1959 Hood latch for my '57

[MT]

Want to put a 1959 hood latch on my Fairlane.  Thanks!

[gasman826]

Last spring, I had the need for a junkyard crawl.  I know of only one honey-hole of a wrecking yard that still has split-windshield vehicles stacked on top on each other.  I picked a few '65 Thunderbird parts.  They only had one '57 but several '59s.  I cleaned up all the power steering parts and hood latches.  I blasted, Eastwood rattle-can plated, and replaced the springs for all the latches.  I installed them on all my '57s...no more hood slamming to get them latched.

[KYBlueOval]

Gary, where do you get the replacement springs?
Thanks

[gasman826]

from the '57 latch

[Contibob]

I keep hearing about 59 Latches making it easier to close hood, but I have never had to slam my hood on any of my cars. Am I just lucky?

[gasman826]

yes.  A well maintained '57 latch works fine.  Maintenance includes hood adjustment, latch adjustment, striker adjustment, softness of hood stops and bumpers, cable adjustment, latch cleanliness, latch lubrication, cable lubrication, and the presents of a working cable return spring.  The '57 latch has twice the moving parts...two levers and three springs.  The '59 latch is the OEM, supersede part number for '57s so it is more a bragging right than an improvement.  In a poor maintenance environment, the '59 will out perform the '57 latch.  A poorly maintained '57 latch cable often requires the user to push the cable back it to get the latch to work or slamming may become the solution.

[MT]

Well I got lucky and found one at a swap meet for $5.   

[lowrider]

I lubed and adjusted my 57 latch until I thought I would wear out the threads. It's a one handed push since I installed a 59 latch.