1952-59 Ford gas struts for the hood?

Everybody knows that the hood hinges in these cars are poor to say the least. Has anyone use struts for the hood opening? I saw a 51 ford at the radium Hot Springs car show this fall that had struts but unfortunately, the owner wasn't around or i would have asked a few questions. The owner had removed both springs from the hinges and just used the struts to hold the hood open. Seems to me that if the hood was supported on both sides and opened with an equal force on either side, it would work better than the old hinge springs and take alot of the stress away from the hinge pins.

 

yes it would work! My father uses gas struts for his MG cars and the hoods on those are flimsy. They hold his hood up just fine.

 

yes it would work! My father uses gas struts for his MG cars and the hoods on those are flimsy. They hold his hood up just fine.

 

hmm, great idea'r, anyone got any pics on how they would mount to the stock hinges? or how long they were?

 

Today 09:16 AM
Crazy Legs

hmm, great idea'r, anyone got any pics on how they would mount to the stock hinges? or how long they were?

The car I saw in Radium had them mounted on the inner fenders about a foot or so ahead of the stock hinges. Of course, they were fastened to the inner edge of the hood as well. The struts were about 1.5 ft long when the hood was open. Just wished I had taken my camera.

 

I think there is a whole science around installing these, pounds of pressure,how long where to mount, much to much for my pay grade but someone here must know the formula? Gerry

 

i did take a quick trip thru the local Napa store and was informed of the different lengths, pressures and allowable lift weights. Unfortunately, i missed that cl*** as well and was hoping someone has already done their homework.

 

When mounting gas struts like that you have to figure things out so they don't put pressure on the hood going up and down . If they are mounted wrong the pressure on the hood will warp across the hood after time so be careful .
Also the hood is heavy for struts so get ones that are strong enough to hold that weight . They must be installed at a certain distance and angle to work properly . You have to figure out the distance the strut has to be to make the hood go up and close at the correct angle . Start measuring !

Jim