1983 300D Turbo Hood Hinge

The holes is the side of the hold where the arm attaches are slighted elongated to facilitate MINOR adjustments. Loosen the two 10 mm head bolts to adjust. I have even drilled the holes slightly larger to get a better fit.

My experience with the 4 300D/TD's my family owns is that often times the hinges (usually the driver's side more) are bent or severely warped from excessive force when closing the hood over and over. The lower hinge areas are prone to rust and gunk and the individual hinge levers (as I call them) get bent. Since the entire hinge and attach points are usually not well-lubricated or have easy motion in them, one must exert extra down force to close the hood. In doing so, it is very easy to bend the hinge due to the mass and leverage of the hood. To remedy this problem, remove the hinge and straighten the bent areas with a 3 pound hammer on an anvil. To see how far bent your hinges are, put the hood perpendicular to your car and measure the distance from the top of your car to the bottom of your hinge. It will tell you how far off your hinges are from each other. The distance measured should be right around 2 and a half inches. While you can elongate the holes on the hood, a slightly bent hinge can throw off your alighment by 3/8 of an inch (quite a bit to elongate on the hood). Not only does straightening your hinges help with hood alignment, but it may also remedy a stuck hood release, and ease of opening and closing your hood. Any good DIYer will most likely lubricate the hinges and bend the hinge stop levers to full functionality. Warning: The 13mm top hinge bolt is treacherous to R & R unless you have Munchkin hands. The job is extremely easy when you have a racheted 13mm wrench and put some finger pressure to get the bolt started. The spring can stay in place and you will have the oppportunity to clean this area out with a vac as well as be able to clean the drain hole.