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What's the right way to take off/put on a hood?

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Xtreme70SS396

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hey all -

I'll be swapping engines soon, and there's no way I'll do it with the hood on.

So, I'm looking for some pointers to take it off/on safely and get everything just the way it was before.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
if you like the way the gaps are now, drill a small ( 1/8" ) hole between the two bolts that mount your hood to the hinges on each side. get a buddy or two, at least one guy on each side to hold the hood. unbolt it, and yank that sucker out.

then when you go to reinstall the hood, just use that drill bit as a guide pin. it should end up in exactly the same place it was. good luck :thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
On a nicely painted car, I always put heavy towels or a blanket on each corner to prevent scratching.

Scribe a line around the hinges on the underside of the hood, at the top of the hinges. Pencil for nice paint, a metal scribe for paint in progress.

It's really nice to have 3 people. One holding the hood up in the center, while the other 2 remove bolts.

It's a good practice to use one hand for the wrench while the other hand holds the rear edge of the hood, keeping it from dropping or hitting the fender.
 
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#5 ·
I like to scribe a line too. When unbolting the hood, have at least two people, and try to have a ratchet and socket for each person. Remove the front bolts first, as the hood will try to hinge over, and the rears will hold it just fine. If you remove the rear bolts first, you could really tweak both the hood frame and the hinges if it were to fall or someone loses their grip on it. Rear bolts go in first when putting the hood back on, same principal.
 
#7 ·
Ive never drilled a hole or used scribe lines when removing any part.
99% of the time you can simply use the marks left in the paint from the bolts. Line up the marks with the bolts and its done.

If in doubt mark the location of the washers on the bolts with a water based marker. When you reinstall the hood just make sure the washers line up with the marker. When the hood is on just wash off the marker with water and your done. No holes no scrib marks...Eric
 
#8 ·
sevt_chevelle said:
Ive never drilled a hole or used scribe lines when removing any part.
99% of the time you can simply use the marks left in the paint from the bolts. Line up the marks with the bolts and its done.

If in doubt mark the location of the washers on the bolts with a water based marker. When you reinstall the hood just make sure the washers line up with the marker. When the hood is on just wash off the marker with water and your done. No holes no scrib marks...Eric
Click to expand...
:bow:
 
#9 ·
Same here... never have drilled a hole to find it. As eric said, the bolts will leave their mark like a dog on a tree. If there are a lot of marks on it, or they aren't present enough to tell what one, I've actually just made sure the area around the washer is real clean and use masking tape and put it on the hinge all the way around the bolt, so you have an exact reference. I also put a few layers of 2" tape on on the edges of the fenders where the corners of the hood might hit if somebody slips. Make sure you have a competent buddy, and do it before beer 30.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Great tips, I'm glad I asked about it. Since this is my first time pulling off the hood, I'll feel more comfortable marking the location AND scribing a line even if I end up not needing it.

THANK YOU for mentioning about the rear bolts!!

And I'll definitely be using tape along the fender and hood edges just in case. I've chipped a fender edge once before and wasn't too happy about it - although it touched up perfectly in the end.

Competent buddies..... Well, I think if they follow instructions I'll be ok. My daughter has an interest in the car, I usually use her for some help, she's pretty competent herself.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Well, the hood came off no problem. Everyone's tips were a great help, much appreciated!

I have a feeling putting it back on will be a bit more stressful, though - ;)
 
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Xtreme70SS396
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