Hood Stiffeners a Good Idea?

[My '77]

I saw a truck over the weekend with a bent hood and remembered that J.C. Whitney sells hood stiffeners for these trucks. I have a 1977 C10 and was wondering how big a problem bent hoods are, and if these hood stiffeners are a good idea. I hate to drill holes in the truck, but perhaps an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Thanks for your response.

[bigblock73]

I wouldn't run them, I would just make sure the hood hinges/springs are in good operational order. Bad hinge assembly maintenance is what causes hoods to kink.

[Russell]

Originally Posted by My '77

perhaps an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

That ounce of prevention comes in the form of an ounce of oil on your hinges, well oiled hinges = no kinked hood

Oil them every time you do an oil change, and you'll never have a problem

[My '77]

Thanks for the quick reply. I like these suggestions and will splash a little oil on them right now. Thanks again.

[Eyegore]

This brings up a good question, what is everyone using for oil on hood & door hinges, 3 in 1 or some kind of grafite? I was told years ago by a locksmith never to use wd40 since it rusts up. I need to know since my 99 sub & tahoe are amking alot of noise.

tom

[Nolowrider]

I have them on my hood (home made ones) because the same day I got my truck painted I went to close the hood and it bent right in half. I was pizzed to say the least.

[My '77]

Originally Posted by Eyegore

This brings up a good question, what is everyone using for oil on hood & door hinges, 3 in 1 or some kind of grafite? I was told years ago by a locksmith never to use wd40 since it rusts up. I need to know since my 99 sub & tahoe are amking alot of noise.

tom

I don't know about anyone else, but I have a small squirt can (with a flexible tube top) that I fill with ordinary motor oil.

[Overcamber]

yea i use new motor oil the same way...it lasts alot longer than penetrant sprays i find..they all seem too evaporate over a short time..just my 2 cents..

[1FaastC10]

i'll never run them, i like my head too much. the creases in the hood are designed to prevent the hood fromt coming through the windshield in a hard front crash. because of crashing trucks as a hobby, i can tell you that they work great. a buddy of mine forgot to remove the stiffeners from the hood of one of the trucks he ran. thank god we ran 3 steel straps across the windshield, or it would have come through when it sheared the bolts off. instead it just slid up the straps and covered the windshield opening a little. every one i set up i actually grind the notches out a bit, and run no less than 6 strands of #9 fence wire across the windshield opening twisted as tight as i can get them.

[Zilverado]

Originally Posted by 1FaastC10

i'll never run them, i like my head too much. the creases in the hood are designed to prevent the hood fromt coming through the windshield in a hard front crash......

Scooped me on that one . Years ago, I was looking to straighten and then stiffen my old '77 hood. I was made aware of this safety feature and decided against it...

[Nolowrider]

Originally Posted by 1FaastC10

the creases in the hood are designed to prevent the hood fromt coming through the windshield in a hard front crash.

Hmmmmm. Never really thought about that. Very good point, Fastc10.

[My '77]

Originally Posted by Nolowrider

Hmmmmm. Never really thought about that. Very good point, Fastc10.

Ditto.