emergency hood release cable - EASY with pics
10-23-2010, 06:54 PM
#41
Corvette Junkie
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2023 C7 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Thanks Mike 
This thread was over a year ago, and I am honored that SOCALMAN was nice enough to put it near the top of his great sticky on CF. Funny how sometimes a simple, inexpensive fix can be just the ticket when the day comes that the hood release cable refuses to work. I am glad you found it useful.
Soooooo many great tips and ideas on this forum - a wealth of knowledge. Sometimes that gets lost within a thread when "one up's manship" takes over for helpful advice or opinion.
Peace Mike
Larry
This thread was over a year ago, and I am honored that SOCALMAN was nice enough to put it near the top of his great sticky on CF. Funny how sometimes a simple, inexpensive fix can be just the ticket when the day comes that the hood release cable refuses to work. I am glad you found it useful.
Soooooo many great tips and ideas on this forum - a wealth of knowledge. Sometimes that gets lost within a thread when "one up's manship" takes over for helpful advice or opinion.
Peace Mike
Larry
I spent 2 hours yesterday with the passenger wheel off with a coat hanger to open my stuck hood. Never again.
Mike
Last edited by CorvetteMike2024; 10-23-2010 at 07:05 PM.
10-23-2010, 07:43 PM
#43
Drifting
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St. Jude Donor '08
I picked up the stuff today at a local building supply. About 5 bucks altogether with the cable ends. Tomorrow's project, I think the beer will cost more than this.........
01-30-2011, 11:19 AM
#45
Burning Brakes
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I installed this on mine 2 weeks ago. The only thing that I did different is that I put black heat shrink tubing on the cable before crimping the ends on. Blends in real nice!
03-31-2011, 06:32 PM
#46
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Back up hood release cables....
Man I love this website!!! Great F%$%&^ idea! I am a recent Vette
owner and have used this site more than once for guidance. THANK YOU
for that post.
owner and have used this site more than once for guidance. THANK YOU
for that post.
04-01-2011, 08:36 AM
#47
Drifting
Excellent thread! As soon as I read it, I bought a couple of 30lb fishing leaders and put them on my '94 as emergency hood releases. They work great. 
As an aside, it is important to keep your hood release mechanisms lubricated on a regular basis. I use white lithium grease on mine. Just wipe off as much of the old grease as possible and put a couple of dabs of white lithium on the mechanism and operate it by hand a few times to spread the new lubricant. Not doing this on a regular basis is probably the biggest reason that the hood releases fail as the hood release mechanisms experience greater and greater resistance as the lubricant deteriorates over time.
As an aside, it is important to keep your hood release mechanisms lubricated on a regular basis. I use white lithium grease on mine. Just wipe off as much of the old grease as possible and put a couple of dabs of white lithium on the mechanism and operate it by hand a few times to spread the new lubricant. Not doing this on a regular basis is probably the biggest reason that the hood releases fail as the hood release mechanisms experience greater and greater resistance as the lubricant deteriorates over time.
04-01-2011, 11:23 AM
#48
Instructor
The only thing I might add is to take a large pop rivet and disassemble it using the flanged piece as a slide thru the rubber dam. Set it with a small amount of Black GE RTV. This step stops any tendancy for the wire rope to tear the rubber as you test or use the emergency pull hood release cables.
04-04-2011, 12:11 PM
#49
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The only thing I might add is to take a large pop rivet and disassemble it using the flanged piece as a slide thru the rubber dam. Set it with a small amount of Black GE RTV. This step stops any tendancy for the wire rope to tear the rubber as you test or use the emergency pull hood release cables.
05-14-2012, 08:34 AM
#52
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St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Yes it's an old thread but a helpful one - hopefully the moderators will keep it open since we have a whole lot of new C-4 owners who have not yet done this.
Others may have better pics but here's mine - color coordinated to the car no less!
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05-14-2012, 12:12 PM
#54
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St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
When you make your new emergency cables, there is enough room for a second cable right alongside the first. Thread the cable through and then crimp the ferrule onto it.
I don't have a close-up handy. Look at yours and see if this explains it. If not I'll try to get one posted for you.
05-14-2012, 01:33 PM
#55
Racer
If you look closely at the factory arrangement, there is a small clip or bracket. The cable from the pull handle inside goes THROUGH that bracket, and then is crimped with a ferrule on the outboard side of the car. That ferrule is close to the bracket. When you pull the release, the cable moves and that ferrule pulls the bracket - which is on the latch mechanism.
When you make your new emergency cables, there is enough room for a second cable right alongside the first. Thread the cable through and then crimp the ferrule onto it.
I don't have a close-up handy. Look at yours and see if this explains it. If not I'll try to get one posted for you.
When you make your new emergency cables, there is enough room for a second cable right alongside the first. Thread the cable through and then crimp the ferrule onto it.
I don't have a close-up handy. Look at yours and see if this explains it. If not I'll try to get one posted for you.
..VERY EASY.....even for a mechanically challenged 
guy like me. Im gonna do this today ! ! 
05-14-2012, 02:32 PM
#56
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I'm learning so much! I just bought a 1985 Vette. Literally Friday 05/11. Threads like this are very useful! I'm getting all the little things sorted out quickly thanks to those that share knowledge. My hood won't "pop" up when I pull my lever. I have to hold the lever and pull the hood/clam/bonnet....what is the correct term? Anyway, thanks again for putting the picture up! I think I can do that.
05-14-2012, 05:38 PM
#57
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Glad to help, and the way to build your mechanical skills is by doing easy jobs and gaining experience and confidence to do tougher stuff. This forum is a great place, no one person knows it all but collectively I think we just about DO.
As info for the newer guys, in general the honchos here have a rule of thumb that if a thread goes dead for 45 days or more, you should start a new one instead of digging up the old. I'm glad to see they are indulging us on this one by not locking it.
Those emergency release cables are a good thing to have. You know darn well the old cable will NOT break in your driveway on a Saturday morning, it will be alongside the freeway at 0-dark-30 when you already have some other problem going on. It's cheap insurance which you hopefully won't need. I delayed doing mine a long time but it's so easy I wondered why I didn't get in gear and do it sooner.
My vette is Aqua and I found that cable actually as part of a swimming pool cover. Look around and you might be able to find cable coated with a color that works for your car.
PS - keep the latch mechanisms lubricated up to prolong the life of the original cable
As info for the newer guys, in general the honchos here have a rule of thumb that if a thread goes dead for 45 days or more, you should start a new one instead of digging up the old. I'm glad to see they are indulging us on this one by not locking it.
Those emergency release cables are a good thing to have. You know darn well the old cable will NOT break in your driveway on a Saturday morning, it will be alongside the freeway at 0-dark-30 when you already have some other problem going on. It's cheap insurance which you hopefully won't need. I delayed doing mine a long time but it's so easy I wondered why I didn't get in gear and do it sooner.
My vette is Aqua and I found that cable actually as part of a swimming pool cover. Look around and you might be able to find cable coated with a color that works for your car.
PS - keep the latch mechanisms lubricated up to prolong the life of the original cable
05-14-2012, 07:59 PM
#59
Team Owner
keep drain hole clean and lube the hell out of the latch. I made a hook to open mine after I was ready to take a sawzall to the GS hood when it was a few years old. Ran down to a car show and took some measurements and made the hook to grab the cable. Took about 2 minutes to open with the hook. Great idea above.
