first, the first aprt was taken from another forum. i did add my 2 cents, and what i did.
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:27 pm Post subject: Suicide hood........
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Ok everyone here is my how to, its simple and does not take much time to do.
Before you start this remeber this is only a how to, I nor this bourd will be responsible for the outcome of this project. Use safty equipment when applicable.
TOOLS.
Tape measure
socket set
drill.
screw driver.
saw
welder ( another option if you dont have one)
Parts-
1 hindge assemble from a 87-91 buick lasabre (salvage yards or auto parts place can order these for you)
4 body bolts and retainer clips ( got mine from NAPA)
4 bolts
8 washers
4 nuts.
1 metal pipe connector (home depot pipe section, not needed if you have a welder)
misc.
1 sharpy
2 small pice of card bourd
1 pair of sisscors
It starts.
Do not remove the hood at this time.
First you will notice the hinde assembly is way to long for the Mazda, measure drip rail to drip rail. I went off one of the fender bolts, why becuase it is right in the middle of the fender.
After you have this measurement you will want to measure the hindge assembly rail, minus the diffrence in size from drip rail to drip rail from the hindge and you have the amount it needs to be cut.
Cut the lenght from the middle of the cross bar on the assembly. Dont weld it up until you have had all the holes marked, this will allow you to work easier.
This is a great time to go get the middle connector if you dont have a welder, just take the cut piece to home depot and find the connector that fits perfect.
Next step is cutting the core support, I know ahhhhh right, no its nothing big. You will see were it rounds to the fender, mark and cut both sides. If you dont the assembly wont move all the way foward anfd the hood will open right on to the fender.
Using the hindge assembly place on fender in the open position move fowrad until the hindge assembly is right up against the core support, using a sharpy mark a line before and after the hindge, repet other side.
After that is done you use a pice of card bourd to mock the mounting bracket for the hindge assembly. Simply trace out the out line of the mounting assembly and mark the mounting holes onto your card bourd, repeat for the other side. Using your scissors cut the shape out and pock into area were the mounting hole are on the card bourd., this will make it easier to get the hole lined up. Place the pice between the lines you made for the assembly,and mark.
Now you can go weld the hindge assembly together. But remeber if you want to hev the ability to tilt to the side you will not weld the bracket. Using the pipe connector will allow the cross bar to connect to support each other but will also allow the hindges to act as its own, giving you the ability to tilt to the side.
Drill the 2 holes out on the fender and using the bolts, washers, and nuts, place one washer on the top and one on the bottom, and bolt the hindge assembly down.
Taking the spring off the hindge assembly will help you move the assembly easier, simple use needle nose plyers, grab the top part and pull up and than down the spring should come right off.
now you will want to move the hindge assembly to make sure it clears everything, by now you will noticde it hits the windshield washer fluir holder, remove and relocate.
After making sure the hindge moves easy and does not hit anything, you are ready for the hood.
Remover the hood, you will need a extra hand for this part.
This is the part were measuring and being accurate is super inportant.
I measured from the stock hood hindge to the first hole on the buick assemble. Then used that same measurment to go from the bolt on the hood were the stock assembly connected to the were the buick assemcly would mount, mark this and repeat for the other side You will have a good amount of adjustablility with the hindge assembly but do your best to be accurate as possible.
Now you would have had one mark on the hood now for were the hindge will mount to. drill both sides, using the body bolts, and the retainer clips you will mount the hood to the hindge. This can be tricky, I used a small craft wire to hold the retainer still so I could mount the hood, becuase you may be close the the open areas on the bottom skin, I using a rubber malet to flaten the skni a little, this just made it easier to mount.Repeat other side
so now your happy and excited becuase you are at the point were you can see your hood and flot it and suicide it, but theres still more work to be done.
Just as you did the top you will want to drill and mount the body bolts to the retainer clip for the lower mounting holes on the hindge assembly.
test the hood to make sure the hood closes lined up , dont worry about the back sticking up we will get to that in a minute. If shes all lined up yopu are ready to go to the next step, if not, losen the bolts a little and adjust till it closes perfectly.
Now you will need to take off the cowl, and unbolt the assmebly that connect the stock hindges. and bolt re connect the cowl. Using the stock hindges cut them right before the mounting bracket for the stock assembly, not the hood, but the assembly under the cowl. repeat the same for the other side and bolt them up. This will secure the hood when its closed but will also slide out when you pull the hood foward. You can also use hood pins.
By now your done, with just a few minutes of time adjusting you have completed the mod.
Pat your self on the back......... have a cold beverage and grab a cam tak pics and post.
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:37 am Post subject:
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ok, most of the tools and items that moose described will work for you. the only thing that i did really different was use part of the hinge for spacers.
first, i started by removing the hood. once that was off, i pulled the hinges off. you have to remove the cowl to get to the bolt that holds the hinge on, there is only one! once i did that, i cut out the rounded corner at the front member. where the fenders meet the front end. then i used the hinge mounts to find the spot to drill holes. i think by this time i had found the center of the tube on the hinge, and the center of the front end. i had to shrink mine by 4". i ended up keeping and using the remainder of the tube.
i placed the hinge on top of the fender drip rail, marked out the holes, and drilled them out. i think i used 3/8 x 1 1/4" carriage bolts, and flange nuts to secure. where i spliced the cut for the hinge tube, we ended up taking a 1/2" bolt, cutting the hex head off, and threading it into the tube. perfect match. once i had that hinges mounted in, i layed them down as if the hood was on and closed. i marked out the edges of the top hinge onto the fender, placed the hood on and transfered the marks. i riased the hood back up, using help from my buddy, we mounted the hood to hte hinges. i used the top hinges to mark holes, and used the original keeper bolts fromn the buick. heres the tricky part.
we at first tightened up the fron side, and when the hood closed, it bowed up in the rear,and wouldnt fir right. we then pulled those out, and tightned at the rear, and then everything went well. the only problem then was that the hinges mounted on the fender kept the hood up too high. we used the remaining part of the tube, the 4" that we cut out, and cut those to 1" spacers. using thoose dropped the hinges down, and everything cleared. getting clearance fot the oem hinges, we remover the wiper bottle, dropped it down further into the inner fender, and on the passenger side, we flipped the big fuse block over, in the same spot, and moved one of rhe relays. we used the factory bolts to put the oem hinges back on, and cut them about half way into the curve. i still need to figure out a slider for the hinges to slideon. right now when i close the hood, i try and position the oem hinges so that they just slide right into the slots remaining from where theey were originally. this keeps the hood closed. absolutely no bouncing around. ive had it at highway speeds, and havent had any problems. now for the pics i do have. i will try to get some pics of the fuse block and relays and where i pit them. once all was well, we welded up the slpice in the tube. if anyone has any ??, just ask here, and i will do what i can to answer.
Fri Aug 23, 2013 9:41 am by nigel
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