Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Tool kit out already

I am on my 5th Morgan just acquired to day privately, I am not a technical person and I guess I was lucky with the last four and of course then I did employ a motor engineer and now I am on my own. Drove t back home in the pouring rain and it is probably the driest Morgan so far. Sun came out and I decided to put the hood down I remember the procedure but when I got to the release catch even with my ex rugby player son in law we could not get the catches to release. Consulted the wonders of this forum , removed spare wheel and sure enough the cable is slack pulled it and there was a welcome click but only one side (passenger) will release no amount of puling pushing will get the other to release.
Any help please

On my Roadster, access to the cable (as you describe) is through the spare wheel recess. I'm guessing "they are all like that Sir". On the passenger side, there are couple of adjuster nuts with which you can tension the cable. Check too where the obscured length of cable runs, in my case it disappears into and passes through a channel under one of the wooden cross-members. If yours has jumped out then it may be too slack to actuate the release.

If you can get some help, pushing down at back of hood whilst operating release may help. Try getting some aerosol squirty grease into underneath of both catches first though as per photo above.

Sounds like the male part of the catch is not adjusted properly. The factory bend the catches to “help” but if the previous owner has got the bend in the wrong direction, well it will be a struggle. Start by pressing down on the rear of the hood whilst trying to release. Sometimes a light tap with a rubber hammer horizontally uk cars right hand side to move the hood to the left may work.
Once you get it released you will need to adjust everything. To do that, the cable access to the adjuster is through the seat belt opening, off side uk. You will need something to hold open the sliding catches (broom handle size dowel)& a hook to pull the adjuster through the seat belt slot to get at the 2 nuts. Via the spare wheel you can adjust the length between the two locators so they move together & by the same amount. Once that lot are working properly adjust the male prongs to fit correctly getting the angle of the factory bend correct means a full turn each time once you have found which way suits your car. Mine uk car needs them bent in the direction of the near side.
Once they have been set up & greased the release should give no further trouble, the cable can stretch.

Thanks for all your speedy response I did manage to get the offending male pin out by squeezing the braket together which released the pin I have also adjusted the nut on the PS bracket which has reduced slack when I pull lever now I can see the catch opening fully, encouraged I closed hood again but it would not release until I squeezed the bracket by hand My next thought was the male pin but it is stuck solid and I am worried I am going to strip the slot
They say a sports car should be challenging but dont they mean when it is on the road

Might be worth getting a dealer to take a look while you put your feet up?

Risk of damage at extra cost versus piece of mind etc etc.

Hi Rodbin

Centre the male pins to the holes. There is a small amount of adjustment in the hood hoop brackets and as already suggested the pin may have a slight bend.

If only one catch operates then the hood frame will be at an angle putting increased pressure on the unopened catch making it very difficult to open.

If the operating handle travels a “long way” adjust it via the seat belt slot as earlier mentioned though this actually has no bearing on the nearside catch operation.

The operating lever pulls on the offside catch which in turn pulls the nearside catch. This second catch must move and operate at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME.

With both male pins locked adjust cable, try opening, if only one catch opens then re-lock. Repeat until both catches open together.

Check the hoop rubber sits nicely and adjust the male pin lengths if necessary. Re the stuck pin, is this after releasing the locking nut?

Incidentally, I put a cord around the “L” of the bottom sliding plate in your piccie. With both male pins locked a sharp yank on the cord and at the same time operating the cable lever handle will operate both catches (shallow angle so as not to rub any paintwork). I found it easier than messing with tools directly on the catches should things get difficult.

This hood catch system is a bit agricultural so, just in case, I kept the cord in position!

Best of luck.

Decided last night to leave it and take it to my son in laws garage (Tittyhomotorco) but this morning it opened !!
I like the cord idea SALMO not sure where you ed the cord to
Already to go for a drive and problems with Taxing as the car is registered to someone who unfortunately Died 2 years ago the family kept it still in his name
I am sure it can be sorted but cannot be driven until sorted

You may need to look in a different place, as there may be a simple solution!
If you look at the hood hinge point, you will see that the bottom rail is bolted to the hinge via a plate with two slots in it. It is possible that the allen bolts through the slots have come loose (mine did once) and that allows the bottom rail to slide back and forth by a few mm, hence messing up the alignment of the catch pins.
That might explain why sometimes it works and others not as when you access the car, you may inadvertently move the hood rail slightly if those bolts are not tight.