brad101010 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Hey there, i wanted to know if any one has attempted to use the hood mech. from the Z series and mount it on the 510 which would reverse the swing of the hood. I think this would be a great modification and i wanted to know if anyone had done this and if so, do you have pics. Any particular "special" problems you encounterd. I look forward to hearing from you Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 Yeah its harder to change the water pump and pull the radiator out!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 With a little fab work you can reverse your hood by using a Buick Le sabre hood hinge. I did this mod on my HB & got the hinge @ the yard for $20. It needs to be narrowed & brackets made for the mounting points but if you can weld & have a grinder & drill it can be done. we also did the same trick on my friends Geo tracker... If you need actual build pics lemme know. Quote Link to comment
zhent Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 How do you anchor the rear of the hood? My dad had a LeSabre in the '80s and I always liked the way that hood opened. I know they had slide in anchors on teh rear of the Buick hoods... Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 How do you anchor the rear of the hood? My dad had a LeSabre in the '80s and I always liked the way that hood opened. I know they had slide in anchors on teh rear of the Buick hoods... On both hoods we chose not to use the Buick slider mechanism. While driving my hood will "float" a bit but i left the stock hinges in place & it rests on those. Quote Link to comment
bonvo Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 how about a split hood? would make doing spark plugs a bitch but it would look trick Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 The split hood craze has not seen it's way to the Datsun crowd & i dont think it will :rolleyes: but...heres an interesting idea... Quote Link to comment
jesusno2 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 I think a good source for parts for this would be a chevy luv their hoods open backwards Quote Link to comment
hang_510 Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 :cool: so does a Z Quote Link to comment
thisismatt Posted July 23, 2008 Report Share Posted July 23, 2008 The 510 hood really isn't going to lend itself well to reverse opening. Hell, it can hardly support itself opening normally. Quote Link to comment
brad101010 Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 With a little fab work you can reverse your hood by using a Buick Le sabre hood hinge. I did this mod on my HB & got the hinge @ the yard for $20. It needs to be narrowed & brackets made for the mounting points but if you can weld & have a grinder & drill it can be done. we also did the same trick on my friends Geo tracker... If you need actual build pics lemme know. I sent you a message Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 1st off ill let you know this is the method i used for my HB. The 510 will be a bit different in the way you set it up to open & close. Same thing on th eTracker..on both trucks we had the hood on & off a dozen times lining it up & checking for clearence's. 1st thing i did was cut the crossbar in half then using spacers made from tubing mount it on the fender lips..i needed the spacers because the hinge was not allowing the hood to close all the way...Also youll want to mount the hinge as far FORWARD as possible on the fender lip... then i cut the excess off the bar & welded it together... next part is vital. Close the hinge & set the hood on & line it up perfect. Open the hood just enough to mark holes on the hood where the bolts will be WELDED on w/ a sharpie marker. I cut the heads off 4 bolts, drilled 4 holes then sunk them in & welded them in place. You'll still have room to adjust/line the hood up better at this point. Then mount the hood & see if it shuts & latches. Remember it took alot of trial & error to get it all to line up & i also did this by myself..i reccomend you have a helper when the time comes to mount the hood. You may have to modify the crossbar so it clears the radiator & dont forget to mount the hinge springs. On mine i had to move the spring mounting point like 1/2 inch to clear..the 510 may be easier or harder :cool: On the Tracker we had to make brackets for the hinge coming up off the inner fenderwells..the 510 will probably be similar seeing as theres no inside fender lip. Quote Link to comment
brad101010 Posted July 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Thanks for the pics, it does help some. What year lasaber did you get the hood hinge from? Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted July 25, 2008 Report Share Posted July 25, 2008 Early 80's models had em. Theres also a few other GM cars that had the same hinge. Just look & see if the hood "overlaps" onto the fenders if that makes any sense. Oh yeah..they are held on using "torx" bits [star shaped kinda like an allen bolt]. I didnt have those wrenches & got mine off using a chisel & hammer :w00t: Quote Link to comment
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