A12 - time to get busy

[68R/T]

I still have to figure out a way to tension them.

It's all about hooking the rods in the correct slot.

 

[b-body-bob]

It's all about hooking the rods in the correct slot.

I know that. The question is how do I wind them up without killing myself. I've seen home-made tools so I'm planning to try to copy that.

 

[68R/T]

Prybars, homebuilt or?, are your friends

 

[b-body-bob]

Prybars, homebuilt or?, are your friends

I've been searching on this ever since the car came back without the rods installed. Surprisingly there's not a lot of info. Probably because why would you take them out?

I made a version of this with 3/4" square tube that seems like it's going to work. Battery dead so no photos.



Mine doesn't have the curved part on it but I don't think it actually needs it either. My welding is pretty miserable though. Better said, my eyesight is pretty miserable. I can burn in a perfect bead in the wrong place 9 times out of 10.

I need to be inside the trunk to use it so that's on hold for a few.

 

[b-body-bob]

This is what I made to wind the bars

12" long, 3/4 square tube. I wish it was longer, but that's what I had.

The slot goes around the rod, then you rotate it around and the cross bar picks up the end of the bar so it can be wound to where it needs to be.

FWIW I was able to get the rods in the first slot by hand. It won't hold the trunk up there so I've gotta go tighter.

Also, if you put the little square plastic things on the end of the rod, and then the rod pops out while you've got it wound up, that plastic thing will absolutely disappear. So now I'm short one of those

With the rod in the first hole and positioned so it doesn't just pop out, the other end hits the hinge. I don't know what that was about, but it was dinner time so it can wait.

 

[RUSTY Cuda]

Fun fun fun!!!

 

[b-body-bob]

Here's what I'm up against



When the trunk comes down, the rod moves back, and runs right into that piece that meets the wheel well.

I'm not sure what's going on. At one point I had to move it over that direction to get the rod to latch in on the other end. I'm still messing with it. It can't be anything that complicated.

 

[b-body-bob]

Well, I've got one in hole 2, the other in hole 1, and the hood stays open by itself now but it won't close because the rods still hit the hinge bracket.

 

[68R/T]

You either have to reshape the spring so it doesn't stick thru so far or cut off a part of the end.

 

[b-body-bob]

I'm thinking the same thing but the dumb things were in there before, why not now?

The fun part is you have to take the bars back out to try anything different so it's back in the

 

[b-body-bob]

I might have the explanation.

There were pieces that filled in between the bottom of the hinge and the wheel well. Not the original ones, but some I got with a mini tub kit. These were similar but different than what was original, to allow for the 3" extra tub width. They aren't installed. Instead they pushed the hinge over to the tub for welding, and right in the way of the spring.

Right now my plan is to take about half the stick out off the end of the spring with a grinder.

 

[68R/T]

spring.

Right now my plan is to take about half the stick out off the end of the spring with a grinder.

That would be my plan.