So, I'm the guy that spent the big bucks to buy what I thought was a concours level 1971 which has been posted elsewhere on this site. But that horror story is not the reason for this post.
I came up with a little trick which I am surprised I haven't seen before. One of the numerous problems on this car is that the hood would not stay open. I searched, on and off, for a couple of months trying to find hood springs. I finally stumbled on a post, looking for another part, that mentioned CTC auto in Texas and sure enough they had a pair of springs. Rusty but correct. When I got them I sandblasted them, stretched them a bit, cleaned, primed and painted them. I searched for the best way to install them. I saw using a v-belt to yank them off. Something my bad back wouldn't tolerate. I saw lowering the hood to stretch the spring and shove a bunch of washers/spacers between the coils then open the hood back up. Which would work if I had a pile of rather large washers but then I would have to stretch the spring to get the washers out and stretch the replacement spring to put the washers back in. Below is a picture of what I did. I couldn't believe how well it worked and how easy and simple it was. The ratchet strap was hooked to each end of the spring The 2x4 didn't need to be that long but it was what I had.
On a side note, the springs on the car were totally wrong. They were over 2" in diameter. the replacements were 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 diameter. Now I'm wondering what other parts on this car are "close but no cigar"?
Anyway, glad to be a new ROA member and hope this helps someone.
Damn, upside down. How did that happen?