Fiberglass Hood Shocks (and Door Shocks?)

[Jeff10]

Hi,

I am considering installing shocks to the front hood of the '71. It has a fiberglass hood.

If anyone reading has experience with the kits offered by either BC Broncos of Jeff's Bronco Graveyard, can you tell me how far off the edge of the hood the epoxied supports are installed? (I have vents installed on each side, and I'm curious if they will be in the way.)

I've searched the chat and tech forum; but, I didn't come up with anything specific.

I'm also wondering if anyone sells any type of door shocks, or something similar that will help to hold the doors open. The doors on the '71 close on their own when left open. I sometimes use a bungee to hold the door handle to the fender flares; but, I'm thinking there must be a better way.

(I'll be using the same approach for the hood with our '70, too, if it works well.)

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[70_Steve]

Hi Jeff,

I installed the hood shock kit from BC Broncos. The hood bracket is 1 1/4" wide. Here are Chuck's instructions.

http://www.bcbroncos.com/hoodshocks-glass with water mark.pdf

 

[siderbox]

I like the 'door shock' idea.
I'm going to look into that.
I have access to alot of gas shocks.

 

[Jeff10]

Hi Steve,

Hi Jeff,

I installed the hood shock kit from BC Broncos. The hood bracket is 1 1/4" wide. Here are Chuck's instructions.

http://www.bcbroncos.com/hoodshocks-glass with water mark.pdf

It's good to see you again. Happy New Year!

I may have a problem.... The vents I installed are probably going to interfere. I can problem modify the supports, depending on the location of the actual support point.

If you happen to pass by your Bronco, would you mind measuring the distance from the pivot point on the bracket epoxied to the hood, and the back of the hood? If the pivot point isn't directly under the vent opening, this type of support might work.

It looks like you guys had a lot of fun in Moab last fall. Always an awesome trip ... at least that's what we think.

Take Care,

Jeff

 

[Jeff10]

Hey siderbox,

I like the 'door shock' idea.
I'm going to look into that.
I have access to alot of gas shocks.

I hope you come up with something. Put me down for a set!

Jeff

 

[Jeff10]

Hey Steve,

Hi Jeff,

I installed the hood shock kit from BC Broncos. The hood bracket is 1 1/4" wide. Here are Chuck's instructions.

http://www.bcbroncos.com/hoodshocks-glass with water mark.pdf

I meant to say it in the last reply... Thanks for posting the link to the instructions.

Jeff

 

[Whoaa]

I like the 'door shock' idea.
I'm going to look into that.
I have access to alot of gas shocks.

I like the door shock idea also. Keep us updated as you experiment w/ this idea..

 

[JGZ]

I use the WH shocks for my hood.No interference with the vents.When I built the hood for the Monster Garage Bronco I made a fiber glass mount for the shock that had aluminum laminated into it and glued that to the under side.Much cleaner.I still have the mold.

 

[Jeff10]

Hi JGZ,

I use the WH shocks for my hood.No interference with the vents.When I built the hood for the Monster Garage Bronco I made a fiber glass mount for the shock that had aluminum laminated into it and glued that to the under side.Much cleaner.I still have the mold.

Do you by any chance have pictures?

If that type of mount would work for our hood, are the mounts you described something you might think about selling?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[JGZ]

I would post a pic.but I haven't been able to for quite some time,even though I am a contributor.PM me and I can text you a pic of the mold.And yes I could make you a pair.

 

[70_Steve]

I may have a problem.... The vents I installed are probably going to interfere. I can problem modify the supports, depending on the location of the actual support point.

If you happen to pass by your Bronco, would you mind measuring the distance from the pivot point on the bracket epoxied to the hood, and the back of the hood? If the pivot point isn't directly under the vent opening, this type of support might work.

Yeah, Moab trip was awesome!!!

I measured about 15" from the back of the hood to the ball stud. Placement of that ball stud isn't 100% critical. Just need to make sure the shock will clear the inside lip of the fender when closing the hood, and the ball stud isn't so far forward that the shock won't collapse.

Here's a pic of my bracket I recently installed. Notice that it's not exactly parallel to the edge of the hood. I did that to clear the hood vent-scoop-thing.

 

[Jeff10]

Hi Steve,

Yeah, Moab trip was awesome!!!

I measured about 15" from the back of the hood to the ball stud. Placement of that ball stud isn't 100% critical. Just need to make sure the shock will clear the inside lip of the fender when closing the hood, and the ball stud isn't so far forward that the shock won't collapse.

Here's a pic of my bracket I recently installed. Notice that it's not exactly parallel to the edge of the hood. I did that to clear the hood vent-scoop-thing.

Awesome!

Thanks for posting the pic.

I'm hoping to have time today to figure out if I can make that work with the additional vents.

I read through the installation information from BC Broncos but was hoping that you might provide some insight about the prep work on the underside of the hood in the area where the brackets are epoxied. Did you grind/sand the area to remove the real rough stuff, or did you just epoxy over it? (If it's clean, I imagine the fiber material might actual make the bond stronger, so maybe it should be left as-is.)

Thanks again.

Jeff

 

[SteveL]

To keep the door open i slip a short 2x4 in the outer part of the door sill. Fits perfect between body and door.

 

[Crush]

On jeep sites there is a a door rod that takes place of the strap. It is kind of a small friction device like sport bikes use as a steering stabilizer. Ive thought about going this route in the past. Sorry i dont have a link��

 

[70_Steve]

I read through the installation information from BC Broncos but was hoping that you might provide some insight about the prep work on the underside of the hood in the area where the brackets are epoxied. Did you grind/sand the area to remove the real rough stuff, or did you just epoxy over it? (If it's clean, I imagine the fiber material might actual make the bond stronger, so maybe it should be left as-is.)

I thought about sanding/grinding, especially since the area right next to the vent scoop was a bit uneven. But decided to just epoxy with minimal prep. And my "prep" was to just clean the area to be epoxied as good as I could. I used paint thinner then acetone to clean. So far so good...

 

[JGZ]

Your gonna want to ruff the glass in the areas you want to bond to.36-40 grit will do.Make sure its clean,acetone will work best.If the pieces your bonding are metal ruff rose up too with 36-40 grit.And wipe down with acetone.I would figure out where the pieces are going,Trace a line and mask off about 3/16" outside that line.When you glue it up you can run your finger around the bonded pieces and that will leave a nice radius.Pull the tape and your done.

 

[Jeff10]

Hey Steve and JGZ,

Thanks for the input.

I took some pics yesterday for the hood vents. Not sure I can make this work.... not sure about notching the supports in the vent opening area.

I'd be interested in any comments.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[70_Steve]

Hey Steve and JGZ,

Thanks for the input.

I took some pics yesterday for the hood vents. Not sure I can make this work.... not sure about notching the supports in the vent opening area.

I'd be interested in any comments.

Thanks,

Jeff

Wow! Gonna be tough! (How's that for a comment!)

What are the measurements of the existing vent cutout? Length, width, distance to hood side, distance to hood rear, etc. Can you mark up one of the pics?

Do you already have the hood shock hardware? If so, who's?

Here is WH instructions for Fiberglass hood. Might get some ideas...
http://cdn.wildhorses4x4.com/downloads/WH/5805 10-29-13_1.pdf

 

[JGZ]

What are the vents made out of?I would try to tie into those using the bolts from that and bonding the supplied bracket.Keep in mind that the gas shocks are under constant pressure.You need to spread the load out as much as possible.

 

[Jeff10]

Hi Steve and JGZ,

I'll get some measurements when I can get close to the Bronco again. (I did a little rearranging in the garage yesterday to get my wife's car in for the winter. It's not that bad getting things rearranged... just a little time consuming. I'll try to get the dimensions by this coming weekend.)

Thanks again.

Jeff