HOOD: The alligator type hood is featured on all Series for 1954, however, the hood latch release control has been relocated to the front of the car just to the left of center between the radiator grille and the radiator grille frame. See Fig. 23.

1954 Buick Hood Latch

1954 Buick Hood Latch

The safety hook must still be pulled to raise the hood after hood has been unlocked. The roller guide has been removed. The adjustments of the dovetail bolt and the hood lower latch remain basically the same.

HOOD SPRINGS: The hood springs are longer and are mounted vertically between a bracket on the lower section of the cowl and the hood hinge.

The hood springs can be removed from underneath the fender panel behind the skirt by using the following procedure:

REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION

  • Raise hood just enough to insert special Hood Spring Tool, J-5537, into spring coils. Make certain that tool enters spring coils until the outer wall of the tool fully engages spring.
  • Install safety lock screw into bottom of tool to prevent the possibility of tool coming out of spring. See Figs. 24 & 25, which shows tool in place.
    1954 Buick Hood Spring Tool Installation

    1954 Buick Hood Spring Tool Installation

    1954 Buick Hood Spring Removal

    1954 Buick Hood Spring Removal

    IF SAFETY SCREW WILL NOT ENTER THREADS, TOOL IS NOT FULLY ENGAGED IN SPRING. DO NOT REMOVE SPRING UNTIL SAFETY SCREW IS IN PLACE.

  • Raise hood to wide open position and remove spring (with tool attached), bringing it down and from under the fender.

    NOTE : AFTER REMOVING SPRING, INSERT 2ND SAFETY SCREW INTO TOP OF TOOL, J-5537.

  • If hood spring tool has to be removed from the spring, while spring is out of the car, a suggested method is illustrated in Fig. 12-6, page 299, of the 1953 Buick Shop Manual. This fixture is quite satisfactory for the 1953 spring but the average vise opening is not sufficient for the longer 1954 spring, however, a bracket, made of suitable material, could be attached to or set forward of the vise to compensate for spring length and provide for safe and easy stretching of the hood spring.
  • Reverse the above procedure for installing the hood spring. Before removing the special tool from the spring, be certain the hooks on the spring ends are safely engaged in the notches on the cowl bracket and hood hinge.

HOOD HINGES: The hood hinges are mounted to the hinge brackets on the cowl. The mounting of the hinges vary in that the hinge bolts screw into nuts welded to the hinge plateonSeries40-60-100while on the 50-70 Series the hinge bolts screw into nuts welded to the cowl bracket.

Hood alignment with adjacent parts is possible due to two oversize and one elongated hole in either the hinge plate or the cowl bracket depending on the Series. The hood may be moved forward or backward, up or down, by hinge adjustment or the hinge may be rotated for alignment. Rotation of the hinge forward will result in raising the hood slightly at the rear, moving the hood very little forward horizontally, and decreasing spring tension. If fore or aft movement only is desired, care must be taken not to rotate hinge.

The hood may be raised or lowered at the front by adding or subtracting shim washers from under rubber stops mounted on front hood latch panel.

NOTE : The hood springs should be removed while performing adjustments which require loosening of hinge bolts.