73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

[Eric P.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Here is a close up picture of my hose and canister, and a picture that shows my hood clearance when fully opened. I can not actually get my fingers between them, but as you can see there is approximately 1/8" of clearance between the hood and the hose. I am the second owner of this car, and have a detailed log of all repairs made from the first owner. I feel certain these are all the original parts, and they have never been removed from the car.

If I can be of more help, let me know.
Eric

[Douglas C.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Here is a close up picture of my hose and canister, and a picture that shows my hood clearance when fully opened. I can not actually get my fingers between them, but as you can see there is approximately 1/8" of clearance between the hood and the hose. I am the second owner of this car, and have a detailed log of all repairs made from the first owner. I feel certain these are all the original parts, and they have never been removed from the car.

If I can be of more help, let me know.
Eric

Thanks Eric. I don't know the full history of my car but it's a Top Flight csr and from a very experienced NCRS owner, known for restoring 73's and I'm sure he started with a quality piece. 1/8" movement would fix it, so maybe just the slight difference in the elbow fitting to the actuator. Doug

[Douglas C.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Just realized looking at a schematic of system, should my actuator elbows be pointing in instead of out. Is this why my hood hits the hoses? Doug 20211101_131855.jpg

[Mark E.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

They point out, at least for 70-72. I suspect newer models are the same.

[Eric P.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Doug,

Mine are pointing out, like yours are in the pictures you posted.

Eric

[Douglas C.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Doug,

Mine are pointing out, like yours are in the pictures you posted.

Eric

Thanks. When opening hood my passenger side hose just clears, driver side hose hits enough to pop hose off elbow after about three openings. As there is no actuator adjustment I'm thinking of small vice grip to hold elbow base and twist the tip down & in about 1/8". Thoughts? Tks. Doug

[Eric P.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Doug,
You mention the previous owner, and his knowledge in your Post #17 above. Have you reached out to him and asked about this when he completed the restoration? If it is who I think it is, it seems he would be willing to help. If there is no good answer then maybe it is time to tweak it and see what happens. Worst case maybe Bob Demmel can make a repair like Mark suggested in Post #11.

Good luck!
Eric

[Douglas C.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Doug,
You mention the previous owner, and his knowledge in your Post #17 above. Have you reached out to him and asked about this when he completed the restoration? If it is who I think it is, it seems he would be willing to help. If there is no good answer then maybe it is time to tweak it and see what happens. Worst case maybe Bob Demmel can make a repair like Mark suggested in Post #11.

Good luck!
Eric

Eric,

Yes, good suggestions. I may just give him a call, it's a beautiful restoration and he is very friendly. I just felt a little funny calling in case it was something obvious I was not seeing. Was also not sure if it is inappropriate to mention names when buying cars from members even though I couldn't be happier with the quality of the car. Car was used very little and I imagine the guy didn't notice this small issue. Tks. Doug

[Mark E.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

I'm repeating myself but here you go- The most likely outcome of trying to bend the tube is a cracked or broken solder joint. You might unbolt the canister from the casting and make sure the interface on both pieces are clean and allow a tight fit.

[Douglas C.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

I'm repeating myself but here you go- The most likely outcome of trying to bend the tube is a cracked or broken solder joint. You might unbolt the canister from the casting and make sure the interface on both pieces are clean and allow a tight fit.

Thanks. I've checked and it's a clean spotless tight fit. Just driver side hose scraping the hood. I'm tempted to put a small Vice grip on base of elbow to secure soldered joint and gently bend the elbow top down about 1/8". I really don't think any other choice except send it out to have elbow repositioned. Figure try my thought first. Doug

[Douglas C.]

Re: 73 headlight actuator hose hitting hood

Ok, I spoke with the member who did the restoration and also called Bob Demmel who said it should be easy to bend the tube slightly, inserting a thin round screwdriver in the elbow tip. So I'll try my above method....when I get the nerve up. Doug