installing ram air to a non ram air car

[Jeff73Mach1]

I added ram air to my car and hood locks. For whatever reason I already had flat wire springs. My hood started misbehaving right away and would come down easily. I replaced my hood hinges for ones with less play and transferred the flat wire springs over and have had no problem since. Hinge condition and alignment/misalignment do play a role in this.

I also agree that the hood locks are some hefty pieces to hang up at the front of the long hood and are likely a contributor.

Not sure about plenum weight as I seem to recall the reproduction plenum to be significantly more than 5 pounds, but I may be wrong on this point.

Welding two coils up on one end does make sense as a fix.

 

[mrmach1]

I added ram air to my car and hood locks. For whatever reason I already had flat wire springs. My hood started misbehaving right away and would come down easily. I replaced my hood hinges for ones with less play and transferred the flat wire springs over and have had no problem since. Hinge condition and alignment/misalignment do play a role in this.

I also agree that the hood locks are some hefty pieces to hang up at the front of the long hood and are likely a contributor.

Not sure about plenum weight as I seem to recall the reproduction plenum to be significantly more than 5 pounds, but I may be wrong on this point.

Welding two coils up on one end does make sense as a fix.

I have to admit Kits idea of welding two coils seems like the best and most simplistic way of handling this issue but I can't help but be concerned about additional stress put on the hinges by the shortened springs and the tinsel strength of the springs themselves. I've seen springs break before (not hood springs) and it's never a pretty sight.

 

[1-Mach-1]

As I mentioned, I added an original Ford Ram Air set, back when there was no reproduction.

I did not add the twist locks on the hood on my Mach-1, so that may have been why I had no problem with the hood falling.

I'll have to look at what type of spring is on the hinges on my car, I still have not decided whether to put the twist locks on the Mach-1.

 

[Jim and Jutta]

I added the Ram Air to mine but it already had the flat springs on it, no issues with it staying up. I'm not sure if a previous owner added the flat springs or if it came with then on the NASA hood when it was built in Dec 70. There's been plenty of flat springs on ebay, this looks like a good deal for someone who may also need to switch out lose/damaged hinges.

Jim

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-1972-1973-Mustang-Ram-Air-Hood-Hinges-with-Correct-Springs-/231466462086?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35e479eb86&vxp=mtr

1971 1972 1973 Mustang Ram Air Hood Hinges with Correct Springs buy it now price $150.00

 

[OMS]

All cars with NASA hoods should have had the flat sided, higher rated spring.

Ram air or no ram air did not change the spring, only flat hood VS NASA hood did.

It is a hit / miss thing if your hood will stay up.

I think it is more of a ware issue VS spring issue

I have many customers who added the plenum and new repro springs [ round sided ] with no issues

 

[Mister 4x4]

As most know me by now, I absolutely hate dealing with absolutes.

I have a factory Ram Air hood (locks, plenum, flappers, etc., only missing the vacuum hoses ) and my hinges were junk when I bough the car (driver side missing the spring and part of the hinge where one side of the spring attaches). I bought a set of good used hinges from ebay... cleaned, painted, and lubed them... and added in a set of hood springs from either OMS or NPD (can't remember definitely for sure... but they are repops and not flat-sided stock).

The hood's not fallen down by itself yet.

Sat there all day with a 5 mph breeze:

Never say never.

 

[OMS]

As most know me by now, I absolutely hate dealing with absolutes.

I have a factory Ram Air hood (locks, plenum, flappers, etc., only missing the vacuum hoses ) and my hinges were junk when I bough the car (driver side missing the spring and part of the hinge where one side of the spring attaches). I bought a set of good used hinges from ebay... cleaned, painted, and lubed them... and added in a set of hood springs from either OMS or NPD (can't remember definitely for sure... but they are repops and not flat-sided stock).

I've never had my hood fall down by itself yet.

Sat there all day with a 5 mph breeze:

Never say never.

So the trick is to let the 5 MPH breeze keep the hood open

 

[Mister 4x4]

So the trick is to let the 5 MPH breeze keep the hood open

Hey - not a bad idea! ::thumb::

Actually, I don't remember which side of the car it was coming from. If I was a bettin' man though, I'd say it was coming from the driver side, since the ratty old Jeep I was parked next to on my passenger side was truly a pile and "sucked" like you would not believe. rofl

I think it tended to change direction during the day... but it wasn't really too noticeable, other than not being 'dead calm' (as it rarely is in West Texas).

It also has not even once dropped in my driveway while getting the car back together since the paint shop - and the body guy added a ton of fiberglass filler on the main "crossmember" between the hood locks, rather than weld some new sheet metal patches in. I don't know - just got lucky with a pair of repop springs, I guess.

 

[jbojo]

As most know me by now, I absolutely hate dealing with absolutes.

I have a factory Ram Air hood (locks, plenum, flappers, etc., only missing the vacuum hoses ) and my hinges were junk when I bough the car (driver side missing the spring and part of the hinge where one side of the spring attaches). I bought a set of good used hinges from ebay... cleaned, painted, and lubed them... and added in a set of hood springs from either OMS or NPD (can't remember definitely for sure... but they are repops and not flat-sided stock).

I've never had my hood fall down by itself yet.

Sat there all day with a 5 mph breeze:

Never say never.

So the trick is to let the 5 MPH breeze keep the hood open

:goodone: Don

 

[mrmach1]

All cars with NASA hoods should have had the flat sided, higher rated spring.

Ram air or no ram air did not change the spring, only flat hood VS NASA hood did.

It is a hit / miss thing if your hood will stay up.

I think it is more of a ware issue VS spring issue

I have many customers who added the plenum and new repro springs [ round sided ] with no issues

Thanks Don I thought this was the case now as soon as I dig out my garage door I'll take a look at mine.

 

[OMS]

So the trick is to let the 5 MPH breeze keep the hood open

Hey - not a bad idea! ::thumb::

Actually, I don't remember which side of the car it was coming from. If I was a bettin' man though, I'd say it was coming from the driver side, since the ratty old Jeep I was parked next to on my passenger side was truly a pile and "sucked" like you would not believe. rofl

I think it tended to change direction during the day... but it wasn't really too noticeable, other than not being 'dead calm' (as it rarely is in West Texas).

It also has not even once dropped in my driveway while getting the car back together since the paint shop - and the body guy added a ton of fiberglass filler on the main "crossmember" between the hood locks, rather than weld some new sheet metal patches in. I don't know - just got lucky with a pair of repop springs, I guess.

I know quite a few guys that the new repro springs worked fine for them.

I know a couple who had no such luck

I think it has to do with the condition of the hinges - twist locks may add to it but they only weigh about 3 pounds.

 

[Mister 4x4]

OK - I checked my spreadsheet and found that I'd ordered 'em (the springs) in Dec 2011 from CJ Pony Parts - if that helps anybody.

 

[71mach1lady]

With the Good-Guys show this weekend we really want to have our hood open. While it does stay up the slightest movement or breeze and down it comes. Our buddy Joe has taken a shock tower to the ribs more than once in the last few months. We had a factory NASA hood which was rusted so replaced with Dynacorn reproduction. We made the ram air functional and added the hood locks. So last night we decide to take off the hinges and tack weld the bottom as suggested here. We were really concerned about heating up the springs too much so we kept a damp rag inside it. Joe had taken most of the abuse so we gave him the honor of doing the job. He tacked each spring doing one coil near the back on the bottom side. We then cleaned them up and reinstalled and the hood was better, not perfect but better. When we closed the hood we heard a boing, the weld on one side popped. I think it was probably just not a solid enough weld as he was trying to apply as little heat as possible but Joe felt it was because the spring was stretching oddly with the weld below and none above. We took the springs off again and re-tacked the one side and then tacked the top of the same two coils on that spring. Figured we would test one before welding the other. When we went to reinstall the spring it broke in two and went flying. The good news is it did not fly off, hit the fender and chip the paint as it could have. Instead it fell safely down and did no damage. Joe has volunteered to go to Desert Valley Wrecking yard this morning and find us a replacement spring so we can have the hood open at the show this weekend, hopefully without a stick propping it up

 

[Kit Sullivan]

By putting both welds on opposite sides of the same coil, I think it caused to much tension on the next couple of coils close to the welds.

It would be more noticeable, but something ( a nut or bolt, maybe?) could be welded to the inside of the hooked portion of the spring, causing it to sit farther away on the perch...increasing the tension a bit. Just an idea.

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

While it is not a solution, if you need a temporary way to keep the hood open with a weak spring, I would think a wire tie applied to the hinge once opened would do a good job.

 

[jeremycfr]

I used a bat to hold mine up at the show. We told everybody it was to be used by those who touched the car.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[71mach1lady]

I used a bat to hold mine up at the show. We told everybody it was to be used by those who touched the car.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good one

 

[mrmach1]

I used a bat to hold mine up at the show. We told everybody it was to be used by those who touched the car.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Good one

I think I would be worried someone might knock the bat and make a Louieville slugger size dent in the fender.

With the Good-Guys show this weekend we really want to have our hood open. While it does stay up the slightest movement or breeze and down it comes. Our buddy Joe has taken a shock tower to the ribs more than once in the last few months. We had a factory NASA hood which was rusted so replaced with Dynacorn reproduction. We made the ram air functional and added the hood locks. So last night we decide to take off the hinges and tack weld the bottom as suggested here. We were really concerned about heating up the springs too much so we kept a damp rag inside it. Joe had taken most of the abuse so we gave him the honor of doing the job. He tacked each spring doing one coil near the back on the bottom side. We then cleaned them up and reinstalled and the hood was better, not perfect but better. When we closed the hood we heard a boing, the weld on one side popped. I think it was probably just not a solid enough weld as he was trying to apply as little heat as possible but Joe felt it was because the spring was stretching oddly with the weld below and none above. We took the springs off again and re-tacked the one side and then tacked the top of the same two coils on that spring. Figured we would test one before welding the other. When we went to reinstall the spring it broke in two and went flying. The good news is it did not fly off, hit the fender and chip the paint as it could have. Instead it fell safely down and did no damage. Joe has volunteered to go to Desert Valley Wrecking yard this morning and find us a replacement spring so we can have the hood open at the show this weekend, hopefully without a stick propping it up

Thanks for trying it. I was considering this as a fix if I need it in the future. As of yet I haven't purchased the Ram Air and as of now my hood stays open just fine.

 

[71mach1lady]

Joe found another set of springs after searching most of the morning. I thinks these came from a Gran Torino. They seem much stiffer but doesn't seem to be much better at staying up. The tie strap idea works well, just as long as no one tries to close the hood without cutting them first

 

[Kit Sullivan]

How about a smaller "booster" spring within the stock spring?