The hood hinges on my 54 are very junky (what a stupid design) is there a better hinge that will bolt up with a minimal about of fab work (junk yard find....I doubt it but I had to ask) I can't imagine I'm the first one to have a problem these hinges.
This is the bane of these cars.. good used ones are very expensive and I am not aware of anyone reproducing them. The solution that I keep reading is to send em pout to one of the people who can properly rebuild them. Who that is escapes me but one of the other members should pop along and post who they have used. Of course, every car seems to have its' achilles' heel, the hood hinges are the 54 Ford's.
well, at least they double latched the hood which should prevent them from blowing open. thought that feature didnt appear until later, like in the 60's.
if you find the answer to that, you let me know. I always had the itch of finding or spending the time to fabricate something thatll work. But thats down the line for now. Goodluck!
Here is your answer: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=7558 second post down.Many of the folks from 1954ford.com have used Him and give Him high praise.You can send Him your cores and when they come back they will be much beefier and your problems will be gone.The most important thing is if you are lucky enough that the OEM's still work is to lube them on a monthly basis.
I just sent mine to Rowland Hall in Burbank, Ca for a complete rebuild. Pricy but I don't think there is any other alternative. I've heard nothing but good things about his rebuilds. It's really cost effective, you shouldn't have to worry about them after his rebuild.
i found one in a junkyard, but the vent area was rotted out, so i drilled out the spot welds of my bad one and the rotted one and welded my solid vent piece to the replacement hinge half. works good for 5 bucks. bad design though on fords behalf, so i take it easy when i close the hood and I oil em up, if it happens again i will prolly send em out.
I sent mine to Rowland and had him rebuild them. They are BETTER than new after his rebuild. A bit expensive, but they should outlast me and the car. Highly recommend him.
Ahhh THAT'S the guy (I was too lazy to search, Jeff to the rescue again!). I have a pair of good used ones that came with my car, I plan eventually to get em rebuilt before I install them.
I've been eyeballing some Jeep Grand Cherokee hinges. I want to get rid of the spring setup and go with a gas lift support. I own an '01 and it doesn't look like there would be much to fab to make them work on my '54. The ones off a '93-98 have the spring and look like they might bolt to a fairly flat vertical surface. The one's off an '05 and up have the spring too and might be adaptable. Food for thought and something to look into.
I think I will be finding a junk yard find, I will look at the jeep hinges, thanks for the idea. I have 65 f 100 and looking at them I might be able to fab something up to work with them or maybe jeep hinges. I put some oil on my hinges and they work better but they still ****.
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