Hydraulic Hood lift kit
 

Just did one for myself, showed 2 other Miata owners and got the immediate "dude you gotta hook me up", so was wondering if there was any interest in a less expensive kit than whats out there...

I'll get some pic up in the next couple days, but basically its a single 18" lift support (shock), some hardware and 2 brackets I made. Required making 2 small holes in the hood.

Doesnt shoot up, doesnt have to be forced down...simple 1 handed operation. Doesnt interfere with getting to anything in the engine bay (actually I think its alot more convienent).

Would prob have to buy in bulk to really make it worth while, so I figured I'd gauge some interest first...

Prob looking in the ballpark of $50, and the buyer's would receive something that can be installed in 10min +/-..(tighten 4 bolts/drill 2 holes).

I know miata.net will prob like this, but figured alot of people may have the same issue as me, where I had to carry my old prop in the trunk since my IC pipes woudnt allow it to stay down in its original place...

Anyway let me know!

We need some pics of it. I have been wanting to make something for myself, but haven't had the time. How far does the hood open? Is it just as far as the stock prop rod, or closer to when the hinges actually hit the stops?

Yea, I want to see some pics. I just moved mine to a different spot in the bay and on the hood. Beat and ghetto looking, I could maybe do without looking at it.

Vash-

I'd love a hydraulic hood lift, for the same reason as many here...intercooler piping. However, I'd really be interested in dual rods, one on each side.

i prefer dual.

you said cheaper. what single lifter kit is more than $50?

+1

pics please.

Good questions guys, and I appreciate the feedback...Like I said maybe this will make sense, maybe it wont...

To answer some questions (sorry still working on pics)

1-It opens just as far as the stock rod, maybe a lil more (1/2"-1" max)

2-Alot of you commented on dual rods, which is easily doable, but seeing as the supports are about $25each, that would significantly add to the cost... If you guys are really stuck on duals, I can see what that would run, but Isnt gonna be $50..

3-as far as pricing, all the single lift kits I see are upwards of $69+shipping...
here's a few:http://www.miatamania.com/Shop/Searc...WebCatalogID=0

Mind you the descriptions says STRUTS (implying 2), but the install instructions refer to one ONE..

What I have in mind looks ALOT like the Moss kit, but My brackets are a little different, and the hood bracket is alot smaller (bout 3" long).
Same location more or less in the engine bay.

Again still need to see if this makes sense, and if there's a decent demand, then I'll start playing around with things, and shave costs as much as I can, which will be passed along to you guys...
The struts/balljoints are what costs the most in the kit...If you guys would prefer just the brackets/hardware at a much cheaper price, I could do that....just have to source your own strut/balljoint.
And I like I said I was considering duals on my car as well...but as is, it does NOT need more muscle to lift the hood, so I thought why add cost.....unless the public demands it
Keep the feedback coming guys...gonna try and get some pics, although I'm not truly finished myself yet...

Definitely interested. If it's a nice solution, I'll buy.

As for $20 here or there... I'll take quality over cost. I'll take a quality dual over a single too.

Also, obviously before having a firm price I'd find the best source for the parts, try and buy in bulk, and hopefully cut down on some costs as well...

Taking some shots now, be back with pics in a few...

PS--another thing to figure out on the dual setup is spacing...I was initially planning on putting my single strut on the pssngr side, however there's a lot of crap in that corner and along the fender making it a tight fit...Not ruling it out, just remembering a couple possible issues...Obviously they are out there so it can be done, but its just so simple and clean on the driver's side that I didnt put any further thought into it...

I think duals would be better for 2 reasons:

hood warpage
and long term lifting power.


that being said my ~$100 dual chrome hood lifts don't do a great job of holding the hood up any more when it's really cold. go figure. :vash:

Thats why I'd rather keep it to a single strut for cost...
I'll see how it goes...Maybe I'll do it as a single strut kit, and if anyone wants an extra pair of brackets/hardware for a dual that will be worked out...I'll even give the part# for the strut, this wya its easy to source...

Anyway next post will be pics...

Pics!
 

Ok guys, these again are very crude pics... Everything will be a lil prettier if this all goes through... Not painted/powercoated or anything, btu I do plan on triming a lil more fat from the brackets/hardware..

Pics of mounting points, hood open, hood closed, engine bay (can hardly see it in there), etc...

Those small ass pics are about as useful as Artie when doing a suspension swap.

asshole. lol. at least i paid for dinner for everyone later on. unlike some ppl who promise pizza and never get it.

Geeez, cmon as small as they are I think they can help get the picture across...between these pics, the moss pic, and the moss instructions/schematic, should be enough to let u guys know whats up no?

Liek I said before I take any orders or anythign like that, I'll post a proper thread (w/ permission) that will have GOOD pics of the final product as it will be shipped along with final pricing info....

Just gauge of interest for this thread, wouldnt expect anyone to buy based on those pics alone;)

Just to be clear, Artie is NOT talking about me. I'm a mother fucking baller when it comes to treating my friends to dinner after a tech day at my house.

The shrimp are marinating right now.

Id be interested.

Cool, thanks...

Anyone else, feedback on pics even?

The pics suck, get a better camera or stop resizing them into thumbnails.

When I asked you for pics of the pipes you we selling, I needed a jewelers eyepiece to see what the hell was in them.

Did some online searching (gonna buy local tho to not waste money on shiping), I think I can dave shave a couple bucks off the kits. Still need to see if I find a local place with a good price on the struts/ball joints, but the hardware can be found cheaper for sure...

I'd like to make 20sets if there's enough interest, which should go a long way in negotiating when I buy the parts in bulk...But gotta see what the real interest is...10is prob a much more realistic number...

If I see some more interest, I'll get to work on cleaning up the brackets and whatnot...posting some pics of what "finsihed kit" would be, then get a list, and negotiate in bulk for the parts...Post a final price and start taking orders...

Lol, sorry dude its what I have to work with right now...like i said, its justto give everyone an idea, when the pieces are done I'll post some real pics w/ a proper camera...

yeah, they suck :giggle: bigger/better pics needed :D

BIGGER (not better) PICS
 

Ok hopefully this helps some....my digicam needs a new battery (wont hold a charge even for 2pics), till I get a new one, hopefully cameraphone pics that aren't tiny will work

looks good.

It looks good man! Even if your pipes don't interfere with the prop rod I recommend the lift kit anyway. I have the moss duals on mine (only use one though) and they're alright.. but they rub the fender a bit when the hood's closed.

Cool getting some feedback, I appreciate the feedback everyone..

Can you believe m.net guys aren't really jumping at all...I mean a couple are, but a few are "i'd pay double to know i had a trusted company with extra/replacement parts if need be"......

I'm gonna also throw it up on clubroadster....it was meant for "US" as a solution to a common annoyance, but seems like I might need to rally some peeps...

Working on borrowing a digicam from a neighbor, and making a few adjustments to my setup to get it just right...

Keep the feedback coming, and keep letting me know who's interested/not interested...thanks!

Koto y do u use only 1 of ur duals??? Curious to know if its preference, problem, etc...

You would have a JEWelers eyepiece. :giggle:

got myself a friend's digicam...gonna try and finish mine up so I can take detailed pics of what you guys can expect in the kit...Mine works great as is, but I'd like to make cleaner looking brackets for the pics (i have a couple extra trial/error holes in mine).

These pics remind me of someone who tried to start a "Meet" thread for a certain color miata and posted shitty ass pics to start the thing. Click :giggle:

Anyway I'm in I've been looking for a cheap DIY solution for a while.

yea 1 more to the list!

lol at the pics...i just wanted to get something up here to give people an IDEA...as i said a few times alread I was not planning on saying who wants to buy whats in these pics...lol

I just want to chime in and say that I'd be very interested in a cheap hood prop solution. I tried to make one a while back with a hood strut off of an E30, but I realized that it was A, too small, and B, I had no idea what I was doing.

Make a cheap kit for us mt jews.

Can u believe my thread a miata.net got closed...wtf man, as I stated in this thread BEFORE I sell anything to anyon eI will get proper permission to do so...

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=280501

:bang:

^I'm not suprised by who closed your thread,the "donerator" mutherfucker is the worst mod on that site,right beside that dumb ---- "ragtop girl".

Yea well I sent him a lengthy PM about the abuse of power...The thread was at the same stage as this, NO sales, NO green light....just talk. In fact it had ALOT less talk about price that we do here, but his reasoning i the moment I posted a price, I broke the rules... I understand not turning the place into ebay, but cmon...

Here's a possible kit, that is cheaper...."whats the price?"--I\m not allowed to say...jeeeez

Anyway, been working on this thing...Got the hood mounting bracket to the point where I'm happy with, working on the Lower mounting bracket...
MIGHT have pics tonight if I'm given some more time to work on this...

Stay tuned guys...

Typical Don. I've gotten into it with him and that douche bag Gary too. Waste of time.

yea well f__K 'em, this was supposed to be for u guys anyway...just thought I'd get a couple down to earth people there as well to add to the list, making it cheaper for everyone...

Anyway...good news... I think I'm done with my install/fab. I like it as is, works well, simple & efficient...

I even decided to hit my stuff with some Rustoleum White to make it even more "unseen"...I think it'll give it a nice oem touch...

Working on uploading pics as we speak...

Real Pics
 

Sort of..

I'm happy with it as is...only thing I want to do is try and find some shorter mounting bolts for the fender bracket (you'll see in the pics).

I feel confident in saying what you guys will get will be almost identical to this..apart from maybe hardware changes, or small things like that. Fitment should be fine. Again I'm doing this in my garage by hand, but I think you;ll be happy with the results.

Mind you, this isn't a total hydraulic hood lift. You pop it open, and raise the hood like u normally would (the shock doesnt just raise the hood up for you by itself). To close, there's some resistance but not much, like wise its not fully hydraulic (it wont gently/perfectly close the hood). It's meant to remove the need for any prop & hold the hood up when its open...Just wanna be clear on expectations...I think we are all on the same page, but just checking...;)

Now need to see who's really onboard, then depending on how many people I'll see what the cost will be, then post a set price, and go from there..

I'm not sure if a partial kit (brackets only-or-everything except struts, etc) will make things easier. I worry about fitment if people decide to use different parts than what worked in my kit...

1st things first, let's see if everyone is still on board, or maybe if a few more jump in...Then we'll go from there...

So watcha think???

PS--just finsihed, look at post time! 2:40 AM:eek5:, u fockers better appreciate all this :bowrofl:

http://s292.photobucket.com/albums/m...20HOOD%20LIFT/

In for a cheap single...

Because it only took one to hold the hood open. ;)

It looks functional. I'm sure the props from other vendors have brackets with finished edges - will yours?

I must say I'm surprised this is something you'd want to spend your time doing. If it were me, I'd be telling everybody "here's how I did it, go make you're own". ;)

Well like I said i was just testing the waters to see if I could do something to raise a lil money for somethings I'll be needing...

I'm not a hardcore DIY'r, so figured those who are could have/would have easily done this by now, others might want it just not willing to pay the high price they are selling for...

I dunno, guess we'll just see which way this all goes

I feel I would be remiss in my duties as Miataturbo forum member if I don't add something to the effect of:

"Dood, this is the gayest thread evar!!1!1!!! OMFG, you queerbates are adding hood lift kits?! Can I get U some chrome windshield washer nozzles while we're at it?! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!111!!1one"



*The aforementioned verbiage was merely a joke. I repeat, merely a joke.

so thats it???? I posted the finished up pics and nooooone cares? :bang:

;)

yea for real man....good adaptation

Im still in....

I'm still interested, but whats the final price?

Thats what I've been posting the whole time....I needed a decent amount of people to get the price at $50 or lower...On the poll we had 12 people, plus there was another 2-3 that PM'd me...
Now we're down to 2, and 1 of the pm people...
Soooooooooo tell everyone to speak up!

Fuck It
 

You know what, fuck it...this is a diy forum so let me contribute for once...
Here we go:

STRUT=NAPA# BK-819-5518 (or similiar)
BALL JOINTS = NAPA# BK-735-1896
HOME DEPOT = 1"X1" ANGLED ALUMINUM (only need 5-6" if u do it right)
HARDWARE= M6x1.0- 16mm (2),M6x1.0-40mm (2), M6x1.0 nuts/washers(4)
TOOLS=1/4"bit, 5/16"bit, 10mm wrench, 10mm socket, 13mm wrench
a drill, and something to cut the alum with (ie: dremel)


-Cut the brackets down to 2.5" in length (2 of these)

-setup your engine mounting bracket 1st. Put it under the lip of the fender, and just about (but not) touching the firewall...The "angle" should be facing the inside of your engine bay. On 94+ u should have an empty hole there on the fender, almost 2" before the firewall. Use that as one of your mounting locations for this bracket, this will be the bottom hole. The 2nd hole is approx 1"-1 1/8" closer to the firewall. You must drill a 1/4" hole in the fender lip, then mark your bracket for BOTH holes, and drill 1/4" holes for the bracket. The strut will mount to the outside of this bracket, facing the engine. Mounting location is between the 2 holes u just driled, so mark it and drill 5/16" hole. Pop your balljoint into the strut, bolt it on, and bolt on the bracket using the 2 longer 6x1.0 bolts+washers+nuts.

-hood mounting bracket location can now be determined. You hood is propped up using ur stock prop. The bracket again should be mocked up with 1 ledge flush onto the inside of the hood, the other facing towards the inside of your car. With ur hood open, rotate the strut till the unmounted end touches your hood. You should end up about 12" from the front of the hood, or from the hood latch. Move the bracket so ur balljoint mounts as close to the middle of the bracket as possible, while not covering any holes in the hood skeleton. Mark the balljoint/strut mounting hole, and drill 5/16" hole. Bolt on the strut. The mounting location for the hood mount bracket dont matter too much. Just leave urself enough room to be able to tighten all nuts, mark 2 holes on the bracket and drill them 1/4". Mock it all up again, and this time use the 2holes in the bracket to mark ur hood, again drilling two 1/4" holes into the skeleton of the hood. Now cut off the unused portion of the bracket, on the ledge where the strut mounts to not the ledge that sits flush against the hood...you want to leave urself about 1/2" around the mounting location, and cutoff the rest (see pics).
Remove strut from this bracket, slip the 2 short M6x1.0 bolts into the holes in the hood (easier with a magnet)...thread out, or bolthead IN the hood..slide on bracket, tighten nuts.

-relieve stock hood prop and hold hood with ur hand, allign the strut/balljoint to the hood bracket and tighten well. Dont do this with the prop up as the strut setup opens the hood about 3/4" less, meaning ur prop will most likely be stuck, AND it'll be very hard to get the strut mounted

=Fin

PS----if u want u can now remove everything and paint it. DO NOT GET PAINT ON THE STRUT ITSELF as it wont work right...Yes I did it, and had to sand it off by hand, and now it's still not smooth...DONT PAINT THE STRUT

It's actually easier than it sounds, just trying to give all details as best I can but writeups aren't my thing...

Hope u fockerz are happy now :fawk:

how many ball joints do we need? Im guessing two?

Yea 2, they come in packs of 2, at least the part# above did...

On a side note, since this is now a diy thing, you could TRY a longer strut (20"-21") and prob a lil stiffer.

You can mount on the fender just the same, but much closer to the headlight rather than near the firewall...this MAY result in a more "automated" hood lift...

Again I have not tried this, just saying its prob a good idea, although more expensive which is why I didnt go that route...

Well thanks for the writeup. I may go back to pick a part and scavenge some hood struts.

no prob, glad someone got something out of it

I might do this one day, thanks for the info Tony.

Good to hear u guys like it...

My friend's still bothering me to make him one, so I might have him buy the longer strut and try that on my car...and just give him mine..

FWIW, if you're looking for something to cut aluminum with... Use a low tooth count wood blade in a jig saw, go slow and put medium pressure on it. Lubricate periodically with Automatic transmission fluid. Cuts through aluminum plate like butter. :D

I used a dremel with a cutting wheel (2 actually) for the 1st set...

The 2nd time around I used a Miter saw with one of those dull/sharp metal cutting blades..sorry I'm stoned...:bowrofl: Anyway also cut very fast...had to sand down the edges some, but no big deal with the bench grinder...The dremel was like a knife, and the saw was like a butcher knife...

FYI I messed up my shock...1st it seems the paint messed it up(not smooth, getting stuck, somehow got inside the tube, etc), than I somehow fucked it up removing the paint by scratching it with a sheetrock knife(possibly knicked some king of O-ring/seal), and later going at it with a piece of fine grit (fine dust, no lubrication, combination of everything, etc)...

LIKE I SAID--DO NOT PAINT THE SHOCK

I replaced it with a 1" longer strut, and widened the mounting location for the balljoint on the HOOD bracket even so slightly. The hood now opens 1" more than stock!! Pretty much the max you can open it via the hinges...All seems fine, used the same 30lb rated shock, just 1" longer.

I bought a 20" one as well, thinking I might try what I mentioned in the walk thru, but didnt want to drill 2 more holes in the fender. And this worked out very nicely with the extra inch of height...