ok well i got my new hood and it had a lip all the way around so i cut that off the front. and with the hood latched theres a little gap in the front thats a tad bigger then i would like.. also the edges sit a little higher then the fenders... and i just cant seem to adjust it right for it all to fit... maybe its the hood??? i dunno but what i do know is that with the latch, spring and everyhing off the hood sits better with less gap and more flush with the fenders. so i was wondering if hood pins alone would be enough to hold it down and just get rid of the latch and all but still use the hinges and struts.. no im not worred about "too easy" access to the engine i doubt too many people would be intrested in messing with a stock 3.1

so just wondering if hood pins alone are enough to hold the hood, i know a lot of ppl still use the latch but mine just gets in the way.

 

i use hood pins and i have never had any problems with them. you can also get locking hood pins.

 

so i take it you dont use the latch or anything else? just the pins and its no problem?

 

yea on my 86 i just use the hood pins to hold it down. i had a 91before which i used the latch so you can go either way. i havent had a problem with hood pins.

 

If your gonna do it, use the stock latch and pins. That way you have the extra security for your expensive little investment.

 

that is the best way to go but he is having fitment problems with the hood using the latch. you dont need to use the latch but like craz-28 says it is better for extra insurance.

 

ok sweet thanks... yeah it would just fit better without the latch.

only question now is there such thing as a cheaply made pin? or will any kind do the job?

 

i have the cheap pins on mine. i am going to redo them with the locking pins. the locking pins look much nicer and it will prevent people from getting under the hood.

 

I just installed the Aerocatch locking hood pins - www.aerocatch.com, so I could remove the factory hood latch mechanism. So far, they work great, and the lock mechanism seems much higher quality than the locking hoodpins that look like snack vending machine locks at Autozone.




The hood latch sits flush with the top of the hood when closed. More details at https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=309719 if you're interested.