MTFCA Forum

This is the clip on my 26/27 radiator shell. PO had no lacing on the shell. Other clips I have felt are in the upright position which would allow for some spacing for lacing. With this clip, if I install lacing, it will cause the hood to sit at a higher level than this clip. No room under the clip to pass lacing under, so it would have to be two seperate strips of lacing.
I'm not feeling a weld or how this clip is attached. I don't want to start prying it up and break it off and have nothing.

Am I overthinking this clip? Or, not thinking enought?

I believe you use two strips, one on either side of the clip, and leave the clip just as it is. With new lacing, the hood may rest a little higher than before, but it will soon settle when the car is driven and the lacing takes a set.

But, won't the lacing push the hood hinge rod upward and out of the clip? I'm envisioning the hinge rod being down at the clip level and the actual hood sheet metal being up by the thickness of the lacing causing my hood to keep coming out of the clip.

Robert, the lacing goes between the shell and the radiator, under that clip, through the holes either side, in one piece. If you have no room for this it is likely due to the non original radiator you have. The top tank pressings are not usual Ford designs.

Allan from down under.

Allan is correct on lacing. You need to install the lacing on the shell when the shell is not on the car. Lacing is installed by weaving in and out of the holes. Start the two ends at the top, then work down each side. When you install the shell, the lacing will compress.

Two strips of lacing. They are separated by the clip in the center. Those rivets must be removed and new ones placed to hold the lacing in place. When you have the hood in place, the center rod is placed into the clip at the back which completely encircles the rod. The rod in the front just goes down into the clip. When the hood is latched on both sides the front of the rod will remain centered in the clip. Some radiator shells have the lacing woven in and out of holes, but the type you have has rivets.
Norm

So, the lacing serves a dual purpose? To cushion the hood from the shell as well as protection between the shell and the radiator?
I have a strip of leather that is too wide to go through the holes without curling, so I was thinking of just rubber cementing a long strip on the outside of the shell for hood protection and appearance and to even the leather strip I have on the firewall. Sounds like if I go that route, I would also need to slue some on the backside.
Trying to save on shipping...but it sounds like I just need to purchase the correct lacing and weave it through the hole s before assembly.

If I start at two holes, one on either side of the clip, presume I start on the underside and come up through the two holes and then weave in and out across the top and down the sides. Just leave ends loose? Or is there a rivet or some sort of attachment?

Robert - I used one piece of lacing on my ‘26. As John mentioned above, I centered it under the clip, worked down each side, trimmed and tucked each end inside the shell. This is how I found the old one. Whether this is correct way or not, it seemed to work. My hood is far from a precision fit on my T, but the radiator, shell and hood are some of the few things that don’t seem to rattle on Uncle Buck.