MTFCA Forum

My hood support rod keeps moving rearward. It only takes about 10 miles of driving for the rod to slide off off the cradle on the radiator. Is this normal? Is there a common fix?

I made a brass collar and silver soldered to the rod at the rear. It stopped the rod disappearing into the void at the firewall.

Allan from down under.

Maybe you could use a small prick punch and tighten the front loop of the hood to the rod, from the underside, fastening that loop, keeping the hinge rod from riding backwards.

On my '12 project someone in the past had the opposite problem with the hinge rod siding forward and letting the rear end come free at the hood former. So that clever fellow soldered a tab to the radiator for a stop

No. Your support rod is too short. Should have about 1/2” on each end.

MarkS wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 20, 2025 12:11 am

My hood support rod keeps moving rearward. It only takes about 10 miles of driving for the rod to slide off off the cradle on the radiator. Is this normal? Is there a common fix?

Mark, I had the same problem with my 1915 Runabout that I used to own. Dan's suggestion may work, or even a small blob of JB weld on the rod ahead of the forward hinge loop. Our 1911 hood hinge rod does not move at all for some reason.

jiminbartow wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 20, 2025 10:35 am

No. Your support rod is too short. Should have about 1/2” on each end.

The rod is fine. It drifts backwards in the hood hinge. A common problem.

I had the same problem. Used a deep center punch on the underside as suggested by Dan T.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I had previously used a center punch on the rod just forward of the hinge, hoping it would not slide back into the hinges but that didn’t work. I’ll try a bigger punch on the underside of the hinge to try to pin the sheet metal to the rod.

Why not get a 3/8 or 1/2 longer solid rod. That may a way to keep the original look instead of adding piece to keep it moving back. Or did Ford come out with a replacement longer rod if it was a common issue? Why was it cut a bit shorter?

John, there is no mention of it being cut shorter. As others tell, they can migrate, either forward or back, probably due to vibration. The radiator will stop it going too far forward, but the mod shown in one of the photos will stop it wearing a hole in the top tank. There is nothing for it to come up against at the back. It can disappear into the void in the hood shelf. The shoulder I soldered on stopped this, and helped disguise the worn hole in the shelf. The other trick is to do some damage to the hinge rod to make it a firmer fit in the panels.

Allan from down under.

Just an update. I ended up welding a piece of steel rod on the back end of the hood rod, about 1/2” long. The rod now bottoms out on the wood firewall and keeps the front end squarely in the radiator saddle.

Thanks all for your insights and advice.

-Mark

Here is how i fixed it: remove the rod and grind a depression into it about 1/2 inch from where it disappears into the center hinge. Then reinstall it and place a small dent into the underside of the hood hinge right at the spot where the depression is. It now stays put and can be removed later if needed. Problem solved.