My Hood Hinge Replacement Job and Review.

[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.

[Spool]

Actually, Stepside...

Check out the photo I attached already. You can just about see the little gap I'm concerned about.

[76StepSd]

I will consider these braces for sure. I have tons of other things that need done on the truck. My hinges do not seem to be bad. They were just stiff from sitting in NV for a number of years. I got them lubed up pretty good and i try to keep them that way. I will probably remove the hood with the wifes help when i get a chance. Thanks for confirming the hood brace issue. I see your truck is a non AC truck or did you seal that part of with sheet metal and just add a heater duct and blower motor. I removed my AC firewall box...it wasnt working anyway and it was kinda trashed when i got it. Now i have to fab something up. I bought an AC delete panel and it wasnt that great so will address that when i can also.

[Spool]

So, I bought my truck 2015 and have been learning ever since, but never tackled the heater or investigated installing an AC.
I'm not sure if the truck ever had one.
The guys I bought the truck from we're going for a ratrod thing and ripped a lot of stuff out back then.
They sold it to me for a steal around the holidays for extra xmas cash.

I've since replaced a lot here and there along the way, learning more with each repair thanks to this site.

[76StepSd]

I agree this site has helped me a lot. Sometimes I have to step away from the truck for a bit...life..other projects...etc. But as of late i have had time to do things with it, unfortunately that time came in the winter. I normally work on it in the drive way. Hope to move to a place with a garage this year so I can work year round on it an other projects. I have contemplated just ripping all that heater stuff out also and just smoothing the firewall. I can see my wife complaining about no heat ha ha. My main things now are fixing my hood and suspension work. I also have a frame repair near the steering box to fix .(Yes that common c10 frame cracking area). I took it to a welder once to fix it some time ago before I myself became proficient at welding. Omg did that idiot do a hack job. Now I have to go undo and fix what he hacked up. But...you live and learn.

[VileZambonie]

That weak spot in the 73-80 hood was there intentionally. It was designed to allow the hood to fold in an accident. The bolts on the cowl are there to stop the hood from coming through the windshield as well. If you have good hinges, you really don't need stiffeners. Keep the pivots lubed.

[76StepSd]

  As I stated they are well lubed now but a little too late lol. When i get it off i will take a look at it...i really do not want to source another hood but.....I will evaluate once i inspect.

[Spool]

Wow. Now, I feel rather foolish after unknowingly tinkering with two safety features.
I need start asking more questions than I already am before doing.

I could look into replacing the two bolts while clearing the hood hinge when it closes.

Vile, do you recommend the brackets, or would you remove them for safety?

[VileZambonie]

I don't build my trucks for safety 

Many aftermarket hoods do not have this feature and some even require you to remove the stops to use them. The manufacturer is off the hook for any safety standards at this point, so it's totally on you. I'm just stating the reasons for the hoods being notorious for bending and the best way to keep it from happening is to stay lubed.  Stiffeners will help it from happening but are you addressing the symptom or the problem? None of my trucks have them.

[Chevygold]

Probably teaching you guys how to suck eggs but I've found if you push back on the hood as you push down it goes down a lot easier and less likely to bend it, mine had a slight bend on the passenger side which I got out with some stout timber and a clamp until it lined up nicely with the fender.
Graham

[Mr Diesel]

When I bought my 1976 the hinges were so stiff that the hood was bent from previous owner forcing it closed. Some idiot hacked it all up welding braces in, but it was still so stiff the dealer even removed a spring from one side so they could close it. Of course then it didnt want to close properly due to lopsided pressure from just one spring. I bought it and just sprayed some lube on the hinges. Immediately fixed the issue and I put the other spring  back on. Worked great from then on. Amazing what those idiots went through fighting and damaging that hood when all it needed was a little lube on the hinges.