Reinforced hood

[RobertWichert]

Does anybody make a reinforced hood that won’t buckle at the indented weak spot?

Your help is appreciated.

 

[Grit dog]

None of them will buckle if they’re not already stressed and the hood hinges and springs also work like they should.
Idk about repop 70s hoods if they are stronger, but why not just install one of the several hood reinforcing braces that are available? Or make a set? I think I gave $20-30 for the braces I got for the 77 that still has a straight original hood.

 

[Ricko1966]

Does anybody make a reinforced hood that won’t buckle at the indented weak spot?

Your help is appreciated.

The hoods are suppose to buckle at that spot,so they don't come through the windshield like a gullitene in a crash. The problem is dirty unlubricated hood hinges. They make repair kits for the hood. Take care of your hinges,or take the springs off and use a prop rod. These hoods are heavy. Also I would think any manufacturer that deliberately made a hood to bypass that safety feature,would be setting themselves up for a lawsuit

 

[fast 99]

yes, and there are studs mounted on the cowl on each rear corner that traps hood from going rearward as well. Not sure what year that was adopted/required.

Have seen the results of the hood knife, its not pretty.

 

[Chevy 88]

The hoods are suppose to buckle at that spot,so they don't come through the windshield like a gullitene in a crash. The problem is dirty unlubricated hood hinges. They make repair kits for the hood. Take care of your hinges,or take the springs off and use a prop rod. These hoods are heavy. Also I would think any manufacturer that deliberately made a hood to bypass that safety feature,would be setting themselves up for a lawsuit

What he said.

 

[TotalyHucked]

As someone who works in the restoration/aftermarket sheetmetal biz I can shed some light. Nobody makes a hood that's reinforced for exactly the reasons stated above. The repair/strengthening kits are the only thing out there. But as long as the hinges are in good shape and properly lubed periodically, the hood won't fold. Our '76 shop truck's hood is perfect and moves up and down very nicely because we lube the hinges every few months

 

[idahovette]

Seems if you push rearward as you pull down it works better??

 

[TotalyHucked]

Seems if you push rearward as you pull down it works better??

Yes, '73-80 trucks need to be pushed toward the windshield as they're being shut. The way the hinges are made, they swing in an arc, they go back just as much as they go down when closing. Whereas '81-up trucks just kinda work as a regular door hinge, they just pivot.

 

[YakkoWarner]

The 81 and up hoods also feel lighter (maybe just the way the springs are set up) than the 70's version - my 89 Suburban's hood has no buckling even though the dimples are there - it also has the catch hook things at the cowl to stop it from coming thru the glass. But comparing it to my friend Dave's 79 when he had it there definately seemed to be more weight to the 79 hood.

 

[Sad Sack]

The hoods are suppose to buckle at that spot,so they don't come through the windshield like a gullitene in a crash. The problem is dirty unlubricated hood hinges. They make repair kits for the hood. Take care of your hinges,or take the springs off and use a prop rod. These hoods are heavy. Also I would think any manufacturer that deliberately made a hood to bypass that safety feature,would be setting themselves up for a lawsuit

And hopefully those two little stoppers at each corner, like on F-Bodys and other platforms, are there to begin the interruption of said hood removing excess fat from the body.

 

[1976dully]

Here's the hood stops. Don't pay any attention to the garbage laying on my cowl lol

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Radiohead]

I can attest to a '79 hood being heavier than 81-87. No empirical evidence like scale readings but you can tell. I need to repin and spring the hinges here, my problem isn't being hung up more too much slop and weak springs. I know, I'm lucky, it's on the list.

 

[Radiohead]

Here's the hood stops. Don't pay any attention to the garbage laying on my cowl lol

You must be registered for see images attach

And you have to hope rust unseen hasn't weakened the structure underneath.

No anti-lock brakes, no air bags, no collision avoidance software. We die like men.

 

[TotalyHucked]

The '81-up hoods are a bit lighter, but not significantly. The whole truck was ~300lbs lighter when they came out for '81. That was one of the things GM touted for fuel mileage, that's also why they have slightly thinner glass than '80-down

 

[Sad Sack]

And you have to hope rust unseen hasn't weakened the structure underneath.

No anti-lock brakes, no air bags, no collision avoidance software. We die like men.

That was the response I was waiting for, compromised panels that support those pins.