Urgent!!! Hood Latch Problem With The New Saleen Hood On 97 Gt!!!

[19Roush97]

I just bought a Saleen heat extractor hood for my '97 GT. The fit is nice and I have no complaints there. The hood latches on the first latch. When I go to close the hood the second latch that locks it in place will not latch over the inside of the hood. Is this a common problem? I need to figure out the problem ASAP! I have already tried adjusting the stops that control the height of the hood and I have tried to adjust the latch itself but it only moves a little if at all. Please I need some help!!! Thanks in advance.

[RoushEnvy]

Not sure but I think that Smoke can help with this one, if anything else you should just remove the hook and do some hood pins, it would look better, little more aggresive.

[RoushWannaB98GT]

Yea, this wont help you, but my stock 98 hood takes at least 2 trys for that second latch just about everytime. Kinda a pain in the ass.. they wear kinda weird... :/

[19Roush97]

I found out how to adjust the latch and I have gotten the hood to close pretty easily now. I used a Dremel and remove the 2 pins off the back of the latch assembly allowing full adjustment of the latch. Thanks for the help though. I would have thought that Ford might have a way to adjust it without cutting pieces but yet again Ford proves that the simple way just isn't good enough for them! The hood looks awesome, can't wait to get it painted.

[RoushEnvy]

glad that it worked out, got pics?

[DeathVark]

i'm installing my heat-extractor Tuesday...hopefully i won'thave any probs

[19Roush97]

No pics yet, I don't have a digital camera If the hood is a real Saleen hood you shouldn't have any problems with fitment minus the latch. Just make sure nothing is touching or rubbing. I may add some washers to the driver's side hinge to bring the hood up a bit but it is acceptable now, just want it to look perfect. DeathVark does your hood need a lot of prep work before paint? The heat extractor vents are not perfect on mine and need to be smoothed out. Overall the hood looks awesome on my Roush.

[19Roush97]

The reason I put this hood on is to clear the '03 Cobra supercharger that will be installed soon

[RoushEnvy]

Cant wait to see pics, bet it looks awesome.

[DeathVark]

did yours came with mesh grill or something ?
the body shop sanded the edges, other than that it was fine.
oh, and it didn't have the hood scoops (regular for 'stang) covers.
Yours ?
Max

[19Roush97]

Mine had nothing to cover the head extracter holes but it did come with the regular GT grill/hole covers at the top of the hood by the cowl. I will probably reuse my old ones though because the new ones don't look like they fit as well. Where did you buy yours and for how much total?

[DeathVark]

i bought mine used in perfect condition (no scratches on fiberglass,etc) for 380.00 shipped - that was a hell of a deal, i think but it turns out , that to paint it it's like another 300.00

[19Roush97]

Damn I wish I would have gotten that deal. I payed $700 shipped. The shipping alone was like $200 of which the seller payed for half. Is yours an actual Saleen hood or a reproduction? Mine has a few little scratches in the gel coat but nothing major that paint and primer won't cover up. The real Saleen hoods are like $800 and up before shipping! I think I got a hell of a deal but your deal was just ridiculous!!!

[DeathVark]

the guy said it's real, he bought it 2 years ago at Knotts or something...yeah, the guy said, that if he knew that the shipping would be 170.00 he would never sell it for that price
well, it has model number or some kind of numbers on it and it looks very nice...i heard the repros don't look that great, only real saleen looks alright.
max

[19Roush97]

Where is the model number on your hood? Mine looks nice and the fit is great, that is why I went with one from Saleen. You get OEM quality and a bad @$$ hood that you know won't fly off your car on the freeway and it fits like it is supposed to.

[DeathVark]

i don't remember exactly - i remember i saw it on the inner side somewhere...
i just got back from the body shop, where my car is...they don't work today, but the boss was there and i could look at my car...
they do have a problem with the hood - it aligned perfectly, but the latch won't close - probably just like yours, so the guy said he's gonna move the latch or the cut-out for the latch - he said no big deal.
They install my kit for 150.00 - everything, hood, wing,valances, so ...let 'em work
how much did you pay to get the hood painted ?
Max

[19Roush97]

I just put it on the other day to test fit it and am going to keep it on until I go to get it painted. You or they should have test fitted it before but once you grind those pins off the latch should be fully adjustable and it will only take a couple of minutes to get it right. My Saleen hood fits better on the sides than my stock hood , the gaps are the same as where with the stock one, one side was bigger than the other. Another thing is that my car is actually running a little cooler with the new hood! It usually reads on about the M or between M and R but now it is on R. You can feel a bunch of heat coming out of the vents. Hey does the underside of your hood have a big hole cut in the back that leads to the top vents on the hood? I am guessing this is to allow more heat out of the side or top vents. One thing I didn't like about the hood is where the hood prop hole is and how it is cut out. It isn't a very good hole, kinda crooked and it is in a different location than the stock one for no apparant reason.

[DeathVark]

i'll check the hood tomorrow
Max

[SMOKE]

Originally posted by 19Roush97
the gaps are the same as where with the stock one, one side was bigger than the other. ... One thing I didn't like about the hood is where the hood prop hole is and how it is cut out. It isn't a very good hole, kinda crooked and it is in a different location than the stock one for no apparant reason.

Same issues here.

Glad you got the hood and tell me about the clearance once you fit it with the 03 Cobra set-up.

mesh on openings ....

[19Roush97]

Yep thats the same as mine Smoke, minus the mesh on the openings which I don't want anyways.