Psykovertible Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 i was searching and found this old post. http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=74271&highlight=front+tilt+hinge Has anyone made any progress or have input on the better hinge system to use. mine work but its getto. not safe i dont think for speed. didnt fly off at 55 with the "test drive" on the trailer from point a-b. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeder Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 I have some pictures of my tilt front end on my website http://rick.thebowersplace.com It is the (no longer made) Arizona ZCar one -piece front. Look under "Car Pictures". The website is way out of date concerning car configuration... My hinges consist of matching flat plates, one attached to the car, one to the hood on each side. I use a hefty (1/2" diameter) clevis pin secured with a hairpin clip through the two plates to make each actual hinge. Note that the actual hinge point is very low in order to make the air dam clear the floor when the front end rotates up. I used some hydraulic struts to hold the hood open, but found that there was too much tension, so I just gutted them and used them for simple stops. I use 4 hood pins to secure the front end near the cowl area when closed. The complete assembly can be removed quickly without tools by just pulling the pins at the hinges and at the hydraulic struts. Although very light (about 35 pounds), the front end is really bulky and awkward to grab hold of and lift/carry, so I have a cable through a pulley with 4 hooks on the end that enable me to lift the front end clear and store overhaed when working on the car. I'll be building a new tilt front pretty soon - to match my new rear flares almost done - by connecting the Reaction Research 280YZ front fenders, hood and air dam - I plan to use the same hinge construction but build some integrated side latches to eliminate the hood pins. Tilt front ends have a nice "gee whiz" factor and really are good for providing access while working on the car. After I got this car done and before I dinged up the paint by driving and carelessly wrenching in the shop, the car won "best in show" at a local Z car event, based mostly on the front end work. Let me know if more pictures of the hinges are desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psykovertible Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 daaaaang. that's nice. even a color i love. your front clip and mine look very similar. the bumper and valance are very close match. i dont have flares though. did you add all that or did it come prettymuch like in pic. hinges look simple enough. are those the "worn out" 280 shocks i was reading about or different thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speeder Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Thanks! My front end came without headlight buckets or flares. I added those. Lots of itchy/stinky work to get the piece straight and fitting. The hydraulic struts I used are something I picked up off the rack in a parts store - selected for the right size and suitable mounts on both ends. I think they are quite a bit shorter than the Z hatch struts. Any "worn out" strut that will fit can be used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAW Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 I don't know what the hinges supplied with the front-end look like, but on a car (non-Z) that I put a one-piece front-end on I reversed and adapted a set of hood hinges from a rear-hinged hood car to serve as the hinges for the front-end unit. The advantage was that as the front-end tilted forward, it also moved up and away from the chassis which avoided some interference problems. I don't know what source to suggest, you'd just have to start looking at JYs and get creative. I like the design of the hinges on my Mercedes because there is a method of releasing the normal stop which then allows the hood to open 90 degrees and lock there (I can pull the engine/trans without removing the hood. I don't know if this helps at all, but food for thought. DAW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 73Turbo240z Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 I don't know what the hinges supplied with the front-end look like, but on a car (non-Z) that I put a one-piece front-end on I reversed and adapted a set of hood hinges from a rear-hinged hood car to serve as the hinges for the front-end unit. The advantage was that as the front-end tilted forward, it also moved up and away from the chassis which avoided some interference problems. I don't know what source to suggest, you'd just have to start looking at JYs and get creative. I like the design of the hinges on my Mercedes because there is a method of releasing the normal stop which then allows the hood to open 90 degrees and lock there (I can pull the engine/trans without removing the hood. I don't know if this helps at all, but food for thought. DAW volvos pull that trick too on certain 2 and 7 series... however they are also spring loaded hoods, so the force they are moved with would probally break a fiberglass 1 piece front. however, if someone took those hinges, then used lightweight shocks as there power for movement, it could be a working solution with 2 points of "open rest" offerable... clearance allowing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psykovertible Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 i was looking at my 87 BMW 325 hinges. when u pull the lever, front of hood pops about 2-3 inches and moves forward. when it moves forward, the rear two latch peices release so that it can be tilted up. looks fairly simple to mess with i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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