Replacement of Bonnet/Hood Hinges/Gaskets/Hardware

[Guest]

Hey Guys,

I need to replace my hood hinges this week, and have a question for you. Is it possible for one person to do it, or should there be two? From what I have seen of the installation, it looks like the scuttle portion would be no problem, but it looks like a body is needed to hold and maneuver the hood while the other body attaches the hardware.

Again, I look forward to hearing from you.

 

[Moseso]

One person is how I did it. Loosely attach the hinges to the hood. Maneuver it into position. Feed the hinge studs through the scuttle and loosely fit the nuts to them. Wiggle it around and tighten the hinges enough to see how it works. Readjust as required and tighten the nuts.

 

[TR3driver]

I've done it by myself, tho it would certainly be easier with two. The trick is to leave the nuts slightly loose at first, so they will hold position but you can scoot things around for adjustment.

Remove the bonnet from the car, and attach the new hinges to it first (loosely, as above). Then one person can set the whole thing into place, with the studs sticking through the holes in the scuttle.

I have also found it advantageous to remove the studs from the new hinges and run a bottoming tap into the threads, then install the studs with Loctite. Some of the studs also had to be cut to length, otherwise they jam against the body and tear up the gasket.

 

[Geo Hahn]

Ditto on it being a doable one-person job. Don't recall how, just certain I did it by myself because I had to.

I think the untightened studs give you some fore & aft adjustment to the bonnet... you will want to pay attention to the vent flap to be sure it can open and close w/o binding on the rear edge of the bonnet.

 

[hondo402000]

I just took my bonnet off this past weekend by myself, I have a garage, and I opened the bonnet, tied 4 pieces of rope to the joist and then tied each one to the hood the front I went down under the head light area and up underneath and tied to the square cut outs on the underside of the bonnet, the rear toward the windscreen just drop down at each corner and tie in the same square cut outs, unbolt carefully and when loose backed the car away, worked fine, now when I get it repainted I will enlist the help of my neighbor

 

[Mickey Richaud]

Good suggestions, all, and here's one to add: Be sure to slip a towel between the hood and the body to protect the paint.