Good NACA hood hinge?

[71-429Mach1]

I’m looking for a set of hinges for a NACA hood. Apparently I have the regular hood hinges on there and the hood keeps dropping. The last time it came down hard! Is there a good set of aftermarket either springs or complete hinges that work? Or does anyone have a set of hinges they are selling?

thanks!

 

[71TexasBoss]

This may not be an option for you but wanted to let the community know about a hood spring refurbishment service by Willie Wilson of Wilson Antique Car Parts. You can see his finished products at the website below. The original hood springs on my Boss 351 would not hold the hood up (very well). I bought a set of used originals on e-Bay with same results. They just get tired of holding our two-ton hoods over a half-century. Willie will rebuild both your hood hinges, replacing all 14 rivets in the set for 250.00 plus shipping. The finished product is concours quality and they effortlessly hold the hood in place. No more hood wobble when opening or closing either.

Good Luck.

https://www.hoodhingerepair.com/
Wilson Antique Car Parts
1067 Clearview Drive
Forest, VA 24551
434-258-2606

 

[MikeGriese]

Did you add the NACA duct hood to a car that had a standard hood? The hinges were the same, however the springs on the hinges were different. The NACA hood hinges had flat wires for the coils, the "normal" springs used round wire.

 

[rio1856]

I agree with 71TexasBoss. Willy Wilson does excellent work.

 

[LloydB]

Did you add the NACA duct hood to a car that had a standard hood? The hinges were the same, however the springs on the hinges were different. The NACA hood hinges had flat wires for the coils, the "normal" springs used round wire.

And they carry a premium price as well!

 

[Mike King]

NACA (Ram air) heavy duty hood springs are available at NPD. I bought a set and they are great.

 

[Fabrice]

@71-429Mach1
Maybe worth a try before hit piggy bad. For my 71 429 with the full ram air I had the same problem.
About 3 years ago, when I've restored them, I've noticed the rivets made of some hard brass like metal were having some play. Made of unobtainium on this side of the pool replacing them was not an option. As the metal of the arms were not displaying any "oval" states at the pivots points, after I've re-plated them, I've pressed a tad each rivets. Poof! The heavy play they were having (easy noticeable when you remove the spring) was gone...
Little warning as there is no going back, apply the force a little at a time on each one and test that they are still moving.

Edit: On my 73, I also have a custom ram air, even more heavy than on my 71 as I have the air filter inside the plenum and using the original hinges + springs made for the original flat hood, they have zero issue keeping the hood in its open position. meaning it's really about the friction at the rivets.

 

[Mach I Pony]

Could be wrong but I'll still offer my opinion and story.
I believe the hood you're referring to as the NACA hood is in actuality the NASA hood.
It was designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA. The guys that took us to the moon back in 1969. It's the only RamAir hood scoop that dose blow the air over the top of the car

 

[Hemikiller]

Could be wrong but I'll still offer my opinion and story.
I believe the hood you're referring to as the NACA hood is in actuality the NASA hood.
It was designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA. The guys that took us to the moon back in 1969. It's the only RamAir hood scoop that dose blow the air over the top of the car

The terms are often used interchangeably, as the scoop design itself is called a NACA scoop developed in the mid 1940s, but Ford marketed the option as a NASA scooped hood. 1970 was the height of the Apollo missions and we had just landed on the moon the previous summer, so what better way to cash in on the excitement?

 

[Sheriff41]

Could be wrong but I'll still offer my opinion and story.
I believe the hood you're referring to as the NACA hood is in actuality the NASA hood.
It was designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA. The guys that took us to the moon back in 1969. It's the only RamAir hood scoop that dose blow the air over the top of the car

Yep. NASA scoops on our cars, NACA scoops on the 69/70 Shelby Mustangs.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

JMHO, if your hinges are serviceable, I'd invest in a set of flat wire hood springs first. The springs are a bit pricey too, but nowadays what's not pricey??

 

[mrgmhale]

Did you add the NACA duct hood to a car that had a standard hood? The hinges were the same, however the springs on the hinges were different. The NACA hood hinges had flat wires for the coils, the "normal" springs used round wire.

NPD has reproduction "flat side" springs for the 71-73 NACA/NASA hood. They added this to their offering just the other year. A friend ordered and uses them, told me they did a great job. But, they are costly. They have a zinc phosphate coated finish, and are made to support the added weight of the NACA/NASA hoods. See the description on their web site for details. If I needed to replace our hood springs, these are the ones I would be getting. Luckily, our springs are strong enough for our NACA/NASA hood (whew).

Part/Item # 16789-5A

https://www.npdlink.com/product/spring-hood-hinge/205419?backurl=search%2Fproducts%3Fpage%3D2%26search_terms%3Dhood%26top_parent%3D200001%26year%3D1973&year=1973

 

[LloydB]

I've had the regular round springs on my Ram Air hood for over 30 years with no issues. I'm picking up a new hood, hinges and springs in a couple weeks from NPD Ocala and this thread just cost me an extra $168 because I want the correct springs now!

 

[basstrix]

The terms are often used interchangeably, as the scoop design itself is called a NACA scoop developed in the mid 1940s, but Ford marketed the option as a NASA scooped hood. 1970 was the height of the Apollo missions and we had just landed on the moon the previous summer, so what better way to cash in on the excitement?

Well stated.

In college I took a course called Low Speed Aerodynamics. The "low" indicated that the focus was on sub-sonic flow. Among other things, we learned how to evaluate flow, lift, drag, pressure, etc over various airfoil and duct shapes. NACA developed, what amounts to, a catalog of shapes that they evaluated and published key parameters for. This allowed aeronautics engineers to more quickly design, for example, a wing, for a given application. Do a search on "NACA 4 Digit" to see what I mean. I recall seeing ducts similar to what's used on our hoods, the 69's rear quarters, and the 69/70 Shelbys as examples from the database.

NACA morphed into NASA, so in my opinion, either term is acceptable. Ford may have called some of them NASA, but they were developed under the name (and still are referred to, as) NACA. You decide what's right for you

 

[71-429Mach1]

The springs on there now are the flat or square ones. I don’t know if they are original or if the hinges themselves are original. My hood will stay up but if it’s outside the wind blowing or anything else will cause it to close. I heard the aftermarket hinges from NPD were beefier also, is there a way to tell original vs aftermarket? When my hood slammed closed the last time it twisted a little and caught the front of the fender.