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Reversed Hood Hinges


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I'll start off in this first sentence by stating that these are not going to work. Well, not in the long run anyways. But they don't call it research and development for no reason...

 

So in a nutshell I wanted the hood to open like a 'normal' car. I originally thought by mounting the hinges part way towards the center of the hood(ie: 10.5" from both sides) I could clear the cowl. It does not. But with tweaks in the adjustment, the hood will open and clear enough for any regular maintenance to be done. I built these because I needed a set of hinges and I didn't want to spend the extra time designing a set of scissor hinges that is probably the correct setup, and would give me my cowl clearance.

 

A couple things to note on this is that there is a fair amount of trimming for this, and the firewall flexes easily when the hood is open. In order to get the clearance I do have, I had to mount the hood/hinge a little high, which is visible in the fallowing photos. Also, the hood feels quite hefty from the front while lifting it up, since there is no air or spring assists like on a Z31/S30's.

 

Overall, they work. However, I am already in the process of thinking up new designs. And, I am currently also working on a latching mechanism for the front of the hood. Ya that would probably be good, haha...

 

You can see the hinges here, and how high the hood ended up being in order to get a functional range of motion.

aspr10026.jpg

 

This is how it appears from the cockpit. It does leave a subtle 'cowl hood' appearance, except it travels the whole width of the hood.

aspr10027.jpg

 

And I don't know if my hood is tweaked or if they are all like that, but I found it odd that the hood lines up in the corners and is higher in the center area... I have some more photos and such that I will post in the next couple days.

 

Well, there it is if anyone is interisted. Failed fabrication on Hood Hinges version 1.0

=)

 

Cheers

Ryan~

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American Cars open from the front because they are always in the service stall having the water pump changed...

Nissans always had you fiddling with the SU's or the alternator, so you needed the hood clamshelling.

 

I guess if you plan on a V8, then your water pump access will be speedy!

 

:lol:

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+1 on that. I test drove a z31 300zx, hit about 35 and bang the hood opened and slammed back on the windshield. My ex-girlfriend in the passenger seat starts screaming and crying at the same time, while I ask her if I pull off am I going to hit anything? "hey I kind of need your help right now can you stop crying and see if its safe to pull off thanks."

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Ya, I have thought of the ill effects of the rear hinged hood, and I am trying vary hard to keep the above mentioned from happening. *knocks on wood* lol

 

Anyways, here are some more of the promised pictures.

 

From idea, to paper, to design. What I now refer to the evolution of design. It's interesting how much things change between the first sketches to final product.

mday068.jpg

 

Here is some of the initial trimming done to the firewall/cowl area. I used masking tape so I could measure and write on the car in order to get the hinges in the proper locations.

mday064.jpg

 

This is the trimming done to the hood. This proved to be quite challenging, trying to keep the plane at which the hinges will mount level with each other, this keeps them from binding through their range of motion. I spend a lot of time with a straight edge tack welding the mounting plates in, grinding them out, re-tacking. The other problem was the difference between the thin Datsun metal and the 1/4" mounting plates I used. This required TIG welding in order to maintain proper penetration.

mday060.jpg

mday058.jpg

 

TIG welding finished, and half the hinges mounted.

Hhinge007.jpg

Hhinge006.jpg

Hhinge005.jpg

 

The other half mounted on the firewall...

Hhinge003.jpg

Hhinge001.jpg

 

 

So, there it is, beginning to end, and still in development... More or less, there is still a bit of sealing up to do, painting, etc. I'll post the latches when I figure them out.

 

Cheers

Ryan~

Edited by sweetride2go
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you said it was a bit of a bear to lift the thing right have you thought about getting those hydrolic plunger things, such as those found in hatch backs and screen doors? I dont really know how it would look lol but if mounted right should greatly reduce the weight of that hood. It's just an idea. good luck with the project tho.

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Yes, the hatch/hood struts are a consideration, but for the time being I am just trying to get it functional. I still have all my original components, so I could always revert back to OEM. And I will honestly say that I don't think that all the work is worth it.

 

Ryan~

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  • 1 month later...

I have to give you props for fabrication. Very nice looking conversion. I cannot say I would do the same thing, but you have one of the few Zs with a rear hinged hood. Good work!

 

 

 

Davy

 

 

I wonder if itd work better if the hood traveled maybe 2mm forward before swinging up... Don't mind my crappy diagram, I'm not much of an artist...

hood hinge.bmp

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It looks like a normal Z, cause I abandoned the reversed hinges, for the time being... I didn't get the range of motion that I was hoping for out of the hinges, and when it came to fabricating the latches, they were just coming out ugly. It was getting ridiculous and I needed the car on the road again so I reinstalled the original setup, more or less.

 

I will come back to the project when I have more time, and the new hinges will be a scissor type hinge which will lift the hood and allow it to clear the cowl properly. In the meantime, the car needs sheet metal in the front.

 

Cheers

Ryan~

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  • 9 months later...

It looks like a normal Z, cause I abandoned the reversed hinges, for the time being... I didn't get the range of motion that I was hoping for out of the hinges, and when it came to fabricating the latches, they were just coming out ugly. It was getting ridiculous and I needed the car on the road again so I reinstalled the original setup, more or less.

 

I will come back to the project when I have more time, and the new hinges will be a scissor type hinge which will lift the hood and allow it to clear the cowl properly. In the meantime, the car needs sheet metal in the front.

 

Cheers

Ryan~

 

Hi there Ryan,

I successfully reversed my hood hinges and will post pics up soon.

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