Fiberglass hood low tension springs?

[Voodoo]

Hi all! Anyone on here running a fiberglass hood, what do you use for lower tension hood hinge springs? After a ton of shopping around for factory replacements, I am pretty certain I have decided on the Six Pack style hood by US Body to replace the non-salvageable hood on my car. I want to run the bolt on one, and they recommend low tension springs for the hood hinges for obvious reasons. I asked US Body if they had a recommended item, but they did not have one for B Bodies. Thanks for any input!

 

[Voodoo]

Sorry, search function is my friend, I came across a decent post from a few years back with a few options! Should have dug deeper before posting.

 

[Bird 426]

I would ask in the A12 section here. I have an A12 hood on my RR, it has hinges on it, I choose to remove the springs and use a piece of PCV pipe to prop or hold the hood open. My opinion, but think that any spring can cause stress cracks in the hinge area. You would need a spring strong enough to hold the hood open, but, what about wind?

 

[6PKRTSE]

I have Harwood 210 (gold springs) medium tension on my fiberglass Shaker hood Challenger. They offer a 215 (black springs) that are a higher tension than the gold, and a 200 (silver springs) that are a lighter tension than the gold.

 

[Photon440]

What do those hoods weigh? I know that on my 1974 Formula Firebird, the factory fiberglass hood was heavier than the steel version. (78 pounds).

 

[Voodoo]

What do those hoods weigh? I know that on my 1974 Formula Firebird, the factory fiberglass hood was heavier than the steel version. (78 pounds).

I am honestly not sure. I am thinking the low tension springs are more for reducing strain on the captive nuts in the hood when closing rather than the lighter weight. Or maybe a bit of both? I definitely want to avoid damaging the hood, but also want to avoid a hood prop if possible

 

[Voodoo]

I have Harwood 210 (gold springs) mediym tension on my fiberglass Shaker hood Challenger. They offer a 215 (black springs) that are a higher tension than the gold, and a 200 (silver springs) that are a lighter tension than the gold.

View attachment 1823997

Thank you for sharing, this is great info!

 

[RemCharger]

Right.. this is a 66 Dodge B hood. Which are fairly lite to start with. So it's kind of having your cake and eating it too. The spring has to be strong enough to hold it up.. not so strong that it bows it in the closed position , or, makes you crumple the hood in half trying to close it.
To get around all that I just went with a lightened steel hood on my 10 sec car

 

[493 Mike]

I used a prop rod with no springs for decades. Used hood pins though.
Mike

 

[Dusty Dude]

Hi all! Anyone on here running a fiberglass hood, what do you use for lower tension hood hinge springs? After a ton of shopping around for factory replacements, I am pretty certain I have decided on the Six Pack style hood by US Body to replace the non-salvageable hood on my car. I want to run the bolt on one, and they recommend low tension springs for the hood hinges for obvious reasons. I asked US Body if they had a recommended item, but they did not have one for B Bodies. Thanks for any input!

I have a Glasstek hinged six pack hood on my '69 Coronet and I am using these;

McMaster-Carr # 5667N387

They work great!

 

[Voodoo]

I have a Glasstek hinged six pack hood on my '69 Coronet and I am using these;

McMaster-Carr # 5667N387

They work great!

Thank you for sharing! I ordered a set of low tension springs, and we will see how they go. If they don't work out, I have 2-3 backup options, which is a GREAT place to be! None of them seem wildly expensive. I am putting the deposit down for the hood today, probably won't have it till mid July, but it's not like the car is going to be done by then anyway haha.