I had a problem with the right hinge on my American doing that. I solved it by adding a thick washer under the front mounting bolt of the hinge on that side. I put the washer between the hinge and the hood. This causes the the hinge to pull the hood down farther. I don't know why, but mine was the same, even adjusting the hinge down as far as I could get it wouldn't work. Now thinking about it, you may need to raise the front of the hinge to do the same thing. This would make it hard to disscover as it seems counter productive to what you are trying to do. When I tried the washer and it worked, I left well enough alone! - Mark Price markprice242ATadelphia.net Morgantown, WV >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 09:59:30 -0600 From: Teamamc <teamamc@xxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: hood hinge problem To: mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx Message-id: <005f01c6406d$c98705c0$6900a8c0@middle> Can anyone suggest a fix for Sonny. please reply to him as well as the list. jmjoy@xxxxxxx <jmjoy@xxxxxxx> I have encountered a hood on a 1976 AMC Matador Coupe that when closed is up about an inch & 1/2 in the rear. Nothing I can do seems to improve the problem. I have removed the hinges and cleaned them and checked for bent parts but every thing seems good. If you remove the springs it helps but still up half inch. I have considered slotting the hinge mounting holes. If you have seen this before please tell me how to correct the malfunction -or do I need new hinges. Signed, Stumped Matador restorer - Sonny Hazel