So after driving about 125 miles today in very windy conditions, I've decided that I will not live with the assumption that the hood latch is holding the hood well enough for it to never fly off, get bent, etc. I had 2 seperate occasions today at about 80Mph that I actually let off the throttle and slowed down to 65Mph because the hood was shaking so badly. I have a road trip of about 2,000 miles round trip that I'm taking at the end of the month to see my father, and I want hood pins installed before I leave. I have had the car up to 130Mph and the hood didn't shake at all, but there was no wind that day, so maybe that was the difference.

So...where is everyone buying them, and where does everyone prefer them for location? I've seen them on the higher part of the hood towards the middle and out to the edges on the lower part. I am leaning towards the outer portion of the hood as this is where most of the hood flex seems to be. I would like to get the coated cables that go through the grill as well for no other reason than they look cool. The hood pins themselves however, as far as I am concerned, will give me peace of mind while driving this car. (I even went so far today as looking in my side mirrors to get my bearings for the stripes in the highway so I could look in my mirrors and coast it to a stop on the side of the road if the hood popped up, that's how sure I was it was going to happen )

Thanks in advance for everyone's help. If you have them installed, please post pictures of the various install locations, I'd love to see the different locations installed.

Sean

 

I have a set of new Ford hood pins that I will sell you. You can get the bump stops adjusted and that should take alot of the shake out of your hood. LMK if you are interested in the hood pins.

 

Well the best yet is from fang performance. But if you dont live by them, I am not sure how easy to install etc.

Here is a link with pricing etc.
http://www.fangperformance.com/pricing.htm

These are twist locks.

 

I ordered mine through the local ford dealer.

http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_...rtKeyField=1279

 

Pep Boys - 9 bucks......

Same ones SC67stang used and they are good.
Yes use those preexisting holes just outside the outer bumpstops.

EVERYTHING you talked about I went through - having to grandma the car around on the highway on a windy day because I was too scared about the hood coming up. It bugged the CRAP out of me having to baby it.

Trust me - you will be nice and relaxed and secure once they are installed though

Just use SC67's directions from his thread on the subject.

ALSO - after I installed, I didn't use the insulation 'cover' or the strip of insulation that comes on the stock hood that site up near the windshield. The front corners of the hood (especially the driver's side which was the one that scraed me the most with how much it danced <least we know the vents are doing their job though and dropping in the air there!>) were rock solid but at high speeds, I still notcied some flex in the fiberglass, aroudn the middle of the 'cowl' section right by the windshield. Again thank to SC67s suggestion, I hit Auto Zone and bought some door/trunk insulation, installed two strips as he suggested and problem solved.

Now I don't even THINK about the hood at high speeds anymore.

 

Ford Racing Hood Pins on my ride. Pins need to be welded in place. Work great.

My latch did fail crossing a bridge. Worth it to do if you are going to drive fast.