Hood Hinges

[Omie01]

I have been trying to get a good pair of Ram Air hood hinges set up for my car, but it has proved to be an expensive and exhausting problem. I was going to send them out for rebuild but after paying for shipping plus the $175 to have them rebuilt and buy a pair of Ram Air springs its over $300. I bought a really nice pair off of Ebay, the rivets are good, but they are all bent up. Couldn't tell from the pics. I don't want to bend everything back because then they will be weak at those points. Anybody have any pointers or stories of what you did for hinges? PS, I do have a pair of new aftermarket hinges in my car now, and they are working ok, but I just wanted to have some rebuilt original ones for originality sake. Thanks!!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

You can rebuild them if the rivets are not worn. Can you share pictures of the bent hinges?  I bought a pair of RA or NASA hood hinges from Scotty Strickland in North Carolina. You have to look him up on facebook and friend him. In Bullock NC. 

The flat spring hinges came on any car with a NASA hood RA or not. The springs do get weak over time because they are stretched out when the hood is closed. You can go to hardware store and get a smaller tension spring that will hook inside the current spring to give it a little boost.

As far as restoration. You glass bead them and then order you a bottle of Iron Phosphate. That is the chemical you use to Parkerize or Phosphate coat the bare metal parts with. The most difficult part is to find a stainless steel pan large enough to hold them and completely cover them in the solution. I found a SS serving tray at Goodwill that I use. I cut a piece of 1/2" conduit long enough to stretch the spring out a little so the solution can get between the coils. 

You also have to heat the solution so do outside on a hot plate or propane burner. It will bubble like acid eating on it. Produces a surface that has lubricity and rust resistant but will rust over time. Cams usually come with Iron Phosphate treatment on the lobes. 

One trick to raise your level of solution without buying more is to pour glass marbles or the glass globs that are used to weight flower arrangements. They displace the liquid and raise the level. You can also use them to bring the level of paint in a can back up to top to remove the air space and helps keep the paint fresh longer. 

After you have got the phosphate on rinse them good blow dry and spray with WD-40 several times.

I have thought about trying to dip in hot wax after doing the parts but have never tried that. 

You might also check with local plating operations it is still used today.  

The following items on our cars use the phosphate coating. 

Hood hinges and springs.

Hood latch assembly.

Caps on the front shocks.

Accelerator pedal bracket.

Parking brake pedal assembly.

Some fasteners also use the phosphate coating.

I also go around the parts with a file and knock the sharp edges off and burrs before I do them. 

If you do not want to worry with the chemicals Eastwood has a spray paint that mimics the finish but will not have the lubricity that the phosphate has. Ford used it for that reason on hinges, gas pedal, parking brake pedal and hood latches so they would not stick.

I do not have any good pictures lost a bunch on crash. 

Google search for Iron Phosphate they did ship UPS to me. Is pretty pricey if I remember correct.

 

[Omie01]

Thank you for the info!!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I did make contact with a company that still does this coating process to see if they would be willing to do them in batches of like 12 pair of hinges. 

They would have to come to them glass bead blasted, zero grease and sprayed with a rust preventative that they would need to approve for their wash system. Usually no silicone allowed in any plating or painting operations. I also asked about a better coating after the Iron Phosphate that just WD-40 maybe a wax of some type. 

I will post a new thread if they come back and will support.