1G and 2G 90-Degree Opening Hood Mod.

This modification is designed to let your car's hood open all the way, intill the hood is vertical. At this position it is self supporting so no more support rod is needed for the hood. The hood itself rests with its lower edge on the bottom of the windshield. The weight of the hood keeps it at the open position. This allows for better room and light under the hood. The hood can support itself in low winds but should not be left open in high winds.

Time needed: 30 minutes

Tools needed:A 12mm wrench and something to cut with (angle grinder, dremel, saw)

Procedure:

1. Mark the hood hinges alignment with a sharpie on hood and body, it will help a lot later.

2. Start by taking off the hood, it is connected by four bolts.

3. Then take the hinges off which are held by one nut and one bolt each.

4. Now you can look at the hinge and see that there is a piece of raised metal (hinge tab) that blocks the rotating side of the hinge from moving any farther. The solution is to cut this piece of extending meta (hinge tab) on the rotating side to make it shorter and thus not hit the blocker on the base of the hinge assembly.

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This picture shows the clearance of the extended metal (hinge tab) and the blocker on the base of the hinge.

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The finished hinge.

5. To support the hood in high wind you can drill a hole through the hinge for the placement of a pin. I choose to drill out two holes for better support and slightly less movement.

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The two holes for the placement of pins.

6. Replace the hinges and align them to the marks, then attach hood and align. Now you can remove the hood support rod or not.

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These pictures show the hood being supported by the window, while not using the safety pins.
The window was already cracked before I bought the car.



If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to PM me at any time.

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[azdave]

This article covers how to modify your 2G hood so that you can fully open it to 90-degrees for better access when doing any kind of work requiring improved elbow room to the back motor compartment.

WARNING: Once you have done this modification, your hood will open all the way until it hits the windshield. There are NO PROTECTION STOPS remaining so if you open the hood too far you are in danger of breaking the glass. Always use the locking pin(s) as shown in the photos. If it is a windy day I do not recommend opening the hood to 90 degrees. The stock hood prop rod should not be removed from the car so that you (and repair shops etc) can still use the hood as normal.


The basic premise here is to remove the OEM stop tab that prevent the hood from opening up too far and then fixing a way to lock it into the 90-degree position. You also need to dimple the inner firewall corner to clear the rear hood point as it rotates down towards the fender area. You will need to remove the hood, plastic cowl vent and hinges to do this mod. properly. Help of a friend is recommended.

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Mark the hinge tab and with a grinder or similar Dremel cut-off wheel remove only enough material to allow the tab to rotate past the built-in stop.

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With the stop tab shortened you can now open the hinge fully. I use a wood block and a drafting triangle to set the hinge at 90 degrees.

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I hold the hinge base against the wood block and set the triangle across the back of the hinge bosses where it would bolt to the hood.

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Some hinge joints are quite stiff and will hold the 90-degree setting while you prepare to drill. I used a small washer jammed between the hinge halves to help prevent movement while I drill through the center. Mark the location where you will drill for the locking pin. Don't get too close to the edge or the hole will be weakened later during use. This wide-angle photo makes it look like the bottom hole will be too close to the edge but in other photos you will see the location is okay.

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Carefully drill a 1/8" hole through both parts. I used 1/8" because the actual lock pins I am using are old Dremel drill bits shafts. The locking pin must not be too loose in the hole or your hood will wobble back and forth while locked at 90-degrees.

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Here is the locking pin with a test fit. I used a little yellow rubber cap for a nice touch.

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The pin must be kept short or you will have trouble clearing the black plastic cowl vent during installation and removal

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The pointed corner of the hood will be bent up if you open the hood to 90 degrees without first dimpling down the upper corner of the firewall. The metal needs to be lowered just in the tiny area where the point would touch. I used a drift punch with a rounded edge and a small hammer. The metal is quite soft and after about 6-8 strikes it is lowered about 1/4" in that area. This is not the fender you are modifying but the upper cowl area. You could probably even use a small hardwood dowel to help relieve the area. This must be done with the hood off after you have marked the area needing modifying. I used a little touch-up paint when I was done to cover where I scratched the paint. It is all quite well hidden after the hood is re-installed.

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I keep the small locking pins under the hood and nearly hidden from sight using a tiny "rare earth" magnet from Radio Shack. That way the pin is always there when I open the hood instead of in a glove box or center console.

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Other notes:
-The hood edge just slightly touches the passenger-side wiper arm when the hood is at 90 degrees. Not a problem.

-Do NOT trust the hood will stay put without the use of at least one locking pin.