Hey FABO folks -
I've seen a few posts out there on wanting to do remote hood latch releases on non-equipped cars. I just finished doing the install on my '71 - I did some research using the parts catalog for a 1973 car with the release (got the part number and cross reference parts), a little eBay hunting, and then ordered the hood release cable from Classic Industries.
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1973-1976/dodge/dart/parts/ma2195.html
The original cable release mounting uses a hard point on the bottom of the battery tray as a reference / location, but since I moved the battery to the trunk, I already had wiring running up front in a couple of zip-tie looms. I ended up using that as the anchor point.
The only part that required modification was the hood striker. I put it in the vice and gave it a few whacks with the Tonya Harding 4000, which bent the latch over towards the driver's side. The original factory mount point and latch favors the passenger side, and the remote release part is dead center to the hood.
Since the striker is only grabbing a small piece of the latch, you don't have to worry about bending it and interference, just that it's bent over far enough to catch the latch. I also ended up running the new latch higher than the original, but the clearances look good so I'll run with it for now.
The hood release cable was fed through with some other wires I already had passing into the firewall, so I didn't punch any new holes.
I'll get some pics when I'm 100% finalized - I need to get a couple of sheet metal screws to secure the release handle, but I tested everything and it's working great!
EDIT - I think I actually used a Volare hood latch! There's a part that sticks up (upper right of this picture) I will probably trim off since it's not really used
I've seen a few posts out there on wanting to do remote hood latch releases on non-equipped cars. I just finished doing the install on my '71 - I did some research using the parts catalog for a 1973 car with the release (got the part number and cross reference parts), a little eBay hunting, and then ordered the hood release cable from Classic Industries.
https://www.classicindustries.com/product/1973-1976/dodge/dart/parts/ma2195.html
The original cable release mounting uses a hard point on the bottom of the battery tray as a reference / location, but since I moved the battery to the trunk, I already had wiring running up front in a couple of zip-tie looms. I ended up using that as the anchor point.
The only part that required modification was the hood striker. I put it in the vice and gave it a few whacks with the Tonya Harding 4000, which bent the latch over towards the driver's side. The original factory mount point and latch favors the passenger side, and the remote release part is dead center to the hood.
Since the striker is only grabbing a small piece of the latch, you don't have to worry about bending it and interference, just that it's bent over far enough to catch the latch. I also ended up running the new latch higher than the original, but the clearances look good so I'll run with it for now.
The hood release cable was fed through with some other wires I already had passing into the firewall, so I didn't punch any new holes.
I'll get some pics when I'm 100% finalized - I need to get a couple of sheet metal screws to secure the release handle, but I tested everything and it's working great!
EDIT - I think I actually used a Volare hood latch! There's a part that sticks up (upper right of this picture) I will probably trim off since it's not really used
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