This morning I finished up the TVR hood hinge project with Fort Pitt Classic Cars.

I added a new pivot point, along with two reinforcement plates and diagonal bars, into the original structure of the hood.  Notches made on site with a grinder and file haha.

The next steps required a 220v welder, so I dragged my Miller to their shop.

It's not my proudest work, but it may be the 2nd best fabrication on the car.  My worst welds are on par with the factory stuff haha.

When I left off in my last post, I had just delivered the hinge structure to Bill Lewis for TIG welding.  

Here is a close-up of the finished clearance notch for the radiator.

Paint is the next step.  Unfortunately the budget for this project only allows rattle can paint, but I'm still prepping and masking properly.  I made these tapered aluminum sleeves to get paint as close to the threads as possible, so there will be no racking marks.

Primer

Rattle can red!

I wish I could have used WRINKLE RED!

After everything cured...or rather, dried... I went to Fort Pitt Classic Cars to install everything.  I'm using all SAE Grade 8 hardware with nylon insert nuts.  The rod ends are FK high strength 5/8" bore x 5/8' stud.

All bolted up!  The red is intended to match the control arms, shocks, and engine block.

My clevis scheme worked exactly as planned.  This turned out to be critical on this project because the rattle can paint falls off if you look at it wrong, so the trauma of installing a clevis would have made this tab look horrible without the raised boss.

All finished up!

With the hood open, there is 1-1/2" clearance under the front bumper.

This picture also shows the trimmed fender liners, which I forgot to take detailed pictures of.

Here is a quick before and after.  Before, the hood opened to 21"

And After.  Full opening.

After finishing up, I had a lot of cleanup to do.  I unpacked all of my tools, including my welder.  Nobody was around to help me lift it out (this is a heavy fucker by the way), so I used the lift!

Then I spent 6 hours cleaning my truck inside and out.  This may be the cleanest it has ever been.