Progress Thread Finally got my first Fox Body - 1988 GT
- Thread starter DudeStang
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Thanks for your message, man. I haven’t been on any of the forums lately. Work has been crazy busy, being a dad has been crazy busy, and I’ve had almost zero time to do anything in the garage recently…well, aside from dealing with some water leakage in my 2014 Mustang, which was lovely to discover.
Had to start going back to the office a few times a week recently so I’ve driven the Fox maybe twice in the last month.
I can’t complain too much though, since I am having a lot of fun with this dude.
Don't leave the keys lay'n around, he'll be taking that thing for a spin soon 
That’s awesome man! Those years go by too fast…… so make sure you enjoy them. The cars will be there when you’re ready…… and it looks like now you’ll have a helper!!Thanks for your message, man. I haven’t been on any of the forums lately. Work has been crazy busy, being a dad has been crazy busy, and I’ve had almost zero time to do anything in the garage recently…well, aside from dealing with some water leakage in my 2014 Mustang, which was lovely to discover.
Had to start going back to the office a few times a week recently so I’ve driven the Fox maybe twice in the last month.
I can’t complain too much though, since I am having a lot of fun with this dude.
The only thing I remember about kids that age is if it fits in their hand. It goes in their mouth so if your missing small screws or nuts and bolts just turn the kid upside down and shake'en a few times 
Ah....i remember when my kids were that age.
This is why it took me 3 years to redo the engine in my fox.
This is why it took me 3 years to redo the engine in my fox.
Finally had a little time over the weekend when I was hoping to take the Fox for a long drive but when I went to close the hood, it wouldn’t shut properly. 
Did some searching online and tried to get it fixed (will put a video up with more of my troubleshooting attempts soon) but couldn’t get it figured out.
Part of the issue seems to be that this little metal tab on the right is loose.
The main issue seems to be that the latch mechanism on the bumper isn’t lighting up with the opening on the hood. I tried a few times to adjust it but couldn’t get it right.
I eventually ran out of garage time before this dude wanted to come hang out but am hoping to get some more time in the garage this coming weekend to try and get it sorted so I can at least drive the car a bit.
Did some searching online and tried to get it fixed (will put a video up with more of my troubleshooting attempts soon) but couldn’t get it figured out.
Part of the issue seems to be that this little metal tab on the right is loose.
The main issue seems to be that the latch mechanism on the bumper isn’t lighting up with the opening on the hood. I tried a few times to adjust it but couldn’t get it right.
I eventually ran out of garage time before this dude wanted to come hang out but am hoping to get some more time in the garage this coming weekend to try and get it sorted so I can at least drive the car a bit.
The tab looks like it's riveted to the hood..and loose. Might have to install new rivets or another mechanism to attach it.
When you drill the rivets be very careful to not only not go all the way through the hood but the fiberglass part of the hood that the metal "sandwiches" may be broken and the rivets will just want to spin. I have seen that on one in the past and it was fixed but it takes someone that knows fiberglass how to do it correctly. Hopefully its just loose or the metal tab broke on the back side.
Thanks!
Thanks. Now I’m even more scared, lol.
Here’s some video footage of me doing dumb brainstorming and my first few attempts to fix the issue:
View: https://youtu.be/9CzugtM5jP8
Let me give you a couple things I'd do:
the hood worked fine, then something changed, I saw where the latch mechanism was loose so that was likely the 'start' of the problem, next the 'striker' (the piece on the hood) needs to be secured, looks to be riveted, and I believe the hood is fiberglass so care must be used, you don't want to pop a hole through it when drilling out the rivets, if you have a die grinder or dremmal tool grind the top of the rivets off. Inspect the holes, are they wallow'd out? Get the next size larger (aluminium) rivet or even a couple sizes bigger to fit the hole better. If you have to drill the holes in the striker bigger, do it off the hood.
Look at the striker, does it sandwich the hood material (U shaped) so the rivet squeezes the striker plate from the back too? Understand so far, good (I hope). If it does not squeeze from the back you should make a flat piece to go on top, the fiberglass is not strong enough and will crack and the striker will come loose again.
Now the striker is tight you can adjust the latch, here is an old trick that can work, look at the witness marks on the latch where the bolts leave a mark, I would start there, latch tight, close the hood lightly, DO NOT LATCH IT!!! Gently Push down and feel the latch hit the striker, does the hood want to move sideways? Lift the hood and move the latch to the opposite side a touch, ie: hood moves toward the drivers fender, move latch towards the passenger fender. Now gently push down on the hood, does it latch? If not, latch needs to move up, do this stuff a little at a time.
Note: the bump stops at the front corner of the radiator support can hold the hood up sometimes but yours should be good if the hood fit before.
Hope this helps.
the hood worked fine, then something changed, I saw where the latch mechanism was loose so that was likely the 'start' of the problem, next the 'striker' (the piece on the hood) needs to be secured, looks to be riveted, and I believe the hood is fiberglass so care must be used, you don't want to pop a hole through it when drilling out the rivets, if you have a die grinder or dremmal tool grind the top of the rivets off. Inspect the holes, are they wallow'd out? Get the next size larger (aluminium) rivet or even a couple sizes bigger to fit the hole better. If you have to drill the holes in the striker bigger, do it off the hood.
Look at the striker, does it sandwich the hood material (U shaped) so the rivet squeezes the striker plate from the back too? Understand so far, good (I hope). If it does not squeeze from the back you should make a flat piece to go on top, the fiberglass is not strong enough and will crack and the striker will come loose again.
Now the striker is tight you can adjust the latch, here is an old trick that can work, look at the witness marks on the latch where the bolts leave a mark, I would start there, latch tight, close the hood lightly, DO NOT LATCH IT!!! Gently Push down and feel the latch hit the striker, does the hood want to move sideways? Lift the hood and move the latch to the opposite side a touch, ie: hood moves toward the drivers fender, move latch towards the passenger fender. Now gently push down on the hood, does it latch? If not, latch needs to move up, do this stuff a little at a time.
Note: the bump stops at the front corner of the radiator support can hold the hood up sometimes but yours should be good if the hood fit before.
Hope this helps.
RE: the striker - it was definitely sandwiching the the hood (or at least the flat metal area that seems to be part of the hood).
The rivets went through to the back but you can see here that they are bent/broken.
I found a guy an hour and a half away selling what appears to be an OEM hood in white for $175. Trying to decide if I want to just go buy that rather than trying to replace the metal piece on this hood, lol. I’m sure I will still need to utilize the old trick to fix the alignment even with a “new” hood.
The rivets went through to the back but you can see here that they are bent/broken.
I found a guy an hour and a half away selling what appears to be an OEM hood in white for $175. Trying to decide if I want to just go buy that rather than trying to replace the metal piece on this hood, lol. I’m sure I will still need to utilize the old trick to fix the alignment even with a “new” hood.
Just drill the rivets out, get new ones and pop that mofo back in the hood. From there is adjust the latch mechanism and done. Total cost will be about $0.05 per rivet.
When you are riveting the metal piece back into the hood use a set of channel locks to compress the metal piece as tightly together (sandwiching the hood material) so that you are not using the rivet to compress and attach the metal piece to the hood. You will get a tighter fit doing this.
When you are riveting the metal piece back into the hood use a set of channel locks to compress the metal piece as tightly together (sandwiching the hood material) so that you are not using the rivet to compress and attach the metal piece to the hood. You will get a tighter fit doing this.
rednotch
Founding Member
I would rivnut that with some 1/4"-20 button head hardware and call it a day.... Normal rivets will work fine too but I like my rivnuts.
Made a tiny bit of progress on the striker, assuming I’m following the guidance in this thread correctly, lol:
View: https://youtu.be/QkXeAgtONDY
View: https://youtu.be/QkXeAgtONDY
You need to drill the holes in the hood such that the rivet easily passes through them as well. The whole idea behind a rivet is to clamp what is in-between the washered head of the rivet and the end with the ball in it. The stem that inserts into the rivet gun is attached to the ball on the other end that expands the aluminum or steel rivet as it compresses what is in-between them. The clamping pressure is determined by the size of the rivet. If you take one apart you will see that where the stem is attached to the ball is is not the full diameter of the stem.
Anyhow, long story short you need to drill the holes out in the hood as well so that the striker plate compresses to it on both sides. When you install it and pull both rivets down it should not move at all.
Anyhow, long story short you need to drill the holes out in the hood as well so that the striker plate compresses to it on both sides. When you install it and pull both rivets down it should not move at all.
