Hood support shocks HELLLPPP

[vigman]

I bought 2 new gas shocks for the hood and they came in the expanded position. they are about an 1/8 of an inch to tall to fit on the hood pins. What's the trick to slightly compress them to fit em on???? Do I have to buy an 8" c clamp???? for $25.00 that I'll only use for this!

Mike

 

[Yoda]

Here is Budda (Bubba) at his best

Mike,

Just a suggestion.. use small twine (or fishing line) and tie around one end of the shock so it can't slip, probably close to the mounting hole, or if you use small fishing line you may be able to go through the hole on the end of the shock..

Now compress the shock against the side of your workbench or something similar, while holding it in place with your GUT, BELLY or whatever, tie the other end through the other hole or use a clove hitch or non slipping knot.. there ya go..

You will want to mark the distance between the two ends with a magic marker or rubber band to get the exact length you need.

As you can see I am used to working alone on my cars.. "The mother of invention"

BudD

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Ahhh...

... so that's what the beer-belly is for! It is actually another piece of garage equipment!
Here's two for the lone mechanics out there!

Sil

 

[Eagle85C4]

Don't know where you folks are getting your hood shocks from, but if you can compress them that easily you ought to get your money back. I bought new ones and had the same problem, I had to resort to putting them in a large vise to compress them the least little bit. I finally had to force them in place with the help of a BFH and bending the hood back. I got both of them from a Pep Boys Store in Portsmouth Virginia for 9.95 each.
They make quite a difference when lifting and lowering the hood.

 

[vigman]

You Guys!!!!

I'm making a tool to compress them. Like Eagle says,You need A FBH to compress them... I will do something a bit less crude.

Thanks
Mike

 

[Eagle85C4]

Actually, I ran into the problem by hooking one up then trying to hook up the other. If you have someone to assist, you can get both on at once without the need to precompress them by pushing the hood up just a bit more. Hope this helps...

 

[Paul G]

Are these an aftermarket option? My 88 has the mounting for them, but no struts?

 

[vigman]

Gettin a lift

After market replacements are about $20.00 each.
Your vette SHOULD have had them...( not an option )
usually if the car was in an accident the body shop might have not installed them back ( since they are a PAIN to put in ).


Mike

 

[Ken]

I saw this thread earlier but wasn't paying attention I guess, I thought it was about C3s!

Anyhow, the small hood assist supports in the front of the hood area were used with the earlier scissors-type hood support rod. They changed styles to the telescoping type in '85 or '86, and then changed it again later in the decade ('88?) to a gas-charged type of support.

If you upgrade your hood support to the later gas-charged support, as I've done on mine, you don't need the small assist supports. I left mine in place, but they are virtually useless.

If you do replace them in kind, yes, raising the hood slightly should allow them to fit into place.

Hope this helps ya.

 

[Eagle85C4]

Hey Broken....

Caught you asleep at the...er..wheel huh?

 

[Ken]