Hood Strut Install for Gen 1 Lightnings with Aftermarket Hoods.

[EZ SPEED]

A few months ago I installed a Cervinis Cowl Hood on my 93 Lightning. I love the hood, but I hate prop rods. As you know most aftermarket Hoods for the Gen 1 Lightnings do not have provisions for the stock hood springs.

I was determined to make some hood struts work. I remembered installing the Redline Tuning hood struts on my 2004 Mach 1 and wondered if I could adapt one of their kits to work on a Gen 1 Lightning.
I was sucessful in finding a kit that will work.
I used the Ford Ranger kit, and by trial and error figured out the best placement for the brackets.

So for $59.99 + shipping you can have hood struts that work great and look even better.

Follow the instructions that come with the hood struts but substitute my pictures and measurements.

Here is the link to the hood strut kit I used.

http://www.redlinetuning.com/QL-FORD-RANGER-9804.html

Here is the link to the online installation instructions (Adobe PDF file)

http://www.redlinetuning.com/manuals...RANGER_103.pdf

The upper measurement is taken from the corner of the hood just like the instructions, but use my measurement of 24".

As you can see in my pictures, make sure to turn the bottom bracket around differently than the Ranger instructions, and slide it up against the factory "Bump" on the fender (if for some reason you don’t have a factory "bump" I show the measurement to be 1-1/2" from the fender bolt).

**VERY IMPORTANT**
You will need to make sure to remove the middle hood bumpers along the fender edge if you still have them. If they are not removed the hood or hood struts could be damaged the first time you try to shut the hood.

As a side note, I plan to change out the bolts that hold the lower bracket to the fender. The bolts stick down really far and look kind of odd. I want to replace them with some shorter bolts with nuts and lock washers for a cleaner look.

Let me know if anyone comes up with any improvements on my ideas.