Help with 78 hood hinges (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Mar 28, 2007
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18
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74
Location
Congress, AZ
Can anyone tell me why my hood hinges are pushing the hood so far forward? Without hinges on the hood sits even with the front bib and without the huge gap at the rear. Thanks guys.

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Are they adjusted all the way aft? There's some play, at least in the cowl side.
 
On backwards?
 
There’s also adjustment in the fenders/aprons/bib to help align.
Recent body bushings or anything? The hood gap at the rear looks bigger at the bottom, meaning the hood is higher at the front, which can cause it to stick out. To correct this, the tub would be shimmed up at the front. Or, if the body bushings weren’t replaced but the packing under the bib hinge was, it could be too high.
Side note: is it RHD or are the pic mirrored/reversed? I see the louvers look like they are on left side (by kick vent).
 
There’s also adjustment in the fenders/aprons/bib to help align.
Recent body bushings or anything? The hood gap at the rear looks bigger at the bottom, meaning the hood is higher at the front, which can cause it to stick out. To correct this, the tub would be shimmed up at the front. Or, if the body bushings weren’t replaced but the packing under the bib hinge was, it could be too high.
Side note: is it RHD or are the pic mirrored/reversed? I see the louvers look like they are on left side (by kick vent).
Every bushing is new including the packing under the bib hinge. The side pads and front pads that the hood rests on are also new. I dont know that I can shim the tub up as it's got a cage that goes through the floor and ties into the frame. Pics aren't mirrored, louvers are forward of the kick vents on both sides.

I removed the hood hinges, pushed the hood back to close up the rear gap. It sits 3/8" further forward when hinges are on.
 
looks like some slop/play in the hinge itself, seems the hood half is more towards the front, looking at it in the first pic
 
looks like some slop/play in the hinge itself, seems the hood half is more towards the front, looking at it in the first pic
I see what you are talking about in that pic and it is slightly offset (maybe 1/16") it's really just the lighting making it appear offset further than it is. The bushings and pins are new and hinges are tight.
 
I recently was setting up my dog house b4 bodywork and paint to check the gaps and fitment. I played around with the various panels and found the bib location was very important. I intially loosely bolted on the fenders, aprons and bib, then bolted the hood on. I 1st evened up the hood and tub gaps as best I could. I had to push it back and towards the left, then set/pushed the bib and aprons under it. Are your fenders stk or aftermarket? I also had to rework the aprons flanges where they meet the fenders so there was no gap between the two. I found the apron curves didnt match the profile of the new oem Toyota fenders. In your 1 pic it appears the apron is too far forward is creating a gap where fender starts to turn down towards the frt. I then worked on the gaps between the aprons and tub along with their elevation. It was a lot of minor tweeking here and there, after finding the proper bib location.
 
The frame slopes down where the bib hinge bolts on and has a lot of adjustment. This will help lower the frt of the hood.
 
The hood gap isn't particularly tight (you can see mine is fairly wide below - I can run my pinky finger down through it). It should be even/square, though...my money is that the front clip just needs adjustment forward, which will also drop it down to get that vertical gap even. You should have a good apron-to-cowl gap at that point too, although that is also not a tight gap.

It does take quite a bit of arguing with it to get everything straight.

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Try a quarter inch shim under the front drivers side body mount. I would also test fit doors and top at the same time. Unbolt fender to tub under the cowl to let fenders float. Only way I got stuff close was everything loose. The top to windshield frame and door to top corner have to be set at the same time as the hood. Taiwan fenders are not perfect and take a lot of tweaking. I gave up and went oem fenders . They aligned in hours not days
 
“Pics aren't mirrored, louvers are forward of the kick vents on both sides.”

Ha. I never even realized the newer ones had louvers on both sides. I guess I’m so used to the early 70’s tubs.
 
Thanks guys. I tried and tried moving the body around, but with my cage going through the body and my tube fenders bolted to the front bib , side skirts and frame, I just couldn't get anything to move. I decided to make my own body gaps ☺ I cut 3/8 out of my hinges right next to the pivot point and welded them back together. Gaps are perfect now 😉 😉

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