Mikelly Posted April 2, 2001 Share Posted April 2, 2001 Guys, I am leaning back towards making my front end tilt... I need to know how I can mate a 4 inch wide, 1/8th inch thick frame, with hing studs (To bolt to the factory hing) onto the current front end... My plan is to use DZUES fasteners at 5 points... one on either side mid way up the side of the fender, and three across the top and the windn shield... I want to anchore the front end down....At speed. Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted April 2, 2001 Share Posted April 2, 2001 So you want to use the factory hood hinges as the pivot for the tilt front clip? If this is so, I would be looking carefully at what the lower front (valance) of the clip will do when the clip is lifted. I know that when I considered this on mine, the hinges had to be at the base of the core support (and forward) to allow the part to lift up and away. I have not seen any pics of this front end yet, so pardon me if I misunderstand your intent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted April 2, 2001 Share Posted April 2, 2001 Mike, the only concern i would have is that the high tension of the front hood hinge would damage the fiberglass. You could always remove the springs from the hinges to solve that problem. If you look in jc whitney, dont laugh, they have clip hinges. You could check that out jusut for ideas if anything. As far as i know, hood pins at the back of the deck would be your best bet though as far as hold downs go. Or you could always make the clip open like a real hood would, I dunno. Just a thought! Good luck- Evan PS, im wondering if hydraulic cylinders like the ones used to hold a hatch open would do the trick if you could find one capable of holding up that much weight without dropping it on your head when it hits 29 degress outside LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted April 3, 2001 Author Share Posted April 3, 2001 I need to take pics of this front clip and post them... I'll do that by the weekend..Up to my eldows in primer and POR15 right now. Basically the front himges being offered by JC Whitney are the same hinges I sent back to MAS, as they supply JC Whitney the front ends that they market. BTW, JC sells them for $150 profit and then tacks on the truck freight.. Evan, I would defenetly remove the tension springs. and the whole clip doesn't weigh what a factory hood weighs, so your idea of using the struts is a good one. Terry, What I'm hoping to do is leave the spoiler stationary, and have the front end tilt forward. Not even sure this will work as I haven't even tried to mock anything up yet... Plans are to finish the engine bay, finish up the cage supports and floor pans, and then turn full attention to the front end. I guess what I want to know is this: If I want to mold a metal frame into this unit to add stiffness to it (Underside is course matting) what would I have to do to ensure it would stay? Mike ------------------ http://hometown.aol.com/dat74z/myhomepage/auto.html "I will not be a spectator in the sport of life!" mjk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 I made a '66 Mustang hood in '86 (one of my very first pieces I ever did) and needed to mount it to the original hinges. I took 2 pieces of 1/2" X 2" X 8" aluminum. Drilled and tapped holes for the hinge bolts to screw into, then put a large taper on all the edges (very important to do this so that the larger side of the taper is on the hood side of the blocks). I also D/A'ed the surface (except the side that bolted to the hinges) with 36 grit paper to really rough it up real good. Then bolted these blocks to the hinges and then laid about 4 layers of wet mat on top, then set the hood (clip in your case) onto the wet glass. After the glass kicked, I unbolted the hood from the hinges and had the aluminum bonded lightly to the hood (careful here because the blocks will separate at this point easily). This next step is very important. I again roughed up the area on the hood underside adjacent to the aluminum blocks. Then applied several layers of mat onto the hood (about a 1" to 2" area next to blocks) so that it covers all the tapered edges of the blocks (the more the better). When this kicks, then surface the blocks (tops of them as hood is now up-side-down) smooth so that the glass is even with the mounting surface of the blocks so that the hood mounts well. The key thing here what keeps the blocks firmly attached to the hood was glass on the tapered edges. Even if the block separates from the glass/aluminum bond, the edges will hold the block in place (because of the tapper) very strongly all around the blocks. I drove that Mustang around for 10 years and never had it separate (which surprised me to see that the blocks were not even loose inside their "wrap" after all those years of vibration and heat and I even had the springs still on the hinges). Yes, this does add some weight to the hood, but the aluminum was at least lighter than steel, and you could use smaller pieces too. Important note is to not put too much hardener in the resin on the final bonding step. This is a lot of mat thickness (about 1/2" in the immediate area of the blocks) and heat build-up may warp or distort these areas of the hood (clip)as the glass cools, so let it kick slowly). Sorry for the loooooonnnnng post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 Mike, I dont have any Front Clip swapping experience, but, I have been thinking about how to secure my hood when closing it w/out using the factory set up after putting a SBC in it. I've come up w/two ideas; use Olds's W-25 hood pins. Year One's "Olds" catalogue has them as a set for $49; the box'd retainers they anchor in (which is bolted to the core support) for $59 a pair or you can buy the entire Hood Pins, Plates/Bracket Kit for $99.00. I'm not talking about the Generic Hood Pin set either/I mean the actual Factory Hood Pin set Where the Hood Pin stays on the Hood & clamps down to the retainers on the core support/of course the pins would be in the back instead of the front. The other option I considered was a mock up similar to the late 50's early 60's Ferrari GTO's...saw them on Speedvision the other day & it looked pretty secure/if it works for Ferrari then it would probably work for any other car. I dont know where you'ld go for pictures other than a Ferrari resource/restoration guide...Sure the Internet probably has plenty of info; or Barnes & Nobles should have some books on the Ferrari's. I dont know what a DZUES fastener is so maybe we are talking about the same thing. Just FWY & my .02c's worth. Kevin, (Yes, Still an Inliner) [This message has been edited by Kevin Shasteen (edited April 03, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 Kevin, Got a website that shows those different hood pins? I have been thinking about this just for my L6 Z. It would be much cleaner without that factory hood latch on the firewall. My hood tends to pop up at speed now because the original hood had been backed into before I owned it. The latch "shelf" got bent in the process. My new fuel pressure regulator would love that spot that the latch takes up! Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 Hey, I was just laughin' to myself thinking that Mike is probably gonna have to go into hiding for about a week while that POR15 that he is "up to his elbows in" slowly wears off of his skin I have never been able to work with that stuff and not get at least a little of it on me! Maybe I am just sloppy. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 Craig; if your questioning the appearance of the "Hood Pins" was referencing the W-25 pins I have a 70 Cutlass w/that factory set up....the Year One Catalogue has them listed & I dont know if Year One is online or not. The best bet is to find an Olds enthusiast w/a 70-72 Cutlass w/this set up; Usually the W-30's, W-31's & Rallaye 350's were factory equipped w/those pins. So, if you wanted to see their set up you could go & look at one/once you found it(?). BTW: the Olds factory Hood Pins are recessed into the hood about a 1/4"; so some possible cutting may be needed to get a flush appearance if required. Sorry I cant be any more help than that; if you can fabricate the Olds Hood Pins into a "Z" hood-it would be a nice set up! Kevin, Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 Heres a drawing of a Dzus quarter turn fastener from they're website: Lone Ps: I used a hoodlock I got from JC Whitney, it has a stainless scuff plate on top of the hood with a barrel type key lock on top. I have one on each side and it works ok. I have mine raised up just a bit for psuedo cooling. [This message has been edited by lonehdrider (edited April 03, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Shasteen Posted April 8, 2001 Share Posted April 8, 2001 Thanks Lone; My head is now hurting because its late & I'm smarter now; isnt there a rule you're not suppose to learn anything new w/in 30 minutes prior of going to bed(?)! Kevin, (Yea,Still an Inliner) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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