73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks > Projects Posts (NOT VEHICLES)

My Hood Hinge Replacement Job and Review.

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Spool:
Hey Guys.
73' C20 here.
Just replaced the busted hood hinges with a pair or repro hinges from ebay, and thought I'd share my experience with some photos.
I also took this as an opportunity to sand down and paint the underside hood and parts of the engine bay.

-The hinges arrived scratched, so I painted those.

-Following instructions found on YouTube, removing the hood and old hinges with help from a friend was straightforward.

-Came into two snags when fitting the new hinges.
1. The driver's hinge didn't align 100%, and I had to fight the bottom bolt a bit to get it flush.
2. The passenger side hinge was hitting a bolt from near my cowl. I could not remove this with force and liquid wrench, so I ended up cutting it out.

-Aligning the hood was a bit tricky.
1. Online videos mentioned placing the hinges at their highest position because it's easier to tap down on the hood when aligning rather than pulling up. Yet, my hood sat well above its desired level when doing this, and no matter how hard I tried to push it down myself, I couldn't get it correct. With help of a friend who pushed up on the hood, thus forcing the hinges to their lowest positions, was I able to wrench the bolts down to have the hinges at their lowest position.
2. Trial and error here, but eventually you'll get it aligned.

-Added a new weather strip while I was at.

-Wish I replaced the cowl itself in hindsight, but I'll order one in the near future instead.

Pictures attached:

Spool:
Some more pictures.
First picture is the bolt near the cowl that I needed to remove for clearance.

Spool:
Photos of the alignment:

76StepSd:
Nice work...decent amount of elbow grease. I need to do the same to my 76 C10. I have alot of work to do when the weather breaks. As far as your hood goes. I hear that the hoods crack on one side or another...mine did....I assume is from old stubborn hinges when trying to close the hood. I saw a vid somewhere where a guy said he welded supports on the underside to prevent this.(of course once good hinges are installed)  Have you heard of this? 

Spool:
Yes, you're absolutely right. And I actually purchased and installed these on my hood during this job.

I let Brothers sell me on a pair when watching one of their videos.
They mentioned how these hoods have a weak point over the years.
My fear was that with the introduction of the tension coming from the springs, I would bend my hood.
So, I purchased the braces, painted those, and screwed them in as well. Quick install.

They're there, but I do have one concern.
The braces don't share the top screw of the hood hinge making one source of support like they do in the video.
Instead, the brace hugs an indent on the hood that is a few inches away from the hood hinge mount.
So, my new fear is that if the hood does bend, it's going to bend right between my hood hinge mount and the brace itself.

I'm treating my hood with extra care at the moment while I get a feel for the new tension from the springs.

Overall, I got the brackets for $40 and they look sharp. Let's just see if they do what they're designed to do.
Otherwise a new hood is an extra 0 at $400.

I'd attach a photo if I had one, but honestly, you wouldn't even notice them unless you were looking for it.
They hug the shape of the hood quite nicely.

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