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Falcon Prop Rod in lieu of hood Springs

Started by BGlover67, December 09, 2018, 10:00:00 AM

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BGlover67

How many early 1967's have you seen with hood hinge springs missing and hood prop rods installed like those used on early Falcons?  On early metal backed hoods, they must have been somewhat dangerous.  I could see myself slamming my hood down on my fingers by mistake.



Thanks,
Brian R. Glover
SAAC Carolina's Northern Representative

Bob Gaines

Quote from: BGlover67 on December 09, 2018, 10:00:00 AM
How many early 1967's have you seen with hood hinge springs missing and hood prop rods installed like those used on early Falcons?  On early metal backed hoods, they must have been somewhat dangerous.  I could see myself slamming my hood down on my fingers by mistake.
Are you trying to imply that style is original on some 67 Shelby hoods also?
Bob Gaines,Shelby Enthusiast, Shelby Collector , Shelby Concours judge SAAC,MCA,Mid America Shelby

roddster

  I've been to more than just a couple of National SAAC conventions and don't ever recall seeing one.  I do recall from Forum 1.0 that the easy answer is "not many".  And not at all like the one shown.

JD

There have been "rumors" that some early cars got prop rods in place of hood springs.  But no documentation or proof has ever been found.  Seems to be a owner thing perhaps to minimize hood curvature or something else.

More myth than reality.

'67 Shelby Headlight Bucket Grommets https://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=254.0
'67 Shelby Lower Grille Edge Protective Strip https://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=1237.0

BGlover67

We received about 6 inches of snow here in the Carolinas (that's equivalent to about 6 feet up north), so I was catching up on some reading.  I was looking through Greg Kolasa's "The Definitive Shelby Mustang Guide 1965-1970", on page 131 it says, "Some early cars used a Falcon prop rod in lieu of springs on the hinges to hold the hood open. Semicircular brackets on the bottom of the hood and the inner fender captured the ends of the rod."

There is an online version of some of the book here:

https://www.diyford.com/shelby-mustang-history-1967-gt350-gt500-longer-shelby/

It's about 3/4's of the way down the page.

So are you all saying that is not true?  What are the pics of then?  (I'm not saying this to be combative.  In fact, at SAAC 42 we had a good number of early 1967's and I didn't see this feature on any of them, but I just figured I may have missed it.)
Thanks,
Brian R. Glover
SAAC Carolina's Northern Representative

Bob Gaines

Quote from: BGlover67 on December 09, 2018, 04:28:01 PM
We received about 6 inches of snow here in the Carolinas (that's equivalent to about 6 feet up north), so I was catching up on some reading.  I was looking through Greg Kolasa's "The Definitive Shelby Mustang Guide 1965-1970", on page 131 it says, "Some early cars used a Falcon prop rod in lieu of springs on the hinges to hold the hood open. Semicircular brackets on the bottom of the hood and the inner fender captured the ends of the rod."

There is an online version of some of the book here:

https://www.diyford.com/shelby-mustang-history-1967-gt350-gt500-longer-shelby/

It's about 3/4's of the way down the page.

So are you all saying that is not true?  What are the pics of then?  (I'm not saying this to be combative.  In fact, at SAAC 42 we had a good number of early 1967's and I didn't see this feature on any of them, but I just figured I may have missed it.)
The pictures are not of a legit Shelby hood if that is what you mean by what are the pictures of. Although he asked my advice on a few things Greg did not provide a copy to me to look over for things like that before publishing his book . I think that would have been prudent. We all make mistakes . I still think it is a great book with great pictures.  The Falcon prop rod thing is a long time 67 Shelby urban legend. Just because you see it in print doesn't automatically make it Gospel .
Bob Gaines,Shelby Enthusiast, Shelby Collector , Shelby Concours judge SAAC,MCA,Mid America Shelby

427heaven

The average guy would be embarrassed to show off that P O S. There have been many prop rods on different cars thru the years that would at least look respectable to use in this situation. It appears that he went dumpster diving for goodies, that took no thought, no mechanical skills, no money and a host of other NO NO's . A broomstick would have been a better alternative. :-\

557

Also if the rod is only on one side you will have(at least some)tortional flex of the hood due to the uneven distribution of weight....No es bueno!!!