Re: [alfa] hood latch

["Dean W. Cains" <dwc@xxxxxx>]

Hi Russ:

I've felt the heartbreak of a broken hood latch cable, and fished for days 
(literally) with a bent wire coathanger and noose to finally trip the hood 
latch of my '74 Spider.  The paint on the edges of the hood and wiper 
valence suffered greatly.  Both of my Spider's now have a back-up release 
cable (50# test monofilament fishing line) tucked under the wiper valence, 
accessible from the joint between the left fender and the valence.

But, your friend may be in better shape.  Perhaps the hood latch assembly 
has just slipped out of alignment.  I'd try a two person approach, with one 
pulling the release handle, and the other pressing down the hood in the 
area of the latch.  Perhaps give the hood a quick jab, like Fonzi to a juke 
box.  Maybe that will pop it open.  I've heard the legends of master Jedi 
mechanics able to pop the latch from below the car, with both an engine and 
transmission in place, but on that point I'll have to remain a 
skeptic.  Buona fortuna.

Regards,

Dean
Lutz, FL
'74 & '87 Spider Veloce's


At 08:14 PM 8/19/2004, you wrote:

> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 05:36:24 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Russ Tine <rtalfa@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] hood latch
>
> Hi everyone,
> I am posting this question for a friend who is not on the digest. He has 
> an 86 spider, and can not get the hood open. The cable does not seem to be 
> broken, when you pull the handle, the hood moves slightly and you can hear 
> the latch move. Any thoughts on how he can get this open would be appreciated.
> Also, he tried subscribing to the digest, but he receives each post 
> individualy instead of in one email from the digest. Any help here would 
> also be appreciated.
> If you choose to email him directly, his address is 
> Michael.McLaughlin@domain.elided
>
> Thanks,
> Russ Tine
> 75 Spider
> 87 Milano
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