Hood stuck on body!!! : (

blitz71' · Post by **blitz71'** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:00 pm

Hello everyone,

I have a 71' standard. That I'm doing a pan off custom/resto on. I have it down to a roller. The hood has been lying in place but not latched. Due to lack of garage space. Last night my wife leaned on the hood to talk to me, when I heard a "CLICK" I tried the handle and sure enough it had latched. I removed the cable to pop the latch, so any thoughts on how to get it back open? Thanks!

Stuggi · Post by **Stuggi** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:52 pm

Well, you have two options, saw the handle into pieces, or try to fish up the latch with a coathanger. Or you could cut out the bottom of the spare tire well.

blitz71' · Post by **blitz71'** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:58 pm

I was afraid of that! I am more then likely going to buy a new hood so i guess i can saw off the handle and try that route!

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:31 am

My car has been in my garage for two years. Having that happen has been a recurring nightmare for me. Now that the painting is done, I'm doubly worried about it happening. Being German myself, I'm ashamed for my people not coming up with a better way to secure the front hood.

If the hood is worth saving, wouldn't it be simpler to cut a hand-sized hole in the tire well then unscrew the nuts holding the latch closed? If you cut out the handle you've ruined the entire hood. And welding/patching will never be as strong, at least not if I did it. But since the wheel well is hidden a patch job doesn't need to be pretty.

kpo

Stuggi · Post by **Stuggi** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:35 pm

NONO, you just need to just the actual handle, not the metal it bolt to. There's a thread on this on thesamba as well as one other VW site, I'll try to find it. Usually it's as easy to pull the latch open with a coat hanger, as there's usually a lot of holes in the front apron.

crvc · Post by **crvc** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:53 am

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... 12bce9dbb5

The first one is clever but I don't know about some of the others.

blitz71' · Post by **blitz71'** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 1:14 pm

Thanks everyone for the replies! My hinges are off the hood, so I can lift the back of the hood. I can see the latch, and tried pulling it with a coat hanger. I still couldn't get it to release. Guess I'll try cutting the handle!