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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / '46-'48 Hood Latch Dowel Pin Spring & Cup

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Posted By Discussion Topic: '46-'48 Hood Latch Dowel Pin Spring & Cup -- page: 1 2     woodiewagon46 05-27-2017 @ 12:54 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 702 Joined: Nov 2012 I think that you are on the right track with your assumption. Ford probably painted the the assembly, as one piece as you say, in satin or gloss black and the cad plated pin inserted last. Ford could have specified from the supplier that the spring was to be painted black or left natural. As the spring came out of the coil winder it could have been dipped in black paint. We'll keep searching. One good thing is, that if no one knows the answer the judges can't deduct any points. len47merc 05-26-2017 @ 7:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Thanks for all the replies. woodiewagon46 - this '47 is actually a quite virgin, original multiple-Rouge award and Rouge Medallion Award recipient that not only I but multiple judges from multiple EFV8 Meets/Regionals missed the fact the hood spring and guide were missing from the dowel. I guess since it's over the head it's easy to overlook when your so focused on water pumps, engine patina, etc., etc. I am more than a bit embarrassed by it myself quite frankly and it's something I never thought or needed to look at when at Meets. To answer your other question, I have used the technical adviser on one occasion 3 years ago after exhausting all resources to obtain the answer to a relatively obscure point of detail that my legwork in advance of taking advantage of his volunteered time and free advice was greatly appreciated and garnered a more comprehensive set of data than I expected. I think with the replies herein (expecially TomO and Bob-93021's) and the data I've been able to gather outside of the Forum - including a non-rusted hood with original paint from a '46 found yesterday about an hour from here - that I have adequate, compelling evidence and data to move forward should I choose to go the paint route. At this point I plan on installing the used parts as is for the next Meet and Rouge judging pending final without-a-doubt confirmation. It seems I learn so much more about many other related and non-related subjects on this car - and others - when I get on one of these journeys to answer a question like this about a simple subject. Part of the fun to me - I'll get to the tech adviser if necessary but only after I've turned over ever leaf I can find. I am confident the dowel was left bare with a cadmium plate, and the guide was the proverbial gloss, 'er, 'ah, satin, 'ah, semi-gloss black. The spring remains a bit of a puzzle but given the used one now in-hand and the one on the hood referenced above both have sparse remnants of black paint on them, and TomO's original Lincoln shows a likely-dipped spring, that the preponderance of the evidence more than suggests this was originally black. Before anyone asks how could I have missed the missing spring and dowl, the cable for the hood release has been so stiff since obtaining the car in 2013 that when pulling the hood release the friction in the cable exceeded the strength of the spring at the latch to pull it back. To date I've simply pulled the release, it stayed pulled back and I'd get out of the car and open the safety catch and the hood. After a very good tip from TomO to coat the outside of the cable with speedometer cable lubricant it now snaps back as designed - BUT - I can no longer open the hood without an assistant. Given the release now snaps back/responds to the latch spring and there are no dowel spring and guide to pop the hood up when the hood release/latch is out of the way of the dowel lock flange, well, the hood stays locked unless someone else is outside the car to lift the hood while the latch is open. Had I lubed it as I should have back in 2013 I'd have had to pursue the spring and guide to open the hood - focus was just too much on getting the suspension safe and rock solid, getting it running and mechanically dependable and sound and lastly to Meets. Sloppy on my part due to my then eagerness to get it running and focusing on more fundamental issues I know but '...that's the way it is...'. It has become second nature so much to open the hood this way I never thought any more about it until a few weeks back. Thanks Bob for the great pic - very helpful to me and greatly appreciated for your effort to fish this out of the attic as well as weigh in with your reply! Thanks again to all - I'll swing back by later if the 'smoking gun' surfaces with our tech adviser. Think we've already seen a puff or two from the barrel with everything you guys have come up with thus far on this point of detail. Cheers - Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 5-26-17 @ 7:30 PM woodiewagon46 05-26-2017 @ 3:49 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 702 Joined: Nov 2012 Len, have you tried the V-8 Club advisor for '46, '47 and '48 cars? His number is listed in the V-8 Times. Bob-93021 05-26-2017 @ 3:39 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 47 Joined: Jan 2011 Len47, I was looking for a totally unrelated part in the attic and I found this latch assy. It came from our family basement many years ago. I compared it to my 47 sedan and seems to be identical. The cup looks to be painted gloss black. The spacer with a flat surface is also gloss black. It does appear that the part was dipped since there is sort of a bubble on the spacer. The bullet is un-painted. Not sure what plating used back then but could be clear zinc, Cad or Nickel? Just another data point to confirm what others have observed - Bob len47merc 05-25-2017 @ 10:33 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Thanks Tom - that's as good an indicator as I can find so far and what I strongly suspected. The original dowel shows a cadmium patina but not having the original spring and guide, or previously never having the reason to look for this at our Meets, I've nothing to go on other than your and woodiewagon46's feedback. Thought I'd reach out to Bill Large as well. The used spring and guide I found in Kansas appear to have remnants of black paint on them but no way of knowing if it's original paint or no. Patina suggests yes but want to have more compelling data such as yours before proceeding. Hate to go on the preponderance of evidence but sometimes that's all you can do. Thanks again Tom. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 5-25-17 @ 10:39 AM TomO 05-25-2017 @ 10:08 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 For what it is worth, the ones on my 53 Lincoln are painted gloss black. The paint on the spring is still in good condition, but the cup paint is chipped where it meets the dowel catch. The dowel pin is cad plated. I believe that the 41-48 cars also had painted springs and cups. It was pretty common for Ford to use the dipping enamel for small parts that were made of steel and most springs that were exposed. Tom woodiewagon46 05-25-2017 @ 7:38 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 702 Joined: Nov 2012 Time for someone with an original car to chime in. If I had to guess, I would think that Ford specified cad plate or some other plated finish, whether it was furnished from a supplier or Ford itself. I don't think they were painted because of the abuse they would take opening and closing of the hood. The spring might be natural finish (steel). TomO 05-25-2017 @ 7:29 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 If they were painted, it would have been in a gloss black dipping enamel like all black frame and engine parts. Tom len47merc 05-24-2017 @ 3:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Looking for advice - were the parts shown in the link in the original post of this discussion above (the dowel, guide and spring) originally painted (assume satin/semi-gloss black) or left bare metal? I have read through the '41-'48 Ford Book and cannot find this detail referenced. What was the standard in this regard for other adjacent models & years if you are not conversant with the '46s-'48s? Thanks in advance - Steve len47merc 05-12-2017 @ 3:28 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Found them! Literally in a private boneyard in very rural western Kansas. And as usual, just when you start to think you know everything about your car you learn something new. Steve

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