Hello. Just bought a '97 Venture LS. It has several issues, but for the moment I am just concerned with the hood latch. It appears that the bar that is attached to the hood and goes into the latch was closed down on the hood prop and was thereby bent. It is so bent that it does not engage the latch. Can it be bent back straight? Replaced? I could not determine if the bar sets in a piece that can be removed from the hood. I have attached a photo. Thanks for any assistance and I look forward to participating in the forum.

 

Hammer and claw. Beat it back in place. If it breaks - weld a piece of tubing the same diameter in place.

 

Thanks for the reply. The bracket is plastic so i wouldn't weld but the bar could be cut and pulled out of each end of the bracket. Then a stud with some nuts could be put in place. The bar spins in place so I was able to spin it so that the bent part faced down and that has worked for now.