Printed in The American Tri-Five magazine in Volume 3 : Issue 7
Replacing Original Hood Hinges
Anyone who has owned one of these cars has undoubtedly shoved the corners of their hood all the way down after closing it. An unfortunate few of us have spent hours upon hours in the garage tweaking, prying, bending, shimming, and greasing, trying to find the best way possible to make those pesky factory hinges function as the GM engineers 60 years ago had hoped they would. And if you're like me, they're eventually met with a "good enough," and we've grown to accept explaining to someone at a car show why we're pushing on the backside of our hoods at the end of the day, or the occasional grumble when you take off down the road in a hurry with one corner sticking up.
Alas, thanks to the good folks at Eddie's Motorsports, these woes are no more, as their billet hood hinges lay down perfect, every single time, no extra push required! On top of that, they're bound to add an extra level of pizzazz to your engine bay that factory stamped hinges could never provide. All in all, these babies are a win-win. Installation is fairly straight forward, we'll show you how!
Instructions:
1.) Disassembly: Grab a friend, and get that factory hood off of there. Once it's out of the way, remove the factory hinges.
2.) Inspection: Check the threads in the firewall carefully, if they're rough or well-worn, run a tap or thread chaser through them. Same goes for the hood.
3.) Pre-installation: Pull the Eddie's billet hinges from their packaging, along with the nifty nitrogen-charged shocks that replace the factory spring setup. Apply a small amount of grease or anti-seize to the ball stud on the hinge, remove the wire keeper from the socket end of the strut, and install them shaft-side down. Don't try to collapse them by hand; you'll need the leverage of the hood in order to do so, as this is how the hood stays up. A word of advice: don't install the wire keepers at this time. You'll likely need to remove the strut in order to adjust the hinges.
4.) Testing/trimming/shimming: Once assembled, test fit the hinge to the firewall. Most cars will require slight trimming at the support closest to the gas shocks on each respective side (see pictures 8 and 9). Measure twice, cut once, and remember to apply paint to all trimmed surfaces to prevent rust. Test fit again to ensure final fit. If your battery tray is still in the factory position on your '55 or '56, you may have to use a few washers to shim the tray laterally for more clearance.
5.) Installation: Grab the provided 3/8-16 button-head stainless bolts, apply some anti-seize, and bolt each hinge to the firewall. Grab that buddy again, and bolt your hood back on, verifying correct length of the bolts as you do so. A good rule of thumb is start with the hood slid further forward than rearward, as this will prevent any unwanted, accidental contact with the cowl, and work from there. VERY CAREFULLY close the hood for the first time, paying close attention (your buddy will definitely pay off here too) to any possible interference at the fenders or cowl on the way down. The key here is patience, patience, and more patience. The Eddie's hinges have plenty of adjustment to get everything lined up exactly how you'd like. To adjust up and down, adjust at the firewall plate. Front to back, and left to right, adjust at the hood plate. Hood fitment can be a tedious process, but it pays off in the end when everything lines up just perfect, and nothing makes any contact where it shouldn't. Once you've got them fit exactly how you'd like them, push the wire clips over on the gas struts, and shut that hood for the first time without having to push the corners down again!
1.) Stock. Boring. Plain. Ill-functioning. Whatever you call them, these original hinges have got to go!
2.) Trick as they come, and as functional as they are good looking, Eddie's hinges are made in the USA. We chose the black Fusioncoat finish as a little more low-key approach for our '56 wagon test mule.
3.) Got gas? This little nitrogen-charged strut replaces the factory spring setup, so no more creaking springs, incredibly stiff stock-replacements, or hoods crashing down on your head while working on the engine.
4.) Installing the gas strut is straight forward. Remember to give the pivot balls a good coat of some type of lubricant, such as anti-seize.
5.) Spring clips hold the gas struts in place. Remember to leave these free until installation is complete to allow for hinge adjustment, but don't forget them once you're finished!
6.) Since the hardware that the folks at Eddie's graciously supply you is good looking stainless steel, a good dose of anti-seize is recommended on them as well, in order to prevent galling upon installation.
7.) Testing, testing A good trial installation will let you know
just how much of the support mentioned in step 4 you need to trim off. Again, measure twice, cut once!
8.) Bzzzzzzzzzzz! A die grinder is Brian Graber's tool of choice when trimming is required at Woody's Hot Rodz. Only a small section is required to be trimmed, no need to go overboard here.
9.) Cut in first, then down. This will help keep you from trimming more off then needed.
10.) Repeat the process on the passenger side. A little trickier with the battery tray involved, but not impossible by any means. Attention to detail, and not rushing will be key here.
11.) Drivers side hinge installed.12.) Shimmy shimmy! This is where shimming may be required in order to create necessary clearance between the Eddie's hinges and the battery tray. Keep in mind that these cars were assembled by human beings 60+ years ago, there will be some variety to be encountered during installation.
13.) Hood-ed in the right direction: Grab that hood and bolt it back on, paying close attention to details laid out at the end of step 5. Take your time, no one gets it on the first shot!
14.) Finally. a hood that shuts exactly as GM intended! No extra steps required, and some improved aesthetics to boot!
For Eddie Motorsport Hood Hinges, click here.
For Reproduction Hood Hinges, click here.
