what would you do
 

Hi I need a little advice. I have a 1955 f100 with a hood with stripped bolt holes. I either could use mid fifty nut repair kit. Or put in a oversize bolt from mid fifty. Or put in a tilt hood kit. Most hoods in my area run around five hundred or better. What do you all think?

Thanks

Jerry

I hate to just read the post and not reply. If it was me I would give the repair kit a try and if that don't work go from there.

I got tired of messing around trying to get my hood to close right...I went with the No Limit Front tilt kit. No regrets!

The best answer to your question is found in your own situation...do you have the skills to do the work and what is your own "best solution" to the repair. I have welded quite a few stripped nuts on these hoods, and I feel that this is the best way to repair a stripped OEM nut. I remove the factory nut and weld in a new one in its place. While this is the best solution it also has its drawbacks; the hood should be completely removed from the truck and there will be some painting that needs to be done afterwards. I feel that this prep/post work is a small price to pay for a job that is stronger than the original design and one that will never have to be done again.
Once again, the manner of repair depends on your preferences...do you want a fast and cheap job or do you want a good strong repair. I have tried the Midfifty repair kit and I was not impressed but if you can't do the weld repair then perhaps this is a viable solution for you. A friend opted to drill out the stripped nut (not all were stripped) and tap it for a larger bolt. This does work but now you have a bolt (or all bolts) don't match the original design. This guy was going to test the EMS billet hinges that I bought for my truck (my truck was disassembled at the time) and we found that the billet hinges would not bolt up because the hinges were designed to use the original size bolts. So there are pros and cons to each repair option, I am sure that you will find one that best meets your needs, good luck!

I bought the repair kit for one missing hinge nut. The other one on the same side, someone crudely welded a nut on but it is a coarse thread nut so I have to use a coarse thread bolt and not the original style hood bolt. It doesn't have the shoulder on it.

So to answer your question, the repair kit worked for me. Now maybe I should have that coarse thread nut removed and a proper nut installed... if I can get someone to weld it in but then I'd have to repaint the hinge pocket. Charlie, can you come to central PA for a small job?

If we're talking about the same thing, I had a similar situation on the COE hood hinge - a nut had become un-welded on the hood. I was able to drill out the hole and install a fine threaded Nutsert. Worked well for me.

That's what Mid Fifty sells as their repair kit, nutserts.

Let me see, it's 84 here right now with blue skies...I am working in the garage in shorts with the doors open. I think that anything East of Phoenix might be out of the question til Spring.
Here is a hood I did last year, replaced all four nuts even though the owner is using a front tilt hinge setup...

Charlie, if I got someone to weld a fine thread nut on, how much and what metal would need repainted?

How much would need repainted if I had a guy just torch the nut off and then use one of the nutserts I got from MidFifty.

Can you just drill out the nut in small steps (ie. number and letter drill bits) and then just use a long reach Nutsert? My nut had completely fallen off and yet I still had to drill out more for the Nutsert.

Like Mixer man says, the stock nut can be removed without resorting to such drastic measures as a torch. I drill the nut out, find a new nut with matching fine threads, clean the paint off the surface around the hole, insert a screw in the new nut to use as a handle and pull the nut in position. I weld through the enlarged hole in the hood support panel and then finish grind flat. Paint touch up should only be needed around the repaired area for about inch or so.

If you want to keep the truck stock, then the repair suggestions are the way to go.

Since I took the modified route, I chose the CPP tilt hood kit. The main reason for this choice was safety. The safety latch mechanism is not strong enough at higher speed to keep the hood closed (one-time victim). Reversing the direction the hood open adds considerable piece of mind.

Thanks guys for your help and support his.

I'll go to the local hardware store to see if they have a long reach nutserts. If they don't I'll try Fastenal.

This sounds like a good idea too. I can get a fine thread nut at the hardware store.

So only about an inch around the hole needs to be repainted? That's sounds good.

All the posts bring up good points. I think i am going with mid fifty repair kit and if that does not work. Then i will consider tilt hood. Thanks for the feed back. Just needed another pair of eyes and ears .

thanks
Jerry

I went with the tilt hood kit after having the hood come open at 55 MPH,in a curve, while meeting a truck. Luckily the only real damage done to the truck was a bent wiper arm. Now my drawers......