1949 hood springs

[Phil J]

On my "new"49 I am missing both hood springs--anyone know what will work?  I am not going for original unless that is the only option--thank you

[Jay Friedman]

For original springs try the following: Dennis Akerman or John Gately, both of whom are in the CLC directory in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, respectively.  If they don't have them, try Arizona Vintage Parts or Hidden Valley Auto Parts or Desert Valley Auto Parts, all 3 in AZ.

[jaxops]

Make sure, if you go original on the setup (not necessarily original parts), that it is a twin spring on each side with a bar between that they hook onto.  It takes a lot to get them on, so be ready for that.  Once you do, you will find that it makes a big difference where you place them on the hood.  If the pivot point is off, the hood either won't stay opened or it will only open part of the way.

I used Cadillac King junkyard in Arizona for my parts.  We had to manufacture the separator bar. 

[Jay Friedman]

As Jaxops wrote the springs are very powerful and not easy to install.  If and when you get original springs I have 4 different write-ups by '49 owners describing how they installed them.  Each one a bit different. Email me at jaysfriedman(at)yahoo.com.