Technical Whats the best/ safest way to remove this hood?

I've got to take off this hood so i can pull my engine. I really don't want to mess it up.

How would you go about unbolting it? It looks like i have 2 options.

-remove the hinges from the cowl sides and fight with the springs

-unbolt the hood skin from the brace and leave the hinged alone.

 

Remove these bolts

 

Whatever you do, have a couple of buddies close by. That hood looks huge and heavy!

 

there is a tool that works on '53/54 Chevys that allows you to remove the spring then just unbolt the hinge arms. The tool is a three sided box tube with a thin plate welded at each end, you open the hood and put the tool over the spring so that the welded ends index between the stretched open coils of the spring, this holds the spring in a stretched position and you can remove the spring. leave the tool on the spring so you can reinstall them. You can make this tool with a large dia. pipe cut to about as long as the spring is and then you will have to slice it in half so you have two "half-pipes" then weld ends to them. The pipe will have to be large enough to fit over the spring. Wish I had a photo to post

 

found this on the web, looks like they are home made from box tube or just bent up from plate. search for 54 chevy hood spring tool.

 

I have a 1947 pontiac and it took 5 of us to hold that damned hood up to replace it. Make sure you have plenty of help because your going to need it!! Steve

 

Put a bunch of washers between coils of spring while their stretched , then set them carefully, where you will probably forget, the more washers between coils the better.. they hold spring stretched apart..

BEFORE you unbolt ANYTHING drill TWO 1/8th holes all the way thru both pieces. On each side.
Have plenty of help, when you replace hood line up 1/8th holes, >> I put welding rod in ALL FOUR HOLES, only then do I tighten up bolts. (The old man that taught me that , called it indexing.)
WORKS on so many things..

 

These aren't bolts, they are rivets.

 

Here is what I am thinking now...

 

I have seen HAMB'rs stuff large washers between the coils of the hinge spring to spread the spring to take the power out of the spring and also use washers to put the spring back.

 

I'm not very familiar with Pontiac's but I've had several 40's GM cars and trucks and haven't run across rivets before.
They should be shoulder bolts, can you clean them off and post a picture?

 

Plenty of help and a beverage or two.

 

This is how we pull the hood on my 40's GM car... The parts bolted to the cowl have never been loosened....I can't think about the adjustment issues if they were ......

 

^^^and keep the help away from the beverages until the job is done.

I'd rig up a hoist from the ceiling to hold the hood. Like on of those hard top storage and removal systems. May come in handy with a big hood like that.

 

I'm thinking the same thing.

If you prop the hood in the fully open position, can you just attach vise grip pliers to the end of the spring, then pull it forward enough to remove it? This works on 58-59 chevy trucks, I've done it many times.

Removing the hood from the brace might or might not work, if you do try it, make sure that it will come off that way....might be something to trip you up. But some cars do come apart that way.

 

Go ahead, suffer thru it, why shouldn't YOU be tested, like the rest of us ?



"when I wore a younger man's face, I wanted to impress, by how much I could do, Now I want anyone to impress me."

 

I have a 41 Chevy coupe on which the spring arrangement is very similar. I found this on youtube which I thought might be adaptable. I have a badly aligned hood and was searching for spring removal ideas. I've not tried it as yet though.



Chris

 

Hi. The big washer idea will work. just force them in with large channel lock pliers. Use several per spring & when it comes off just leave the washers in spring to put it back on & then remove washers. My 46 Chevy has basically the same hood & you really need 3 people to get it off to keep from scratching something.
Chevs of the 40's sells the hood removal tool for $40.25 and they show two different ones. one for 40 - 48 and another for 49 - 54.
It also takes two people to remove bracket from cowl, one inside on floorboard and one outside.
Good luck, Jimmie

 

I made one of these tools and it took a total of 5 minutes. Well worth the time.

 

Those 'rivets' are 'clutch head bolts'. Round heads with 2 flats. 5/8" or 11/16" wrench iirc. Clean 'em off with a little carb cleaner or lacquer thinner.
I used a cherry picker with an extension and straps to support the hood. Cherry picker from side of car, wrap the long straps around the entire hood, front and back. Hoist it from the middle, like a 4-strap 'sling'. Easier than you think.
I did 3 or 4 at my shop, during the day. (alone...visitors showed up after hours!)

 

Here's the hood section, 42 Chevy shop manual, bodies from 42-48 were essentially the same. I left the hinges on the body and removed the hood from the hinges on my 46 Olds. Hood was longer and heavier being larger 'B' body, damn awkward being so big.
Here's the Fisher body manual for future reference.

 

Are you sure you have to remove the hood? I pulled my engine and returned it once rebuilt with out removing the hood on my 52. I just had it up as high as it would go and there was plenty of room.

 

This is definatly not a one man job.

I'm sure you guys were right about those not being riveted. The car has factory under coating, and the did the under side of the hood while they were at it. Probably why i couldn't see the flats on those bolts.

 

I really don't want to. I have the radiator out along with the filler piece in front of it.

It looks like it may all come out in one piece Hydramatic and all. I'm not putting the same motor back in. Got a jimmy 302 for it

 

Hillbilly, do you have plans for the hydramatic?

 

It all depends if i can make it work with the new motor or not

 

Removing the skin from the hinged frame works pretty well, but you'll probably wreck the bolts. They're kind of a countersunk phillips I think..Maybe 5/16". Hard to find replacements

 

If this swap is going to come out sanitary, the nose has to come off. The cleaning and access to your work are important. With the hood propped at attention, you'll have all the room you can use and nothing in the way.
Your Pontiac single range hydro is not what you want - re-read the posts about GMC dual range hydros.