how to close the hood

about 15-20 degrees should do it...anything less will not activate the secondary latch...funny you should mention that the MINI has gas springs you've got to fight against, but no prop rod~ ya gotta slam the thing...is not the case with the Honda which still uses a prop rod~

the hood rests on some rubber buttons which degrade and crack leading to a noisy hood (my toyota does this) so even if correct, may not be correct until these rubber stops are dealt with~

The rubber caps at the outer edge of the hood keep the hood equal to the height of the fenders. You should only have to drop the hood from a height of around a foot to get it to latch.

I NEVER drop the hood. I lower it until it catches, then push down on the hood above the latch. Dropping it can warp things.

On a 86 honda accord where does the hood prop rod rest