I would like to put the $ 50 towards something else rather than the hood spring tool you can buy. Any pics of homemade tools used. I searched on Youtube and found some cool help. I am mainly looking for some dimensions of the tool. Can anyone help? Got any tips, advice?
Clamp a bolt in your vice, hook one end of spring over it. Rig up a lever to stretch the spring to a bit longer than desired length. Insert nails between the coils to hold it at that length. Install on hinge. As you open/close the hood it will strech the spring to a longer length and the nails can be easily removed if they haven't already fallen out. Canuck Easier and cheaper than buying or making a tool that may only be used once.
funny this post came up. my brother in law and i just started a v8 swap on his 53 chevy and ill be honest, removing those hood springs were kinda scary. i didnt know that they had so much tension on them. nutty! right after we took him off i said "i think besides doing the swap, putting these springs back on is gonna be the most challenging thing!" hah thanks motoandy for posting this question! ur not alone!
In the past i have used fender washers bend the spring slide one in kept working back and forth til almost every coil had a washer then installed it no tool needed.
I did the washer thing above but used 16 penny nails. This was 43 years ago. Would not do it again. Whatever you do please be careful. These springs are like a grenade. Recently on my 53 using the proper tool, I did not have it on "all the way" and when lowering the hood it shot off and put an outside dent on my fender.
I like the "whole toolbox full of wrenches" idea.....Just be sure the eyes of the spring are the right way so the wrenches don't hit something before the spring is in place.
It's a little late now but the best thing to do is capture it expanded prior to taking it off. I used a piece of exhaust tubing the correct length of just the coils, welded a large fender washer on both ends then cut it top to bottom making 2 parts. Wrap it around the coils and use 2 hose clamps to keep it on. Lift the hood a bit more and remove the spring. Of course you need to make 2 of these. A real Old Guy showed me this about 1957. The Wizzard
I made a set of the rebar tool in post #2. Works great, easy to remove and instal springs. Cheap and easy to make too.
Use a fan belt,hook the spring on the back of the hinge put the belt on the spring then stand in front of the car and pull it on. Simple and it works... You can remove them this way too.Hook the spring ,pull and remove it from the hinge... Steve
We used a lightweight piece of tubing, flattened both ends, and ground a notch in them. It was modeled after the plans someone else has already shown. Used a floor jack to extend the spring and lock it onto the "tool". Worked perfectly and cost nothing. Butch/56sedandelivery.
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