Hood Pin Install

Decided to ditch the fake hood pins and put some real ones on.....A set of sparco hood pins arrived today and I plan to install them this weekend. I know pretty much were I am going to mount them but drilling holes in the hood has my nerves on end. Any advise or tips from those that have done this before???

I install the pins on the core support first, then put tape underside of the hood. close the hood until it hits the tape. Mark the impression points. Make sure you are using a new or sharp drill. Drill from underside up slowly. Fairly easy install.

That sums up the plan....thanks for reminding me I need to get some new drill bits. The set I have is pretty old and probably not that sharp.

one thing to make sure is that you dont get caught on a side of a structural rib. Make sure you place the pins in a location on the core support that also is either in the center of a structural rib, or not at all.

gotcha...The spot I was looking at was on the radiator support brackets. It already has holes in it for the push pins from the radiator cover. That would put the pins directly over the fog lights. I'll have to check to see if it places the pins away from any ribs on the hood though.

Good luck Sean

Just install the pins in the radiator support and slam the hood shut right? Isn't that how it's done?

Can't wait to see them.

Sounds awesome!

I love my Sparco hood pins! I mounted them using the locator brackets that came with the Scott Drake (Shelby) hood pins. If I remember correctly, it puts them just forward (closer to bumper) of the radiator mounting hole. The mounting brackets use the radiator mounting holes. Drilling the holes was easy...the second time around...in the fiberglass. After you mark where to drill the holes, start using a 1/8" bit to make a pilot hole. Then either use a couple bits in between that and the size to clear the pin or use a step bit to the desired hole size. Don't worry too much about making the hole a little too big as the cover plate will cover it. The underside may need to be a bit larger to clear the pin as the hood moves over the pin. I selected rivets instead of screws due to a better hold a slightly cleaner look.

2006 Ford Mustang GT-IMG_2990-redo by kooldawg6, on Flickr

2006 Ford Mustang GT-IMG_2984-redo by kooldawg6, on Flickr

2006 Ford Mustang GT-IMG_2982-redo by kooldawg6, on Flickr

2006 Ford Mustang GT-IMG_2994-redo by kooldawg6, on Flickr

2006 Ford Mustang GT-IMG_2976-redo by kooldawg6, on Flickr

Thanks for the feed back everyone...Took the old stick on pins off last night boy what a difference in color under the old pins (they have been on the car for 3yrs). Will have to do some polishing today today to even things out.

How did the install go? Any pics?

haven't taken any pic's yet, but the install went fine actually it was pretty easy. Just alot of checking and re-checking to make sure everything lined up the way I wanted. only one minor mess up but that can be fixed with a little touch up paint.

now because the old pins had been on the car so long I have to do some polishing and buffing to even things out.

Glad the install went smoothly for you! Now awaiting pics