On mine I made sure I placed the pins pefectly. Once I had them in I dabbed the tips of the pin's w/red paint then lowered the hood down on them (after I trimed the hood linner)wa-la I had 2 perfect marks to drill. I was also as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs!! I also used a good steped drill bit (sheetmetal bit) and it left a nice chamfered edge. Acadian the laser was a good idea. My dog will run around till his legs fall off w/ those lasers!

 

okay then......what do you do to keep it from oxidizing [/b][/quote]
the touch up paint should be sufficient to protect the metal.

 

Vegasjay, Acadian

Because of you two guys, I think I will do it myself also. Local speed shop wants to charge me two hours of labor to put them on.

There seems to be 4 hard points under the hood for the rubber bushings. I was wondering if any of the hood gets in the way when closing?

 

Ok Vegasjay PM me with more details on the installation. I have the RKSport fiberglass hood and I have to have the hood pins to make sure the hood stays closed and doesn't vibrate the hood latch off. Let me know what it took for the stock hood.

 

Hey Vegasjay, I found something else that works. Instead of using a few nuts to hold it all together, I used a 1 1/2" bolt and a coupler. You can cut 1/2" off the post and this gives you a lot of adustment range. I then just use another nut to lock it in place.

However, after figuring this all out and polishing the posts to a chrome like finish my wife gave me the third degree just as I was about to drill the holes in the hood.

To make a long story short, my pins are for sale I know when to pick my battles and this is one I don't want to bother with. So if anyone in Canada wants to buy a set of polished pins and necessary hardware to install it let me know. Darnit!

 

Sorry to hear that, John. But you can't win them all. Hope it wasn't my lengthy PM that scared you away from putting the pins on. If you like the look though, maybe you could just get the CDC faux hood pins. Just like having a faux gas cap on the back of your car.

 

Crazy thing is I already drilled the holes in the crossmember, so time to get some rubber plugs or something to fill them in.

 

That's an easy fix. Nobody will ever know either.

 

I may be interested! Are these the 'genyuwine' Ford pins?

PM me, please.

 

Montrose, sent you a PM

 

Not only that, but they are polished.

 

picture doesn't do it justice but here is a pic after it was polished compared to the coupling that has not been polished

 

I thought of the coupler also, but there is enough room on the nut so I did not worry about it. I will put the holes in my hood this weekend. I bought 6 brass nuts, two lock washers and two 2 inch bolts. I will put a nut and lock washer on the bolt and put the free side of the shaft through the hole. Next I put two nuts on the bolt, the last is the nut that will connct to the pin. I adjust the hieght with the lower section of the bolt, that is under the metal cross member. Once I get the height that I want, I will disassemble and locktight on reassembly.

I drilled the holes in the cross member today to set the pins, with paint on the tips to mark the hood from the underside. Had to clear some insulation from the hood underside for this.

I plan on putting painters tape on the top side to protest the paint while the drill sets a pilot hole through the hood from below. Then I will drill from the top with two larger drill bits and finish off with a 5/8th. After the hole is drilled, I will file the edges, prime, paint, remove the tape.

Thanks to those on this thread who pm'd me on what they did in specifics.

Edited 3/23/05

I still have not drilled holes in my hood, because my drill will not take my 1/2 inch drill bit. I did try to make holes for my pins, but the crossmember has another one close underneath and prevents me from hooking the pins up like I want, but I think I found a solution.

 

Guys, Hood pins work great without welding or fabbing spacers.

If you remove the plastic coverplate and then remove the top radiator support mounts and "J nuts" you can enlarge the hole the "J-nut" slides into enough to pass the hood pin nut taped onto a stiff piece of wire into the channel. Apply a little touchup paint and reinstall the parts. No spacers, no nothing!

Note on the second picture that the left square hole has been enlarged just enough for the nut. This is all covered in the end and is not seen.

If adjustment is needed, just a little upward pressure or a slight tilt of the pin will allow the bottom nut to be threaded up or down.

 

Eric, thanks for the advice, but I believe that your Steeda cowl hood is not the same as the stock hood in that area. I think because of the cowl that section (where your hood pins are) is flatter. The stock hood probably buldges up more in that area. I could be wrong, but my pins were too short, as were many others who have installed them on a stock hood.

 

That could be, mine are Mr. Gasket and may be a little longer also.

I just checked my spare set and they are 3-7/8" from end to end.

 

Maybe adrenalin can verify the length of the FRPP posts since he hasn't installed his yet. I am guessing yours might be longer too. I just know there was no way mine would fit.

 

That is a good idea! I guess 100 brains are better than 1.

 

The Ford Racing PP Hood Pins that I bought do have machine screws to put the inner and outer plates together. Bad move. I bought some small bolts and nuts to connect the two. That way I do not have to worry about them coming loose. If I remove it for some reason, I do not have to worry about metal fatigue stripping the hole for the screws either.

 

I am such a wimp. I did not have a 1/2 inch drill, but I got one now!

In the meantime, I discovered a great product to use in mounting the pins. It is called Magnum Steel by VersaChem. Looks like a roll of clay. You cut off a piece and knead it until the color is uniform, and then you use it to attach anything together. Cures in only one hour!

This stuff calls itself "five minute steel" and they are right.

While waiting for my drill, I was going to borrow one, I thought of using this stuff to connect a 1 1/2 inch flatwasher to a 1/2 inch nut. Attach this assemby to the crossmember, and screw the pin into the assembly.

I took a hammer to this stuff and it really holds well.

Now all I have to do is get the nerve to drill holes in my hood! Thank god its raining out and I can put this off today. :shock:

Please give me courage!