Hood hinge repair or replacement
I just did this mod on my 74 dart sport. I have a fiberglass cowl induction hood which is much lighter then the factory hood, and I went with 75LB gas struts. They do a fantastic job of holding the hood up and keeping it up. I wanted to get all the setup and drilling done before primer and paint, so don’t mind the nasty looking paint. I bought 20 inch long struts, which I quickly found out were too long. I had to compress them around 2.5 inches to get them mounted on the ball studs, which was a major pain. Good thing I only paid around $35 for both. Later on I will most likely get a set of 18 inch long struts. I also welded a 1/2”ID spacer onto the hinge at the main pivot pin to minimize side to side play, which worked out very well. Next up is powder coating the hinges. I do all my own powder coating right in my garage. Buying a powder coating system was one of the best investments I’ve ever made. It’s saved me and a lot of my family and friends thousands of dollars in powder coating work.
I just did this mod on my 74 dart sport. I have a fiberglass cowl induction hood which is much lighter then the factory hood, and I went with 75LB gas struts. They do a fantastic job of holding the hood up and keeping it up. I wanted to get all the setup and drilling done before primer and paint, so don’t mind the nasty looking paint. I bought 20 inch long struts, which I quickly found out were too long. I had to compress them around 2.5 inches to get them mounted on the ball studs, which was a major pain. Good thing I only paid around $35 for both. Later on I will most likely get a set of 18 inch long struts. I also welded a 1/2”ID spacer onto the hinge at the main pivot pin to minimize side to side play, which worked out very well. Next up is powder coating the hinges. I do all my own powder coating right in my garage. Buying a powder coating system was one of the best investments I’ve ever made. It’s saved me and a lot of my family and friends thousands of dollars in powder coating work.
