1949 ROADMASTER HOOD

[autonut]

Wondering if anyone has installed gas lifts on the massive heavy hood on the '49 which is a one piece hood.  No woman could ever lift the hood and much less get the hood arm which is always on the other side to hold it in place.  I am not a woman but a 92 year old male and it is a chore for me just to check the oil or whatever.  This is surely a worthy endeavor and hopefully someone has previously address it.

Would like to hear from you ~~

[Wayne R]

Hello autonut,, i will contact my  Sacramento  Buick friend, he is     incredible  and can  repair  and even makes his own 

hard to obtain  classic  car parts----is well known  to BCA for  award winning  Buicks,  and i think   he still has his  49  Roadmaster hard top,

and 48 convertible,, but it may take a few days,  as he travels  out of state    now days.

A photo of his 49---i-dont thick he will mind,---he may have given it to his  son.---just look at the detail.

I will get  his   contact number for you----soon.-----thank you.

[60FlatTop]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:17 PM, autonut said:

No woman could ever lift the hood and much less get the hood arm which is always on the other side to hold it in place.

We have owned a lot of Buicks and I don't think my wife has ever opened the hood on one. She did break the tri-sheild off my '94 Roadmaster with a snow brush in the dark one morning. She was cleaning it off to pull it over by the back steps so I wouldn't have to walk through the deep snow to leave for work.

 

She is pretty good at using the trunk. And you can figure out who has the camera.

[drhach]

On 2/18/2023 at 4:17 PM, autonut said:

 No woman could ever lift the hood and much less get the hood arm which is always on the other side to hold it in place. 

I don't know about that comment....  

 

[Dennis Hagen]

Ok, here was my solutions. On my 51 convert I purchased a 53 hood and hinges from French Lake auto parts in Mn. I reworked the 51 hood. It was a little bit of messing around and fitting the hinges but works well. I had to remove the under side braces from the 53 and weld them to the 51 hood 

essentially I upgraded the 51 to a 53 front opening,

On my 52 woodie I put in four linear actuators that raises the hood straight up 24” that was pretty easy and I have four separate toggle switches so I can adjust the closing at the four corners.

I hate the side opening hoods, nothing worse than having the heavy hood come loose from the opposite side clamps and ruining a new paint job.

 I posted a video of the hood operating a couple of years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[60FlatTop]

If I planned to re-hinge a large hood for ease of opening I would consider a set up like my 1986 Park Ave.

 

It lifts straight up when you unlatch it. Then easily pivots with one hand to bring it forward.  I have seen the modification on a late '40s Packard.

 

[Dennis Hagen]

That looks interesting, but may not work well on the heavy early 50s Buick hood