Stowing hood up and out of the way

mrsbojigger

Does anyone know how I can raise the hood of my Hudson up close to the ceiling to keep it out of the way while I'm working on the engine compartment? It would be off the car more than on it. I am working alone and the hood needs to come off and on when needed but it's just too heavy for me by myself. I am thinking in terms of maybe some sort of pulley hoist arrangement similar to bicycle lifts. Any photos of what you guys have done? I need to keep it simple and safe.
Peace,
Chaz

Unknown

Chaz, sure know what you mean by a little help needed now and then. Your on the right track, at the hardware you can get some small DOUBLE pullys and nylon rope to make a block and tackle that will make it lighter to raise,Use a 4 point system and you'll be just fine. Another alternative is one of those cheap ratchet hoists , get it positioned so as to keep the hood fairly level, this may be the better way as it would be easy to move into position with a one point lift. BUD

rambos_ride

mrsbojigger wrote:

Does anyone know how I can raise the hood of my Hudson up close to the ceiling to keep it out of the way while I'm working on the engine compartment? It would be off the car more than on it. I am working alone and the hood needs to come off and on when needed but it's just too heavy for me by myself. I am thinking in terms of maybe some sort of pulley hoist arrangement similar to bicycle lifts. Any photos of what you guys have done? I need to keep it simple and safe.
Peace,
Chaz

I've got the same issues and 2 ideas.

1. Make the hood and fenders tilt forward to open - then there's no need to remove the hood to work on the engine

2. I was going to make a sling to work with my cherry picker. I've already have an engine tilt attachment so with the air powered ram I can easily raise lower and position the hood by myself.

Park_W

Chaz, you might look at the rigs advertised to lift and stow the removable hard tops on older Mercedes SL's, early T'Birds, etc. They're likely pricey, but maybe you could see how they're rigged and do a similar setup.

Unknown

I think I like this option, I had a trolly on an I beam in my truck shop, used a chain type come-a-long for a hoist, removed Cummins engines, transmissions and such with it , this is better. At HARBORFREIGHT.COM you can get a 110 volt electric hoist $99 to $129, the $129 will handle 1100 pounds, put one on an I beam with a trolly, they likey have that also, I have a foot operated variable speed switch I use for lots of things to control speed off/on and keep both hands free that would be a great option with this. Nope, my switch not for sale ,try HARBOR FREIGHT or Ebay, got mine on Ebay. BUD

MikeWA

Guess the electric would work OK with a variable speed switch, but I've got an electric overhead "walking" crane in my shop- use it a lot for heavy lifting, moving stuff around, etc.- and for "fine work", like installing/ removing an engine, I hang a simple chain hoist (sometimes called a "chain fall") on it, for better control.

bent metal

I work alone as well. When I did the '47 that changed to a '41 (suicide solution) I lifted the hood up and down with rope that I looped over the rafters. Actually two ropes. You can see the rope hanging in some of the pictures, it's black and orange rope. Nothing fancy, but it worked.:)

Unknown

I used cheap straps with coated hooks (and ratchet) from Harbor Freight. Cost under $20 for 4 straps, and worked great. I only dropped it on my head once. Besure to lift it high enough so you don't walk into it and bump you head like I did.

[Deleted User]

52 kahuna, If you don't have a scar on your head from a Hudson hood, You can not say you have worked on a Hudson!!!!!!!!
Bob
And I have several.......................

Unknown

BJ__TN wrote:

52 kahuna, If you don't have a scar on your head from a Hudson hood, You can not say you have worked on a Hudson!!!!!!!!

Bob

And I have several.......................

It's funny you should say that...... I was just pickin' at my most recent head injury! It still hurts!



Terry

Unknown

I have a differant problem--- FINGER NAILS-- I keep trying to drive them into something ! BUD

Ol racer

I work alone too as I guess most of us do. It allows us to be more creative...



I put a sq tubing across several rafters,( but a 2x4 will do) then I tied a 'sling' under four corners of the hood made from staps bought from trailer supply vender at a Swap meet. I inserted a long bolt to keep the straps from sliding to the middle.Then I used a cheap come-a-long to ratchet the hood up to the rafters. The longer '47 hood needed an extra strap.



It worked quite well coming back down to the hinges

Park_W

BJ, you've got that right. And it's not like an initiation ... we keep on doing it!

mrsbojigger

Yep! I have some permanent scars on my forehead too. Here is what I do now that I've had some sense knocked into my head (literally). If I could only to remember doing this all the time!
Peace,
Chaz

RL Chilton

I guess me being short has yet another advantage!:D

Lee ODell

mrsbojigger wrote:

Yep! I have some permanent scars on my forehead too. Here is what I do now that I've had some sense knocked into my head (literally). If I could only to remember doing this all the time!

Peace,

Chaz

Chaz, nice motor in your car. It looks like like the 05 Chevy pu motor my son got for me. Did you relocate the A/C compressor? The reason I ask is because the motor I have has the A/C compressor down lower by the crank pullly. My son thinks the compressor is to low to clear the crossmember on my 47 Hudson PU. I haven't checked that out yet. Do you think the compressor will need to be relocated? Lee

mrsbojigger

Good morning Lee,
Yes, I had to relocate the A/C compressor up out of the way of the crossmember. It was not a big deal. I just purchased the new mounting bracket from Street & Performance. If you purchase the mounting bracket from them, test fit components as soon as you receive them. Mine had the wrong spacers with them but they worked with me to get it corrected. It was probably just a missunderstanding in ordering not an engineering problem on their part. The problem of the spacing had to do with my engine being a truck engine and they sent spacers for a car LS1 engine. As you know the water pump and balancer sits further out on the truck engine. Attached are pics of what to look for. I hope this helps. Just remember to let them know it's a Truck engine not a car engine.
Peace,
Chaz

Lee ODell

mrsbojigger wrote:

Good morning Lee,

Yes, I had to relocate the A/C compressor up out of the way of the crossmember. It was not a big deal. I just purchased the new mounting bracket from Street & Performance. If you purchase the mounting bracket from them, test fit components as soon as you receive them. Mine had the wrong spacers with them but they worked with me to get it corrected. It was probably just a missunderstanding in ordering not an engineering problem on their part. The problem of the spacing had to do with my engine being a truck engine and they sent spacers for a car LS1 engine. As you know the water pump and balancer sits further out on the truck engine. Attached are pics of what to look for. I hope this helps. Just remember to let them know it's a Truck engine not a car engine.

Peace,

Chaz

Thank you Chaz. The pictures and explanation have been helpful. The readymade bracket sure is a time saver not having to fabricate one. Are you using the original computer and wiring hareness or an aftermarked wiring kit? Does the stock exhaust manifold clear the steering gear box? I don't know if the truck and step down have the same amount of clearance issues in the engine bay. Lee

mrsbojigger

Wow! This little thread has taken on a life of its own.

Lee,
I am still deciding what to do about the wiring (computer harness, etc.). When I purchased the truck engine/trans from a low milage "roll over", I also purchased ALL of the wiring inside and out and even the instrument panel. Since I have all this I'm wondering if I need to purchase a stand alone harness. Will decide later when I get more information.

One thing you may want to check is the depth of the oil pan in relation to your eventual ground clearance. I chose to switch to a Camaro oil pan which gave me more ground clearance since my clip is from an '80 Camaro which normally sits quite low.

On a side note: Yesterday I yanked out all of the new billet transmission shift brackets and cables I had purchased and started replacing it with my own design based on the OEM style. All that new billet stuff would not clear some sheet metal and was down right awkward in effeciency and looks. Oh well, it's only money and time.

Peace,
Chaz

mrsbojigger

Well I'm back and working on the lift today. I purchased an inexpensive (on sale) 120V electric lift from HF this week and a barn door trolley set along with the square rail for it. I got it all installed today and now I'm testing it. It works perfect with NO hassle. It's just an easy push of the button and I can go up or down plus it will trolley back and forth to suite my needs. I will now make a harness for the hood so I can attach it to the hoist when I need to remove the hood.
Peace,
Chaz

Browniepetersen

I have a system much like that. I have my motor mounted above the door brackets and a pully system that goes through a couple of "eye bolts" that fasten to brackets that I attach to the "California Top" that I fabricated for my 39 roadster. Right now all I have is the tube frame for the top, but I added lift points on the tube frame so that once it is covered and such I will be able to install and remove by myself in the shop. I used the idea from window blinds to get the concept.