill sliding it out to the front off of the hood latch hook.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Glenn, so the black "hook" I'm seeing in your first picture is the "latch"? Could you post a photo of the area in front of the radiator where the "hook" engages?

I've tried shoving the hood to the rear while trying to lift the latch, can't get the hood to budge. Also, tried to shove the hook rearward while lifting the latch.

Could someone also post a picture of the " front fender cross support bar" that Alan mentioned?

Thx, for the assistance guys.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Okay, I just took a bunch of pictures. Do you have the stock grill center sheet metal? There is a metal tab that contacts a raised portion of this sheet metal that if in the down position, prevents the handle from moving. Normally when you close the hood this is pushed up out of the way and the handle can be moved. If it is hanging down for some reason, this could be why the handle can't be moved.

The fender brace that Alan mentioned is behind the radiator, close to the engine, and is not going to help you in getting the hood open.

Glenn

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Glenn, thx for the pics, gives me a better idea of what I'm trying to see thru the grill.

My release tab appears to be in the up position.

Would it maybe help if i disassemble the grill? Going to be a pain try to get hands/wrenches up from the bottom.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

You're welcome!

If you can get another set of hands, it would be worth pushing or tapping on the "hook" while pressure is held on lifting the handle. The handle can be broken easily though so make sure whoever is helping knows this. There is something wrong with the opening levers I think.

Can you take some pictures through the gap in this area below the hood front? It could help.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

... and yes disassembly the grill and pushing toward the front will get you clear of the “hook”.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

There is a secondary lever that is rounded on the end that has a spring that goes forward that may have broken. If that lever that contacts the cross piece at the top of the grille is in the wrong position, the main handle cannot be lifted to work the latch. There are 2 springs under there on the linkage, one that goes straight up, and one that goes forward. The small hooked secondary catch is not your problem. If you look in the Drake catalog there is a diagram of the whole latching mechanism which is different for a V8 (std) then a Deluxe. If you cannot lift the handle, this piece with the rounded end must be involved.

P.S. The lever with the rounded end is visible in the next to last of glennpm's pictures.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Hi Dreamweaver,


How is it going? Pictures?

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

My iPhone doesn't like trying to take a photo thru the small opening :(

As you can see there is about a 1/2" gap at the front of the hood to grill interface, it is "locked" solid, I cant push down or rearward on the hood, it doesn't budge.

The secondary latch at the very front of the hood is loose, I can move it back and forth, but it doesn't change anything.

Looking thru the opening I can see the "hook" in the down position but the release tab is full in the up position.

In regards to grill disassembly, would you recommend I attempt to remove just the chrome grill, not the sheet metal sides? Of course if i can remove the chrome grill, the air deflector is probably still blocking access to the latch mechanism inside the hood.

Anyone with a spare stick of dynamite?

Its been 100-115 in the garage, I need to wake up real early to tackle this.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Thanks for the update.

It looks like your air deflector is hanging kind of loose and down but if the release tab is all the way up, it shouldn't be effecting you.

Maybe you can get someone to help you lifting the handle while you push and tap on the hook first thing some morning when the temp is more reasonable.

No, taking out just the chrome center pieces won't get you off the hook although you may be able to see the hangup and get at the handle levers easily. Look at the pictures I posted especially the second one in my post #10.

I'm very curious about this and have never had this happen to me. I've had my 40 for many years.

Glenn

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Below are photos I just took of my 40 DeLuxe hood mechanism. Ignore the 2 pieces of cardboard placed on the underside of the hood to block air flow where the hood mechanism is located. Look very closely at the photos and you will see the spring that is attached to the little hood release lever (see photo 6) used to release the outside chrome hood handle so that when that chrome hood handle is lifted upward the big HOOK moves backward to allow total release of the hood. NOTICE that the front of that same spring is literally hooked over the lip of the rectangular hole in the top hood mechanism brace. You can see where that spring "hooks" over the lip in photos 1,3,4,6,and 7.

I bet if you slid a thin piece of metal with a "hook shape" on the end in between the space between the top of your grille and the hood you could unhook the front of that spring by pulling it forward, thereby releasing the pressure on the big HOOK that secures the hood. Because that big HOOK is now "free" you could now push it fully rearward and release the hood completely so it would open. Please examine photos closely. Might be worth trying as current situation is dire.

As a last resort you could loosen or remove the hood hinges where they bolt to the cowl but, that might make re-aligning the hood very difficult as you would have altered the location of the hinges and getting them back into the exact same location might be difficult also.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

When I got my first 40 the release handle was broken off just the pivot part remained and it was frozen in place. I got a mirror with a extension handle and went up between the rad. and the motor to see how to release it. I pulled the pin that goes thru the top of the hook for the release pulled out the linkage to the lever and tapped the top of the hook forward till the hood opened. This was on a car with a flathead with the fan removed from the motor, hope you have some room between your motor and rad. that you can do the same. This took me all day to do cause the rad is higher than the hook when the hood is closed and you have to work from feel not sight. A bore scope might help to do this if you have or can barrow one.

Re: 1940 tudor deluxe hood latch help needed!
 

Hey gentlemen,

SUCCESS!

Finally had to take the 40 to a guy with a lift as I couldnt get my car high enough to get under it properly.

He used a longgggg screwdriver to apply pressure to the nose of the hook while a mate pulled up on the outside release handle, it finally popped open!

2 of the main actuating rods were badly bent, the rubber bumper that the "secondary" safety arm presses against was gone.

I included a pic of one of the hood hinges, this may have been the root cause, drastically bent.

Got everything straightened and tightened up, smooth as butter now.

Thanks for all of your assistance.