Today's street rods and customs are built with ever-changing technology and the line between street rod and custom rod continues to be blurred. We're seeing more and more '60s cars being built with the attention to detail that up until recently was reserved for high-end street rods.
One area that needs improvement on these late-model cars is the hood hinges. Detailing engines is nothing new, but opening the hood to show off the engine suffers somewhat when the ugly stock hinges are also in view. Some innovative builders have started to come up with solutions, and this hood lift system fits right in. Jeff Lilly Restorations came up with an interesting hinge system for a '64 Ford Galaxie in their shop which can be retrofitted to many projects if room allows, so let's take a look at what it takes to get it done.
Before they could start making the hinges, they needed to determine that the arc they needed to build into the new hinges would not change the hood-to-cowl panel clearance. On some vehicles the hood moves back, closing up the gap to a point where it can hit on the cowl as the hood swings up. When building a project with consistent 3/16-inch panel gaps this becomes even more critical. With this type of hinge there is no play as with most original factory hinges, so that potential problem was eliminated.
On the interior side of the cowl and floor area they needed adequate room to install the gas shocks toward the outside of the car so that the custom kick panels will look natural without protruding too much into the foot space. On the driver side the emergency brake foot pedal system will be changed to a pull-up unit located between the bucket seat and console. In this particular application they have ample floor space width even with a console, which makes this a natural candidate. Another item to consider is the A/C heater box and any other items that are already behind the dash or will be installed during a custom build.
With a little work and ingenuity you can build a hinge system that will not only help lift the hood and hold it open but will add to your custom's underhood detailing.
As with any custom project,...
As with any custom project, it's always good to start with mock-ups. This is a quality control step. Just like a carpenter, measure twice and cut once. Louie mocked up the hood hinge rotation in correlation to the firewall to allow enough clearance when the hood was being raised.
Here's the basic hinge welded...
Here's the basic hinge welded together and ready to fit. They chose 1-inch chrome-moly tubing for light weight as well as overall size so the hinge would look trick but subtle when finished. Louie bent two equal left and right side pieces with 110 degrees of arc. He had a tube bender, but a home shop can get the same results by simply filling the tubing with sand and then torch-heating it to bend over a round surface if need be. He cut a straight length determined for the application, cut one end of both the bent section and straight piece at 45 degrees, and then welded them together while clamped. The bushing ends are 1 inch long. The other end of the straight tubing section was notched with their joint jigger tool on the drill press using a bimetal 1-inch cutter. Louie then welded it all in place.
On the pivot end of the hinge...
On the pivot end of the hinge Louie installed a bronze bushing that matched the inside wall of the tubing with a press fit.
The pivot box bracket was...
The pivot box bracket was fabricated using 1/8-inch-thick angle iron. This part will be bolted up in and against the drain cowl. The pivot box was drilled to match the bushing's inside diameter and the correct bolt was inserted to match for a snug fit.
This pivot box support strap...
This pivot box support strap bracket was fabbed from 14-gauge steel. Louie simply paper board mocked it to attach to one side of the pivot bracket down to the firewall to provide front-to-back support for the hinge. He installed the pivot support plate and then welded it around the outer perimeter of the box. It is now ready to trial fit to the cowl.
On the pivot end of the hinge...
On the pivot end of the hinge Louie installed a bronze bushing that matched the inside wall of the tubing with a press fit.
The pivot bracket was installed...
The pivot bracket was installed up inside the cowl where the original air vents were located. It's hard to see here but there is a hole on top of the pivot bracket which has a nut welded underneath inside the pivot box. This will be used to bolt the assembly to the top of the drain cowl.
The hinge needed more clearance...
The hinge needed more clearance to make a full swing, so Louie cut out more of the original drain cowl side wall. If your cowl is like this style, you will need to build a wall around inch tall in the section you needed to cut out to keep any water from coming into your interior. This is important if you get caught in a rainstorm or are spraying into your cowl vents during washing. On this project they do not need to add a wall because they are closing off the vents on top of the cowl given it is an A/C car and don't need outside air, thus eliminating any leaks.
This shot shows where they...
This shot shows where they reinforced the top of the drain cowl where the hinge pivot box was bolted in place. Be sure you have ample clearance between the bolt head and the drain cowl cover.
The hinge clears the firewall...
The hinge clears the firewall fine. Later on they'll build a nylon brush cover to keep dust and debris out of the interior but still allow the hinge free, unrestricted movement. Once the inner fender aprons are fabricated, this part of the hinge will be covered and viewable only from under the front fender.
The hood was flipped over...
The hood was flipped over to get it ready for attaching to the new hinge system. A new hinge bolt plate with a longer pattern was welded in to allow a nice transition from the mounting bolts to the gradual radius of the hinge.
The hood was laid down in...
The hood was laid down in place on the car and shims were used to get 3/16-inch gaps along the fender and cowl edges. The hood hinge was shaved to make a nice contact with the hinge plate and then tack-welded on. The hood was lifted up and down and all clearances were dead on. They then welded some gussets from the hinge to the flange plate to beef up the system to eliminate any flexing. Strength is first and beauty will come later.
The hood lifted up and down...
The hood lifted up and down smoothly, so they removed the hinge from the pivot bracket and ground down the mounting plate edges to a shape that matched the outer edges of the hood for a nice transition.
Once they were happy with...
Once they were happy with the fit, the hood was flipped back over and Louie boxed in the factory hinge pockets for a smoother look.
Beauty time! Some metal covers...
Beauty time! Some metal covers were fabbed for a smooth and subtle transition of the custom hinges. They were then tack-welded on for now and will be finish-welded before primer and paint as the project progresses. You can see them starting to take on their character.
Attention was then turned...
Attention was then turned back to the interior side. Here you can see the small triangular bracket welded to the very end of the hinge where they originally joined the straight section with the bent section. They welded this on and the adjustable gas shock was attached with a clevis rod and quick-release pin. The arrow points to the Allen-head set screw, which allows gas to be released from the unit, which changes the amount of tension going down. Turning the set screw out just a bit then back in, we released a little bit of gas till we have the right amount of closing pressure.
Louie cut a hole in the toeboard...
Louie cut a hole in the toeboard and fabricated a pocket out of 12-gauge metal that he tack-welded into the floor. Most of the force is on the bottom of the shock, so it needed to be stable. The gas shock was attached with a clevis. A custom kick panel will be built, which will be easily removed for service if ever needed.
The pocket and lower mount...
The pocket and lower mount were covered with a custom cover made from 20-gauge sheetmetal. A plastic mallet was used to form a cup to clear the pivot at the bottom location.
A full shot shows a clean...
A full shot shows a clean install with plenty of foot room and brake pedal clearance. Once the angled kick panels are installed it'll hardly be noticeable.