76-Vetteman

Hi guys!

My Corvette, a C3 that has spent many years outside and many years in the shop; just a lot of years sitting alone with no attention. As I prepare to kick-off my Pro-Touring build to document here on C3 Tech/Performance, the dreaded ‘Hood Latch’ problem stopped me in my tracks. A lot of you guys know what I’m talking about. The first thing I did was to go to the internet. Find videos explaining how to get it unlatched.

Thanks go out to the tuber ‘Fun with cars’, the video helped a lot.

Fun with cars - mostly Corvettes,
I tried to unlatch it as many guys have described before. After about an hour or so I just gave up.

Then I remembered the guy in ‘Fun with cars’ discusses briefly an option. He explains that, instead of searching for the sweet spot on the cam mechanism, simply push the latch directly to release the top part of the lock. Brilliant!! But I didn’t know exactly where the latch arm was located.

I pulled a cheap Harbor Freight scope from my tool box and examined past the hole on the firewall. The latch was clearly visible.

To release the lock you must push the latch forward with a horizontal motion. But you can’t do this with a simple straight screwdriver. The back of the hood and the windshield prevent a direct horizontal entry.

So I came up with a simple tool. I purchased a piece of ผ”x48 steel rod from HDepot for $4 including tax. From the scope I knew the approximate location of the latch face, and in turn, a place on the rod for a needed bend. This allowed me to insert the rod and to push the lever unobstructed. Voila! Worked great. It took less time to unlatch the hood with the bent rod than it took to clean the mill oil from it.

There is a 15 degree bend on the rod at approximately 9-3/4 inches. The latch arm is approximately 4-1/2 inches from the knock out hole in the firewall. Hope this helps those with the same problem.

I don’t know whether this will work on models beyond 76’.

Photos below may help visualize

A photo with the hood almost closed. You can see the rod and latch strike lever.

A photo of the rod lying next to the cam in position to push the strike lever.

A photo of the rod and tools that didn’t work.

A photo of the rod.

78EAGLE2B

Nice job Vetteman. I also have a 76, and me thinks this may come in handy some day. Thanks for sharing your ingenuity.

L-46man

OR 'one' could've just used the search button....covered a couple of months ago.

This only will work on the later models with the long hoods. For the early models, you need to have a different tool and technique.

Unkahal