Hood hinges spacers

[heavy71chevy]

I put new hood hinges with new springs on my 71 Chevelle and can't get the hood to line up the way it should be. I'm thinking I need to put a spacer or shim between the hinge and the fender. I haven't been able to find any so far. Does anyone know where I can find some spacers(shims) or something that would be acceptable to use?

Thanks.

Darrell

[Hank70SS]

What's wrong with the alignment? There are no shims used behind the hinges. There are shims used behind the fenders which will move the fender and hinge in or out. Up/down, front/back is accomplished by rotating the hinge on the fender or sliding the hood on the hinge. The bolt holes in the hinges are slotted so you can make these adjustments.

[Ms Grumpy]

Are you having problems with it aligning with the front, or the fenders, or are you having problems with the hood being higher near the windshield. All of these can be corrected like Hank said. It can take a while to get it right so be patient.

[heavy71chevy]

I'm having a problem with the hood hinge on the driver's side binding up and with it moving toward the fender. I'm thinking if I can put a spacer(shim) between the hinge and the fender, it would cause the hood to go up and down straighter. The hood is a little high toward the windshield but I can take care of that thru adjustments. I've seen where I can get hood hinge spacers (they are U shaped) that are for a 68-72 Cutlass. I assume they would work since the body styles are very similar. Thanks for your help.

[Hank70SS]

I haven't seen them on a Chevelle. You could also use body or alignment shims, they're cheap, available at most parts stores, different thicknesses, u shaped.

[heavy71chevy]

I'm going to try some body alignment shims. I think I need to start with the driver's side fender. It seems to be too far in. Can I just put some shim(s) behind the fender where the door hinge is? Thanks.

[Hank70SS]

Yes, you can shim the top of the fender where it bolts in at the top. Above/behind the hinge at the bottom of the A pillar. This will affect how the door lines up with the fender. It will move the fender out, if it's too far you can move the top door hinge out as well.

[shadowgray396]

If the hood hinges are after market one I would return them and rebuild the original factory hinges. Most after market ones are junk.

[heavy71chevy]

Ok. So I bit the bullet and bought some rebuilt original hinges off of Ebay. Hopefully I can send back the repro ones I bought before. One of them got bent out of shape though so they probably won't take them back. :-( I also used some shims to get the fender where I think it needs to be. Hopefully my hood issues will be resolved next week. Thanks for all of the advice!

[shadowgray396]

The only guy I trust with hinges is Willie from Wison Antique car parts, He redid all of mine and does excellent work. He also fix my hood latch for me and refinished them. Also does door hinges.

http://www.hoodhingerepair.com/