Heres what mine looks like, 78 also, latches fine when droped from 6-8"
Looks like the same latch bar to me, but the underside of your hood looks different.
Hows the adjustments on the latch? can you adjust it closer?
The seals on the insides of the fender to the hood on mine seem to be upside down(rubber curl facing downward) but if I turn them over my hood wont shut & wouldn't lay flat w/ fenders if it did.
Maybe this is an issue w/ yours too.