Suicide Hood Hinge How=To (Repost)...

[Nite Dragon]

NOTE: If you have a 4.3 you might need to relocate your washer resevoir and ABS control box

Ok the first one got messed up with he pics so here it is again...

First off ya need to make a trip your local junkyard and get the hood hinge assembly from a Buick Skylark (there are a couple other models that have them as well but I dont remember what they are), Not sure the exact year range, I know '84 Skylarks have the hinge. Anyway, they aren't hard to find, most junk yards have the hoods open on all the cars anyways. While your there, pick up an extra set of hood snubbers.

After you get the hinges home, first thing ya need to do is measure the distance between the fenders. Also measure the width of the new hinge assembly. The new hinge assembly should be about 2 inches wider than your fenders. You'll need to cut a section out of the support bar for the hinge assembly which keeps the hood from twisting when you open or close it. In the pic below it shows a piece of PVC connecting the two pieces o the support bar. This was a temporary setup until I figured out a better way. I recently fixed it using an extra smallblock manual fuel pump pushrod I had laying around. Another thing you could use it any round metal stock or pipe that you can hammer inside the hollow support bar, or hammer the pipe over the bar.


Set your hinge assembly on the water runoff lip of the fender and mark where your gonna mount your hinge. The rubber stop bracket should almost touch the radiator support. After you get your holes marked and drilled, mount the hinge from the bottom of the lip and attach with bolts.


After both sides are installed. Fold the hinges down into the closed position. Remove the inner fender wells, and jack the truck up to have access to the bottom of the hood. You can remove the front wheels if you want to give you more room. I think it makes the job easier this way. Others have done it without pulling the fenderwells.

Close the hood (thats still attached to the stock hinges). From the fender wells, position the new hinges so they are in contact with the bottom side of the hood. Mark your holes on the hood with a marker.

Raise the hood and drill your holes. I also drilled a larger hole 1/2" to the rear of the mount holes and used clip nuts (like the ones on the fenderwells and rad support). After your holes are mounted and clip nuts installed, Remove the (4) bolts that mount the hood to the stock hinge.

[Nite Dragon]

Set the hood back down and latch it in its original position. This will make adjusting the hood easier. From the fenderwells, bolt the new hinge to the clip nuts.


Now release the hood latch and pop the hood open, pull up/forward and fold the hood down in front of the grill to make sure everything operates properly.


Next remove the cowl and remove the stock hinges. You will need to cut the lip of the hinge bracket and hammer the bracket flat covering the slit for the hinge. You can weld it in place or screw it down. This will latch the rear of the hood into the firewall . Make sure you shoot some paint over it so it doesn't rust. Doesn't have to be pretty the cowl will cover it all up.


Mount the stock hinges back onto the hood. Then close the hood till the stock hinge hits the bracket you just fastened down. Mark this spot and cut the stock hinges. Open and close the hood several times and make sure it closes properly and the rear hooks clear the bracket.

Reinstall the cowl. Now you can mount you extra set of hood snubbers to keep the rear of the hood level with the body and keep it from bouncing going down the road.

Thats it, now your hood flips open to the front. A very easy and inexpensive mod. Here's a few more pics of the finished product...





The hood looks like crap, I gotta remount the scoop.

[riddic1985]

thats crazy