cruisnblue48 835 #1 Posted May 12, 2014 I've been restoring my dad's 1962 model 552 Wheel Horse tractor for the past three years now. I am actually converting it to a 502 model with the correct Lauson HT55C-3088 which I found. I am close to getting her finished and really want to take her to the Big Show next month. But now I have one problem... the hood doesn't fit and I don't know why. I know you guys like pics so here goes. I've gone from this... to this as of now and painting sheet metal parts... The original gas tank and hood were beyond repair, so I have replaced those items only to find now that the replacement hood appears to be about 5/8" to short where the bottom of the front grill mounts on to the front of the frame... I have the engine mounted on the original holes in the frame, the replacement hood matches the old hood dimensions, and the gas tank dimensions match the old one as well. In order to fit the hood over the gas tank and line up the two rear holes, the front tab on the grill is about 5/8" behind the front of the frame. I also had to remove the air filter from the front of the engine to fit the hood in place as well as there was interference there also. I can not figure this out as all of the parts are correct for the 1962 model year... and the hood is really nice and straight. Any advice would be greatly appreciated if anyone else has ever had this problem with a hood not fitting properly on a 502/552 Wheel Horse. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
buckrancher 2,679 #2 Posted May 12, 2014 that looks fairly normal your thumb screw should pull the hood to the frame piece you can try this. loosen all the bolts to the hood stand gas tank and tool box bolt the hood in place don't tighten the gas tank hood bolts just the front hood bolt see if that shifts the parts around for a better fit tighten all the bolts before you remove the hood again that may help Brian 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisnblue48 835 #3 Posted May 13, 2014 Thanks Brian. I will try that. Just seems like that 5/8" is a lot to make up with bolt hole alignment and hood flexing without breaking or cracking the hood metal joint up at the nose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tankman 3,518 #4 Posted May 13, 2014 Beautiful restoration! 5/8" seems like quite a stretch, owwwww! Might you remove the bottom bracket and rotate it 180° for a better fit? Looks great regardless! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelly 1,029 #5 Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) on the sides where the top meet the front, push in on both sides, that will make the front lower move forwards, the bottom has been pushed back and made the sides bow out, it may not look like it but trust me that is the issue,it will only take a 1/4" on each side to make a big difference at the bottom, I've been doing body work on cars for over 30 years, and have delt with this problem on a few tractor hoods, it may take 2 people to do it, one to apply pressure to the sides at the seam, (not trying to crush it just firm pressure) and another pulling forward at the bottom of the hood, not hard again just pressure, you may have to do this a few times, to get it, the square hoods can have the same issue, in fact the black hoods are the worst, those I stand on to bend when holding them still. Edited May 13, 2014 by Kelly 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,125 #6 Posted May 14, 2014 Your restoration looks great... seems I've seen that red , white hood theme somewhere before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cruisnblue48 835 #7 Posted May 14, 2014 My hood is in white primer now. Just wanted to check the fit before final red paint. Thanks everyone for the suggestions as to how to fix this. Redsquare is the place to go for information about these great tractors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
