Gumball
01-09-2013, 10:13 PM
UPDATED 5/13/16 - This is a cheap mod that will give your car some good period-correct looks when the hood is open.
Original post follows.....
I finished installing my homemade original-style prop rod today, except for some form of wind protection that will secure the rod to the hood on windy days - I'll probably do something for that once the hood latches are in place as I'm guessing the passenger-side latch will offer a solid mount for the prop rod. For now, it's just like the originals, with nothing more than a rubber tip on the end of the rod holding against the molded-in ridge on the underside of the hood.
I used a 2" stainless allen head cap screw with a jamb nut and a spacer on the engine bay side to mount the rod to the chassis - I just drilled a 1/4" hole through the 3/4" chassis tube, then used the jamb nut to adjust the depth and used a nylock on the outboard side of the 3/4" tube to hold everything in place. The rod itself is just a piece of rigid 3/8" stainless tubing. I flattened the chassis end of the tubing in a press and drilled it for the 1/4-20 cap screw, then bent it slightly to get a good alignment both with the hood and for stowage. To hold it in place when down, I used a stainless spring clip that is bolted to the chassis where the FFR hinges would normally mount (unused part of the chassis as I have the Breeze hinges).
I haven't decided if I'll leave it polished or have it powdercoated black (leaning towards black, though, so it won't stand-out too much). About the only other change I'm thinking of is to swap the white nylon spacer for a black one.
Here are a couple pics:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/PropRodUp_zpsb7ddc139.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/PropRodUp_zpsb7ddc139.jpg.html)
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/PropRodMount_zps5b417f68.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/PropRodMount_zps5b417f68.jpg.html)
Original post follows.....
I finished installing my homemade original-style prop rod today, except for some form of wind protection that will secure the rod to the hood on windy days - I'll probably do something for that once the hood latches are in place as I'm guessing the passenger-side latch will offer a solid mount for the prop rod. For now, it's just like the originals, with nothing more than a rubber tip on the end of the rod holding against the molded-in ridge on the underside of the hood.
I used a 2" stainless allen head cap screw with a jamb nut and a spacer on the engine bay side to mount the rod to the chassis - I just drilled a 1/4" hole through the 3/4" chassis tube, then used the jamb nut to adjust the depth and used a nylock on the outboard side of the 3/4" tube to hold everything in place. The rod itself is just a piece of rigid 3/8" stainless tubing. I flattened the chassis end of the tubing in a press and drilled it for the 1/4-20 cap screw, then bent it slightly to get a good alignment both with the hood and for stowage. To hold it in place when down, I used a stainless spring clip that is bolted to the chassis where the FFR hinges would normally mount (unused part of the chassis as I have the Breeze hinges).
I haven't decided if I'll leave it polished or have it powdercoated black (leaning towards black, though, so it won't stand-out too much). About the only other change I'm thinking of is to swap the white nylon spacer for a black one.
Here are a couple pics:
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/PropRodUp_zpsb7ddc139.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/PropRodUp_zpsb7ddc139.jpg.html)
http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/PropRodMount_zps5b417f68.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/PropRodMount_zps5b417f68.jpg.html)