I know there are other threads about stuck hoods, but i was wondering if anyone knew specifically about a 72 or a car near that year.. the hood wont open, and in fact the hood release that you pull is snapped partially so only half of it is still there. Im willing to stick something through the grille to try to pop it open, but i really dont know what im supposed to push on and in what direction... if i was looking at an accurate diagram it looks like there's a lock and then a latch? is this correct? so first i have to unlock the lock, causing the hood to pop a little, then engage the latch to open the hood? i am confident that if i can get the hood to pop up a little bit i will be able to open it. i already tried a friend applying downward force on the center/front of the hood while pulling on the cord but the cord seems to move and not actually be unlocking/popping anything.

now my battery is dead since the car has been sitting for so long! :\

thanks,
bill

As far as I know the 72 is not any different from my 74 in the hood latch. There is a lever you can pry on from the front, but it will only drive you nuts until you pop the latch itself. I had to go from below and pulled off the rubber mat that sits between the grill and the radiator. Then with a long flat head screw driver I poked at the latch until it popped. Push straight up on the right hand side as I recall.

I would suggest eye protection, not because it pops with force, but while you are down there you will be disturbing dirt which manages to usually fall conveniently into your eyes. As far as how to fix the problem I am not sure. Until I get a helper I can't really look into a fix. I am seriously considering hood pins and doing away with the latch.

NO HOOD PINS. Just look see if you can figure out what's broken in it, it's not a complex device. Or if it's the cable you can just run a new cable. If the latch itself is broken maybe a junkyard item or find someone parting a car.

Well I am thinking of turning it into a semi custom anyway and the hood pins might go good with the look I am thinking of. Like I said I haven't really had a helper to work with me so I can figure out where the problem lies. Right now it is only a minor inconvenience, but soon I want to get it working.

is the latch right in the middle off the hood or is it off-center a bit? im thinking it might be on the passenger side very slightly? i know it's still 'in the middle' but when i dont even know what im looking for exactly itd be nice to have some more details. thanks for the info so far.

It may be off center, but if so it is only a couple of inches. I can't recall exactly as it has been a few weeks since I worked on it. The easiest way to tell is it is the only hole in the support. About 3-5 inches in front of the radiator. The screw driver should go up on the right hand side. You should be able to know it when you see it. The latch mechanism is maybe 1 or even 3/4 inch by about 2 inches.