Guest Perry Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 hi yall. check out my pics, I've come a long way since these were taken but I had to put them up cause I just figured out I could do it. let me know what you think of the flip clip, they don't seem to common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utvolman99 Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 Is that an all metal tilt front end??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perry Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 yep- welded together stock steel parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Z Posted May 22, 2003 Share Posted May 22, 2003 I'm liking that tilt job, reminds me of my old Gt6. Open it up, climb in and away you go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusterZ Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Tilt front end looks good. I'd like that for my car too ('79 Fairlady 280Z) but I can't weld that well (yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsumner Posted May 23, 2003 Share Posted May 23, 2003 Hi Perry, Can you describe your hinge design and post photos? Thanks, Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perry Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 This is an exerpt from a paper I wrote up about it. I'll get some pics up of the hinge in my personal gallery later today. It's really pretty simple to do if you take your time and think it through. What will you need? This is a project for a pretty well equipped gearhead, or a buddy of a well equipped gearhead. I’m sure I’ll miss some of the things you’ll need here, but this should be a pretty good list of the major stuff. Tools: Welder-preferably MIG Steel cutter- I used a circular saw with a metal cutting blade Sheet metal cutter- I use an air hammer with a cutting bit Files Basic hand tools Safety equipment-face shield, gloves etc.. Material: ¾†mild steel tube- about 20 feet. Find a steel supply yard, they’ll be much cheaper than hardware stores ½ inch bolts for hinge points some sheet metal-an old bent up fender or hood will work and are free at the junkyard. Time: This took me about 20 hours. This includes making a few things twice but also includes a pretty simple latch setup. Adjust accordingly. I removed all the front bodywork and the hood supports, bumpers, etc from the car. I stripped the paint from the seams then tack welded some strips of sheet metal to help fill the gap in the seams. Then I installed and lined up the whole front clip carefully (no fasteners of course). I MIG welded a 1 inch bead about every 10 inches along the seams, first attaching the headlight buckets to the fenders, then attaching the hood to the fenders/buckets. I then used a grinder to level the welded areas. I used a circular saw and metal blade to cut the lower portion of the fenders off right below the factory body line. Then I lifted the whole clip with an engine hoist and some rope. I had started to build a support structure to stiffen up the clip, but quickly discovered that it was not needed. The now one piece front clip is pretty stiff on its own. I built a hinge structure which bolts to the factory hinge mounts on the hood, and welded to the old bumper mount locations(could have easily bolted this if you want to). I used 3/4 inch steel square tube with MIG welds. I used bolts in holes drilled through the steel for hinges. I hinged the structure at the farthest point forward and lowest point possible while keeping the hinge inside of my aftermarket front air dam (which rotates with the clip, but is not installed in these pics). By doing this I made sure the nose is not too close to the ground when open and that the clip is out of the way when open so I won't hit my head on the fenders. With the support structure done I installed and bolted up the bodywork. then I began trimming here and there to make it open and close smoothly. I had to trim and brace the headlight mounting piece which is part of the fender and I trimmed/bent some of the sheetmetal seal near the doors inside the fender. I added some braided cable near the hinge to keep the hood from opening too far. I set it to open basically straight up. Now it would open and close smoothly but was very heavy. I used the factory torsion bars modified to work with my hinge to help with the weight of opening the clip. I installed them with no tension when the clip is open, which resulted in enough force to allow opening the hood with one hand. I thought about a gas strut but the torsion bars took up much less space and cost me nothing. You can see these between the hinge bolts in one of the pictures from the front of the car. One important consideration with this is you cannot install a front bumper, which is OK by me since I don't like the big bumpers my car had. Maybe you could weld on older style bumpers but of course they would not be functional. I am considering a 2 inch tube bumper which is just wide enough to fill the radiator opening, so that the clip can open up around it. This is somewhat for structure and to have a hard point on the front for pushing by hand etc but also with my aftermarket front air dam there is a huge radiator intake that needs something across it to look right. I've been working on my 350 chevy installation for a while now but soon I will turn my attention back to the front clip. I need to install the dog legs and come up with a latch setup. I may put a latch on each side inside the fenders or I may use the factory hood latch and some alignment pins in the fenders or I may just use hood pins, haven't decided yet. Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Perry Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 there are a couple of hinge photos in my gallery now. Perry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Perry I want to personally thank you for extending my project even LONGER!!! Last night I started welding the front clip together... I've got to go back this weekend and amke some changes to one side, but It was defenitly the way to go. Having had a fiberglass front clip in the past, tyhis seems like it will be SOOOO MUCH Stronger... I need to get with you offline about your hing setup and the way you dressed up the backside/ underside of the clip.. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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