Suicide hood mod done -Now with a walkthru and pics

[Drafteddesign]

I completed this today in about 4 hours. I just wanted to show off my sick new mod. I love it.

[Rev_D21]

That's a cool mod.

[jdansmith]

That's neat, what hinges did you use??

[2 timer]

Maybe a DIY thread needs to be posted!

[Drafteddesign]

Start by prepping the hinge. Cut the bar in the middle and remove exactly 4". Use a brake line tube cutter so you get a nice square edge. I found a length of threaded rod that fit inside perfect (I think 1/2"). Put the halves back together and clamp the feet to the bench to keep it all square, and weld the bar back up.




While you got the welder going weld some nuts to the underside of all mounting holes, I used 3/8". This is a great time saver when you install.



The hinge has to mount about 1" below the fender lip. Some use washers, I use 1" square tube again for ease of install. I think it is a little tight to wiggle the hinge into place in 1 piece so I didn't tack the spacers on. Just a little easier to slide them in after hinge is in.



One last thing for the hinge. Cut this lip off about 1" long on the left side to clear the coil wire. With it there it just touches and will prolly wear through in time. It don't take much, just make it level with the flat section.


-------------or--------------------
*as I did, I just moved my coil pack from the black bracket on top of the fender well to the bottom of the wheel well area where the air box was bolted in. There are 2 holes there that perfectly line up with the mounting holes on the coil. Doing it this was prevents the need to hack on your new hinge any more than necessary.*



Next prep the engine bay.

Remove the big silencer box in the front left corner, and the washer bottle. I got a small square aftermarket washer bottle to hide elsewhere but never got around to it yet.



Move this stack of relays on the right inner fender. There is another factory hole for the front tab and I used a self taper for the rear one.



Mkay. Drill your mounting holes in the fender lip.



First hole goes 2 1/2" from the nearest fender bolt (centre to centre).



Trim the corner of the core support as needed to clear the hinge a la this



The reason for this is to get the hood as far forward as possible to clear the bumper.



K, should have your s*** mounted by now, so onto the hood.


Drill the mounting holes up there. Some guys weld studs to the hood. I just used 1/2" fender clips and it's c*** solid when bolted down. You go 5 1/2" from the nearest factory mounting hole (centre to centre).



Once they're drilled cut some holes to slide your fender clips over, try to keep them under the foot print of the hinge so it looks clean. Get your pal to hold the hood and bolt it to the hinges and start adjusting.

Another member left the factory hinges on and cut them short so they will still slide into the cowl and hook if the hood tries to lift.



That's about it. Have fun and good luck.

[Warped161]

pics don't work, or is it just me?

[Drafteddesign]

I can see them when I view the page. Anyone else? If I need to grab the pics and host them myself, then link to them and edit, I will. I love html coding.

[Drafteddesign]

btw, the hinges are off of any Buick Le Sabre from the late 80's til mid 90's. There are several chassis' that GM used in that era that share those hinges, but I can garuantee the Buick Le Sabre hinges to work.

[Rev_D21]

I can't. I wonder if it's because I don't have a photobucket account.

[Warped161]

i have a photobucket account and i can only see the pic in the first post.

[longtooth]

First pic only here too. Would love to see the rest.

[Drafteddesign]

I fixed the links. I hope you guys can see them now. In the DIY, there is one pic of the engine bay painted black. That is mine. All the other pics come from the original DIY that I used.

I need to warn you guys about things before you hop into this. The cross bracing bar that links the 2 hinges together will rest directly on top of the radiator fill cap when the hood is all the way forward. I completely removed the bar on mine, leaving 1 1/4" from the side of the hinge to the point that I cut it off. That allows me to keep the spring, but lose that bar. The only side effect is that now I have to be really careful when I open or close my hood so that it doesn't twist on me.

If you guys have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

[2 timer]

Great tutorial! Pics work fine for me