JLMICCA

I have a '69 coupe with a one piece front end and an aftermarket L-88 hood but no hood support. Unfortunately the inner edge of the driver fender has been trimmed where the '69 hood support attaches but I do have the two attachment points below the hinge in the radiator core support area. My question is should I purchase a '69 hood support and simply trim off the attachment where it attaches to the driver front fender or should I order a '68 hood support (ie, is it the same as the '69 but without the third support hole lining up to the driver's side fender)?

Thanks

Dantana

great question, I have the same problem except my fender is split and won't allow for any support. I tried using a kit I bought from Speed Direct to eliminate the stock hood support but it didn't work at all. The cylinders they sent were way to stiff to close the hood without bending the brackets.

If you figure this one out I'll take my cue from you this go around. Then I can retire my push broom handle hood support!

JLMICCA

This post has had a lot of reads but you are the first to post a reply. Hopefully a vendor or forum member with '68-'69 hood support experience will chime in. The '69 support is cheaper from most vendors and it would probably look pretty stock if I took my time grinding off the ear that attaches to the fender. This must have been one of the 150 improvements that Duntov oversaw in improving the '68 'vette. In any event, if no one opines, I'll post pics once I have a strut in hand.

Kerrmudgeon

Gas struts, like for a hatchback are usually used for the one peice front ends. You'll have to fab up some mounting plates.

71rdster

I think that by saying a 1 piece front end, JLMICCA is saying that he has an aftermarket front end that has the hood surround and fenders moulded as a single piece rather than the OEM style jig assembled front end with bonding strips.

The hood support however does not attach to the exterior body. It is bolted to the Radiator & hood hinge/support reinforcement, a sheet metal part riveted to the inner fender skirt. The part stiffens the inner skirt as well as providing vertical support/alignment for the radiator support, Hood support, and hood hinge.

If the complete front end has been replaced and these pieces are missing, there will be no place to bolt the hood support.

JLMICCA

Thanks again guys. Let me clarify, 71rdster is correct that I was referring to the one piece hood surround and fenders. I do still have the stock radiator support and the sheet metal part attached to the inner fender skirt. I'm attaching a pic to clarify:


The picture is of the driver side hood hinge. The circle below the hinge is the top mounting hole for the hood support, the second hole is approximately 3 inches below that. What is missing is that the inner lip of the fender has been trimmed away (perhaps easier to install, I have it trimmed on both sides). Zip Corvette has a pretty good picture of the '68 and '69 style hood supports. They appear to be similar except that the '69 support has a third mounting point that attaches to the fender lip which I have trimmed away. I am sure this was done to provide additional support although the '68 version likely works fine as long as it's checked for tightness from time to time. I am leaning toward purchasing the '69 support (20 bucks cheaper) and trimming this third mounting point away. So...back to the original question, is the '68 support the same as the '69 but without the third support hole lining up to the driver's side fender?

JLMICCA

Well here it is installed. I ended up ordering the '69 hood support. I don't know if this is the same as the '68 with an added flange by the hinge to bolt to the fender. Ultimately, I can cut this flange off. If I knew the '68 were indeed identical, I would probably go with that since the metal is pretty stout. Dantana...hope this gives the detail you need. PM me if you need more pics.

c69vete

Like you stated earlier the tab was added for a reason. If it were me, I would fabricate an angle bracket to attach to the inner fender and come up and over the tab, with a matching hole and bolt it together. You could also usa a backing plate on the opposite side of the inner fender for additional support.

JLMICCA

I'm with you on that. The original questions remains, did the '68 cars get away with only the two mounting holes on the radiator support reinforcement (visually that appears to be the case) and are those holes the same as the '69. My '63 has gotten away with tow mounting points. While I'm sure this was deemed a necessary upgradein '69 forward, for a limited use car two may suffice.