I’m having an issue with my 1968 hood hinges. I sent the hinges out to be rebuild and they came back way too tight. After cleaning, oiling and working them many times, I can’t close the hood. The hood literally won’t budge. I’m afraid to try pulling down harder on the hood for fear of bending the hood. After working the hinges a couple hundred times, I’ve loosened them up a bit, but they’re still way too tight. The hinge builder suggested I try 69 Cutlass springs, because they have less tension. My hinge springs measure 7 3/4 inches (give or take a 16th of an inch). I see repop 68 Cutlass springs listed at 8 1/2 inches long. Do I have the wrong springs? Could anybody confirm the actual length of a stock 1968 hood hinge spring? I have what I believe people are calling the first generation hinge with two mounting holes vs. three. I’m not sure if I have original springs or if mine are too short thus the additional tension? Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

If anybody could post the length of a decompressed spring and the number of coils for a 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass hood hinge spring I would appreciate it. If you have calipers and you’re able to give me the thickness of the wire that would be stellar too. Thank you. I have the first generation hinges with the two hole fender mount.

 

I'll get that measurement data when I'm home from work today. I have a set of two hole 68s with the spring compressed and in the "closed" position.

Typically, when the rear of the hood does not sit flush with the top of the fender, that means the rear of the hinge needs to go down, and the front needs to go up.
I do not use the thick horseshoe shims at the rear hinge to hood bolts.

Is the cowl seal new? If so its likely too dense. Some brands are less dense.
Remove the seal while you're making this adjustment.
You may need to elongate the adjustment holes in the hinge to allow more movement.

Make sure the center cowel bumper is adjusted down or removed until you are finished adjusting, then raise it to just make contact with the hood.

Are the hinges the 68 two-hole OEM

 

I think you know that's a BS answer. Without springs the hinges should be loose. He rebuilt them with the rivets too tight. Putting a lighter spring isn't really the answer.

If Steve doesn't get you an answer let me know. I have a spare set of 68 hinges I can measure too

 

Yes, mine are the two hole hinges / first generation.


I’m looking for a measurement with the springs off the hinges. With what I think are shorter springs on my hinges, they are stretched whether the hinge is up and even more stretched when it’s down.

Thank you for the advice. I will definitely revisit this thread when I actually get the hood to go down. 🤪

Looking forward to the measurements. I could use overall length number of coils and wire diameter.

 

[QUOTE=allyolds68;1677057]I think you know that's a BS answer. Without springs the hinges should be loose. He rebuilt them with the rivets too tight. Putting a lighter spring isn't really the answer.

Yeah, I agree, but I also think my Dad (aka the late “Bullwinkle”) or whoever owned the car before him, put shorter springs on the hinges to try to get the hinges to work better.

All the research I’ve done indicates the spring should be 8 1/4 long. My springs are 7 3/4. The half inch diff in the springs plus the hinge builder leaning on the rivet press lever too hard are most likely the issues keeping the hood from going down.

 

Was at work till 830 last night, extinguishing a large dumpster fire.
I'll try to remember tonight. I'm not sure if I have just a spring in my parts hored. But I do have 2 complete 68 hinges with the springs attached in the hood down position.

 

I can’t get them completely compressed without taking them off and that’s a PIA, so this is the best I can do. These are three hole hinges but I can’t believe there’s any difference between the three and the two. The hood weighs the same.

 

Thats about as good as I would be able to show. My hinges are closed. I dont want to put them into the vice to unload them. Both cars are right in front of said vice. We all know what happens next.

 

Thanks for the pic. Yeah it’s hard to tell with them stretched like that. I would say there’s about an 1/8 to a 1/16th of an inch for every gap in the coils….

The springs that were on my hinges (that I feel are the wrong springs) are 7 3/4 inches unsprung. I believe they stretch to 8 1/2 inches when the hood is in the up position, but the hood will not pull down with a pretty good amount of force.

Anyone out there have first generation (two fender mount holes) 1968 Oldsmobile Cutlass hood hinge springs? Could really use a measurement of unsprung total spring length including hooks, number of coils and the wire diameter. Thank you.

 

I understand. They are kind of a pain to take on and off. Hooking a GM seatbelt to the front hook on the spring closest to the front bumper and bracing yourself against the bumper then pulling on the tag end of the belt is the easiest method I found for removal / install for future reference. Obviously if the car is painted, you want to put a blanket over the fender and wear safety glasses.

As posted above if anybody has a 1968 Oldsmobile cutlass first generation hood hinge spring. This is the two hole mount to the fender (not three fender mount holes) type hinge. I could really use the overall length of the spring including hook ends unsprung, diameter of the wire and number of coils. Thank you!!!

 

There’s a factory procedure to remove them using the bumper jack. I’ve done it before. It’s not that bad. That being said, since mine aren’t a two hole, it’s not really what you’re looking for anyway.

The is no totally unsprung condition that these can be placed in unless they are off the hinges. I’d be happy to mic the coils, it would be easy enough to figure the unsprung length knowing that but, as I noted above, it’s not really what you’re looking for anyway.

 

There’s a factory procedure to remove them using the bumper jack. I’ve done it before. It’s not that bad. That being said, since mine aren’t a two hole, it’s not really what you’re looking for anyway.

The is no totally unsprung condition that these can be placed in unless they are off the hinges. I’d be happy to mic the coils (and the gap between them). It would be easy enough to figure the unsprung length knowing that but, as I noted above, it’s not really what you’re looking for anyway.

 

Yes you are right. Need to find someone to get me the measurements of the first generation two mount hole hood hinge springs for the 68 Cutlass. Looking for overall length unsprung, diameter of wire, and the number of coils, please?

Would like to keep this as the last post so someone could hopefully respond with the measurements.

 

I'm not sure why we need the attitude....

The spring part number (574802) didn't change from the two hole to the three hole design. The spring is the same.

 

Wow man, what part of my message indicated there was an attitude given? 🧐

Thanks for the information on the part number. Still would like to get some measurements for the purpose of my original post.

I’m trying to compare an unknown to a known. I don’t know what the measurements are of the correct springs. I only know the measurements of the spring I have on the car, which I am pretty sure are the wrong springs, and there’s no part number that I can find.