So, I’m enduring sciatica, headed for an mri and cortisone or surgery. TBD. So I’m doing low impact stuff on the car. Sit on my butt stuff if possible. I worked through the right side headlights, and then today worked on the right side hood hinges, cleaning it up don’t think it was ever factory painted, but believe I’ll hit it with black urethane single stage. That would have to make it easier to wipe down and clean it up?


Off the car, on the bench. The entire assembly is removed by taking out three 1/4” cap screws from the vapor canister area


Trim rings were not too bad to remove. Six small machine screws. Used vicegrips to pull up the retaining spring and it came apart well.



Sandblasted everything except the chrome rings



Painted with black rust oleum



Back on the car



These are new bezels for OPGI. I am trying to save old ones



This is what my old ones look like after chemical stripping old bad black paint. I kinda like them this way. With your nose close to them, there is some pitting or something in the aluminum coating? Not sure



But from a few feet away, they ain’t bad. I’ll probably repaint black, but I’m a waivering a little

Meanwhile, I jumped into hood hinge, right.


As a condition example, here is the drivers side hood hinge. Passenger side was the same, but off the car for fender work. If interested, I have a thread going in the Bodywork sub forum



So this is the hinge after cleanup. It appears to never have been painted. Maybe a light galvanizing? I think there are six parts, seven pivot points, and one spring. Lotsa stuff in a hood hinge



Had to remove the spring to allow efficient cleaning. With the small piece of hollow steel tubing slipped down center of spring, the hinge is retracted stretching spring, and the tubing ends then catch the spring ends, releasing the spring. Now I can paint the spring better.



Example of the 1/2” tubing I used to make spring stretcher. Put just a small bend in it to allow for insertion into spring. I found that I could Open the spring by pushing it down against the floor, and then slip the tubing end over the spring ends. Would be easier still on the car, but you better have a method of supporting hood with the absence of spring tension.



The sharp steel burr that the spring has worn into the hinge hook area. Took a chainsaw file and worked the burrs out

 

I hope you don't sit on a fat wallet stuffed to the brim with money, pictures & credit cards. It seriously aggravates sciatica. You might need to remove that large wad of money in your wallet. I'll get my bank routing number for you. 😉😎

 

😆

I needed that! I am renaming this Cutlass as the Mobile Money Pit. So obviously I don’t have any left to send you. But all joking aside, just what you mentioned can indeed aggravate sciatica. I actually keep wallet in front pocket, empty as it now is.😂. I’m taking prednisone and Tylenol, just trying to make it to the mri appt and hopefully a treatment plan.

steve

 

Steve - Hope things work out for you w/ the sciatica.

 

Tinkering with painting the right side hood hinge. Don’t exactly know how it was handled on the assembly line. Looks like no paint? Maybe silver paint? I know cleanup of the hinge was a lot of work. So, I am gonna hit it with black single stage urethane, that should allow for better clean ability.


This hinge looks way better than it did



With spring stretcher in place, I can paint the spring and allow many days for the paint to cure before install back on the hinge.

 

Finally got around to the Driver side hood hinge. While taking it off the hood, I heard a little noise as something hit the floor. Turns out, there is a 5/16” thick horseshoe spacer at the very back end between the offset portion of the hinge and the bottom of the hood. The other hinge had no such part and the cap screw had the hinge pulled tight to the hood. Someone somewhere lost the spacer, or it fell out and somebody tightened the two parts together without the spacer. I now need to put the left hinge on the car, remove the right hinge. Bend the hinge back to what it is supposed to look like. Repaint it and install with the missing spacer that I fabbed up from some scrap steel.


FSM notes the spacer used on A body. I’m thinking the hinge was made to fit a bunch of cars, and the Cutlass requires the spacer



This is it. 5/16” thick that tapers to 1/4”



This is where it goes



Some scrap 5/16” plate. Trace the part



With the spacer on edge the taper is visible



Cleaned up and painted. Ready to go back on the car, at least until I pull the fender for rework.



The new authentic Oldsmobile spacer. Part #0000000001
Just waiting for someone to reply that they have a bucket of them for free!

 

Steve - I enjoy following along. Wonderful documentation - kudos.

 

Thank you Norm, nice comment!

I was able to replace the Driver side hood hinge today, and once again remove the Passenger side hinge, get it straightened out and touch up the paint. Reinstall in a few days after paint cures out. No excuses now to not remove the Driver side door and get going on that work. Really eager now after being away from the car for so long.


After installing the Driver side hinge after cleaning , painting, and lubricating pivot points, I put the hood prop on the Passenger side and took that hinge off again.



Put a little white tape on the hinge to better see the needed metal bending work.



Before the ‘adjustment’



After bending back to original position. The new spacer now fits and should allow for a better more secure installation.