Gas Pedal & Hood Latch problems - help!

[Ozz]

#1 - how do I remove the gas pedal from the pedal assembly? I have a new pedal I want to put on in place of the stocker, and ca't get the rivet out. I tried prying with a screwdriver but it just bends the screwdriver. Can't get my head close enough down there to see if there's a trick to it. (see pic, the little bolt end sticking out of the middle of the pedal is my problem).

#2 - I took my hood latch assembly apart to hide my release cable into the fenderwell. I put it back, BUT when I put the locking mechanism back in place, it no longer flips to catch the hood when I shut it. The problem is I can't find the right alignment to allow it to catch the hood. It is not that the lock is already locked, etc., I've already checked and reassured those "duh" problems.

I watch the hood come down on it, and it pushes the lock about halfway before the hood bottoms out on the rest/height pads, but the lock does NOT flip over and catch the hood like it should. I've attached two pics to show two different positions I've tried. One, the Lock mechanism's height is set evenly with the piece of metal that it attaches to. The 2nd pic shows the lock set a little higher. I've also tried one side high and one side low (and opposite side high/low), as well as moving it to the left and to the right. NOTHING WORKS. I have been messing with these for an entire week and i can't take it anymore. Something so simple is killing me!

Thanks for any help on either problem! :joy:

 

[Iowa91LX]

Theres 2 nuts that hold the pedal down to the floorpan. Take them out and that will allow you to move the pedal around and get a better look at the back side of the pedal.
Next for your hood latch. First line it up side to side, so that the metal loop on the hood is centered in your latch, then with a little flashlight watch it go down and see the heigth of your latch. Usually they need to be moved up, and it sounds like that on your car.
A lot of times I will end up slotting the hood latch assembly on cars with front end damage. Did you get in a wreck and are putting it back together now?

I guess the first thing would be wedging a screwdriver in the latch and actually making sure that you can force it to latch, just to eliminate the possibility that the latch is bad. If you cant get it to latch with a screwdriver by forcing down on it then the latch needs replaced, or a real good cleaning and WD40 treatment. Theres a lot of cars that come in and all it takes is a good cleaning a lubrication on the latch and it works like new.

Any more questions I will try to help out as much as I can.
ENJOY

 

[Ozz]

No wreck. I just took the latch assembly off to reroute the release cable into my fenderwell area along with the rest of my wires. It wasn't even off 10 minutes. I can snap it with my fingers and release it with the pull cord in the interior, so it's still working. I watch the hood close down on the lock, but the hood itself reaches its "resting spot" on the car before the lock is able to turn. Common sense tells me to RAISE the lock so the hood can still push it down,but I get the same exact problem no matter how high I lift it. And I can't lift it any higher. What sucks is it was JUST WORKING before I took it off and I didn't expect the nut hole mounts to be adjustable.

Thanks.

 

[Iowa91LX]

You still have the factory rubber bumpstops on the car?
You should try removing them and see if the hood will latch once they are removed.
I cant remember if the Mustangs are threaded or just a push in bump stop? I think they are threaded, and if so try screwing them down to allow the hood to go lower in front.
It sounds like you are trying to get the latch high enough, and without seeing it, it sounds like thats the correct thing to do. I know it was working before with the bumpstops in there, but try adjusting them, once you gert it to latch then you can start worrying about the front of the hood heigth.
Sorry I cant help anymore, but I will offer to work on it if you drive it to Iowa.

 

[Ozz]

They're threaded. I will mess with them.

I don't think I'll be driving to IA with a hood that doesn't lock