Hood Pins! Need advice
 

My hoods rattles and its really becoming annoying. So i am thinking about getting some hood pins. Not sure which to get and how to actually install them without f-ing up the paint.

Can someone give me an advice to how best to install them.

Pictures of miata hoods with pins would be nice.


Thanks, Taras

When I first put my FM hood on I had issues with it flopping about on the highway. I actually thought it was going to fly off one day! lol

I used regular "Sparco" like hood pins. I used an existing hole on the fender to bolt the pin itself to and then just drilled accordingly in through the hood.

Now for my Autokonexion hood I have a set of Aerocatch hood pins and they look like they are going to be a bitch to do.

yeah i was thinking about Aerocatch but they look like a ton of work. Can you take a pic of where you mounted the pins?

I made my own,and let my dad put them in.Bad mistake,he fucked up my paint.I would use a UnibitTo drill the hood and would put masking tape on the spot first.
-G-

They're a bitch, I don't see why anyone would use them on the street. I bought some generic $20 ones which included rivets from summit racing I think. The rivet holes are easy, as they're just 1/8" holes, for the actual pin, which was oval for mine, I drill two holes side by side and enlarged them as necessary to make them fit. Any paint that you F up should be covered by the plate. G'luck.

The pics I have with the Sparco type pins are old, I took them out of the FM hood before I sold it. And I have yet to attack the Aerocatch pins, I'm thinking that I'll probably just have my bodyshop guy do it, seeing he still has the car.

I was planning on putting the Areocatch ones either in the same spot I had the old ones, (see pics above) or on the sides of the headlights right in the front of the hood. Then use the front radiator support to mount the pins to.

You should ask newbsauce for some advice on hood pins. The dyno day I went to in NOVA was quite memorable due to his pins.

The snowboarder has some aerocatches IIRC and likes them as far as I know.

I've installed a couple of aerocatches, and they're wicked. They come with or without locks, quick to operate, and latch the hood down really tight. They aren't really any harder to do then a regular hood pin. You still mount the pin like the other ones, and you are given a template to cut out your hood to fit the aerocatch.

http://www.eurogearusa.com/hoods/hoo...ch_locking.jpg

I guess I probably need to get pins for my fm hood too...that could be a bad day.

i think i am going to stick with regular style pins

Aerocatches FTW! spendy but worth every dime. clean look, smooth operation if your going pins i'd go that route.

If you're just looking to eliminate rattles, why not just adjust it? It may need new bumpers, but those should be dirt cheap and easily found used.

Make sure the pins themselves are not cast pieces. They can crack. It happened to me going through a turn at a high rate of speed.

i have aerocatch pins and love em

Hey those are cool! I was looking for a way to get rid of the hood latch and I like those a lot, much nicer looking than regular hood pins, and lockable. ~$100 with shipping on EBay.

If your getting Aerocatch, get the real shit, not the ebay knock offs. I can tell you first hand the ebay knock off ones fail to close, have rusting hardware, and just generally fail.

The ones I looked at were not knockoffs, but the real thing, or at least advertised as such.
Aerocatch Locking hood latch pin flush mount Lock:eBay Motors (item 370215840023 end time Jun-25-09 10:36:54 PDT)

I agree about not taking a chance on a hood latch. Too much of a safety issue, and too much damage potential. If you have never had a rear-hinged hood come open on you at speed, trust me, it sucks very much, and it happens FAST.

I've had that experience. The knock off aerocatches failed. ;)

:giggle::giggle: He speaks the truth..I know.