Durango_Boy

Well I spent most of the morning finishing up the driver's side hood support. With the help of some friend's welders, I made some brackets to hold both the lower and upper ends of the hydraulic struts. I made the lower bracket with three different mounting holes so I can adjust the height at which the hood is supported and the ease of lowing the hood.

When the hood is at rest, the strut is 3/4 compressed, and the hood sits flat with no upwards force. This is good news, so when I pop the hood it won't just fly open. You do lift it about 1/4 swing and the strut takes it the rest of the way up.

The one side actually holds it very well, but I want to install the other side to to help and to keep it evenly supported...one thing I wish GM had done from the start.

7T1vette

Looks like a very nicely designed modification. I would have been concerned about the amount of force on the hood when it is fully locked...but it sounds like you've figured that one out. Can you provide dimensions for the positioning of each end? And the brand/model/size/force of the strut? Great job!!

Overlord

Purty bracket! Nicely done.

I suspect you'll have to adjust them after driving on a hot day. The heat might change the.... uh, preload. Don't want no surprises.

Durango_Boy

Thanks for the compliments, it's a lot of designing and tweaking when doing something custom like this from scratch. I'm very pleased so far.

When it's finished and tested in various ways I will post the dimensions and pictures of every part I used and where they can be bought. I would like to see this modification, if it works as well as I have hoped, on a lot of fellow member's Corvettes.

So far I am very happy with it and even with only one side finished it's a very sturdy setup. The long bracket on the hood bares the force of the strut so the fiberglass won't stress and flex.

The lower bracket is tied into the hood hinge, so all the force goes up along the hood and no pressure is exerted on the fiberglass hood.

chris75stingray

how did you atatch the bracket to the hood?

Durango_Boy

I used drywall anchors. Holes drilled in those runners, slide the anchors in, tighten the screws, and the anchor mushrooms like a grappling hood to provide a solid place to attach something with a screw. That's also how I mounted hood latches to the underside of the hood. The L88 I bought for my '77 had the two threaded holes for the laster style latch, and I have converted to early style. I used four anchors per side to give me a good place to mount the upper latches.

RunningMan373

That's a kick a$$ mod. you should make a kit.

78Vette-SA

Very very cool...

Durango_Boy

Thanks so much guys. It may end up being a kit, but it is a bit of a hodge podge of parts and ideas. Some parts came off of cars or SUVs that aren't in production anymore.

dr1

you should quick like come up with a marketing scheme and start production ;0 (unless someone is already selling these, i have no idea)

if that one strut really raises the hood with ease the 2nd one is going to just make life more difficult unless you drop them down to ones with a lower opening force

sperkins

Good job Matt. I was hoping you would post a thread about this. When will you be sending mine?

curtis74

Looks good Matt! Sorry I couldn't have been there to help. I can't wait to take it out for another spin now that we have a hood on it.

82MDVette

Matt,
Nice work on the hood strut. I like the concept alot.
You may want to consider using well nuts (the same mounting nuts they use for the hood light on my 82) instead of the drywall screws. It will keep a factory touch to the modification and look better if you decide to market this idea.

Durango_Boy

I'll look into the well nuts but I couldn't find them locally and I wanted something I could get my hands on. The anchors worked better than I anticipated. They were fast, easy, cheap, and help very strong.

Thanks for all the compliments guys.

Scott - We'll talk when I get it finalized.

weimer20

Great job. Very clean and functional.

sperkins

TPI BOY

Great job, I think I need that

Durango_Boy

Thanks guys. I'm glad I might be doing something that a few of you guys can follow and do yourself.

I finished the passenger side up today, and it's just about perfect. It supports the hood very well, is still very easy to pull down, and will easily fall the last few inches needed for latching.

We'll see if the anchors I put in the hood to hold the bracket will stay sturdy or if they will move and flex causing the fiberglass to crack and disintegrate.

If that happens I will pursue my backup plan to mount the upper ball stud to the hood and it will involve a wrap around bracket with an internal support structure and more than a few long rivets for a tight fit.

I think I may add some bonding adhesive to keep the shock down and keep things from moving.

sperkins

More pics please.....

Durango_Boy

Soon buddy, soon. I have lots to check and adjust. My next step is moving the lower mounts out one hole and see if that raises the hood a bit. It'll also make it a little harder to lower, but right now it pretty easy.