Hood Latch Problems

[GothingNC]

I go to close the front trunk the other day and the pin on the latch decides to to line up with the latch.

So like a typical male I slam the hood and break off the bolt that holds the spring to the hood.

I lucked out in having a spare bolt and still had the same problem whrn I replaced it.
The pin entering the latch is a little too far to the right (Driverside) When i use a screwdriver to shorten or extend the pin I noticed that it is slighly off center so it can go up, down, right or left when I am turning it. Is this normal for adjustment purposes?

So I turn the pin so that it is a little more central and close the hood and it locks. Now the hood release does not unlatch it but I can open the trunk with a very hard tug.

Could the latch that attaches to the hood be bent or should I just add hood pins and duct tape?

[Kubelmann]

You ask a good question. Hood latch allignement is near and dear to my heart. I suggest that you do this.

Loosen the screws that secure the hood to the body hinges. Then take the hood and gently set in so the latch bolt is exactly centered on the body latch. With these parts carefully aligned, tighten the hinge screws. This shouls solve your problem. If not, I have another thought that will also work. I currently have a 73 off-road Thing that has a perfectly working hood latch mechnanism. On the other hand I have a pal that has hood pins to hold down his hood. His wife just rolled his Thing and now the hood pins are very tight and difficult to hok up. Just back from Mexico and i was able to losen his hinge screws and make his hinge pins to allign with the hood plates. I definately plan for hood pins, a gas port and door latches that hold parts tight. As an alternate suggestion, ask around and find an old school body man who has the skills to do a latch allignment. If we hooked up and had a day to work the issue, I would make it work. K-mann

[GothingNC]

Thanks !
I'll take a look at the hood alignment.
I checked the cable and when it is pulled from inside the car the latch upfront opens all the way.
I'm also going to try a new latch because I think the old one is bent a little bit where the pin screws into.
I can close the trunk and can open it if I pull real hard. It might just be catching on the spring instead of the pin. I thought it was snug enough but driving home the other day it poped open a little bit, luckily the secondary latch worked.

If all else fails, I'll see if a body shop can align it.

[GothingNC]

Well I took a look at the latch again and the Pin is not going down perfectly straight which is causing the spring to catch on the bottom release.

I placed an order for a new one and I'll see if it fixes the problem.

[GothingNC]

Well I'm having a hard time finding a new latch.

The Thing Shop in AZ has been out of stock since October.

I'm going to see if Mike from Things Unlimited has one.

[GothingNC]

Well Mike at Things Unlimited had a new NOS latch in stock for a cheaper price than The Thing Shop and much cheaper the the German Motorworks in CA.

[Mattt]

Well I'm having a hard time finding a new latch.
The Thing Shop in AZ has been out of stock since October.
I'm going to see if Mike from Things Unlimited has one.

That latch can be had at any junkyard. If its the portion on the hood you need, go take a look in a junkyard for a Rabbit, Jetta, Golf, or Fox from the 1980s. Those latches are a dime a dozen in the junkyard.

[GothingNC]

Got the new hood latch and hooked it up.

Stinking hood still does not stay shut.

Grabbed hammer and ...(just kidding)

I adjusted the pin so that it is longer and the hood was too loose. I started to shorten it so that it grabbed in the lower latch but I was still able to pull it open without the release. I tried adusting the location of the latch by goining diagnal, forward and back with no luck.

If I take the latch off the hood and fasten it to the lower catch it locks fine and it flies through the air over the passger side fender when I pull the cable release. I was happy that there was nothing in harms way.

Looking at the hood straight on I noticed that the drivers side sits a little bit lower then the other side. Would a washer between the latch and hood help the lock alignment?

I haven't had any problems till a few weeks ago and no fat elephants sat on my hood recently.

If all else fails, I'll just start drilling holes for pins.

Thanks !

[GothingNC]

Had a few folks look at the hood and I still can't get it to hold.
It holds tight but once I hit a dip in the road it pops up.

I'm going to pick up the pins today.

Has anyone installed them?

If so, are there any special tools that I will need other then a drill & wrench?

Thanks !

[GothingNC]

Well I decided not to drill holes for installing hood pins. I could not locate my drill bit set or chuck key. Must have been an omen.

So I drove to the Asheville show using racing tape (Duct) to secure the hood. It worked OK and kept my wife awake as she was watching the strips of tape peeling up along the hood on interstate 40.

We got to the show and she looked at the pin of another Thing and adjjusted mine and now it works perfect.
I think I'll my my tool set over to her. I've spent hours playing around with it and a local VW shop spent some time and we had no luck. My wife fixed it in five minutes.

Show was really nice with a haor over 100 Things in attendance. There was an elderly lady in her mid-80's that drove 6 hours from VA in a White 73 in pritine condition. She drove with her 9 year old great-grand daughter and has a large stash of trophys. She even has a CD player in the Thing and is planning on hooking up a DVD system.

There was one original Kubelwagon and schwimmerwagon in attendance also.

A Turbo-drag Thing tried the slow drag but left stretch marks down the parking lot. It was an all steel body with tube chassis that lifts straight up from the back.

Now I have to go clean off the tape adhesive...