Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

I will be doing the mod on my only set of hood struts and I wanted to see if there was any last minute advice or tips that may not be in the document? (I'm a little tired of the broom stick) :o And it seemed like a good idea to convert them to a standard gas strut rather than the oem. You all that have done this, what do you think, you like this mod?

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

We like this mod so much, that we sell them premade! :p

I have this mod on all of my SVXs and am VERY pleased with the results.

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

Damn it! If I had realized that I would have ordered yours. I am going to see if I can cancel my NAPA order.

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

i dont know what the pre-made ones cost, but if there is a significant difference, i would go with self fabricating the a/m ones

you will need a few "heavier" tools:

metal saw, or handheld grinder w/ cutting wheel
-thats to cut the bottom bracket off of the stock strut

handheld/tabletop grinder
-to polish your cut, make it smooth/parallel with the other side

drill w/ metal drill bit (i forget the size)
-to drill the hole


thats about it, piece of cake aside from that grinding work.

one tip that i felt was SORELY needed in the how-to, but somehow ommited:
the order of re-assembly

whatever you do, put the bolt with the ball on the end, back into the hood FIRST
then attach the bottom bracket
and only THEN, do you 'pop' the strut onto the hood bolt

i (foolishly) left the bolt in, and then tried to thread it in...
disaster :(

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

What was the correct part # for the struts? I have an extra set that I also want to convert.

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

its in the how-to writeup

however, it is to be noted that they are actually about an inch shorter than the stock struts
this causes the hood to be "open" at a slightly sharper angle than the stock struts would provide

not a big problem i guess
but
with the massive number of a/m struts available, dare i say there might be an even more fitting set out there?
unfortunately they are not searchable by length open/closed or stroke, or anything technically useful like that
-at least not by me, or the napa guys i talked to

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

I use SPD/Barnes hardware when doing the retrofit, as per LetItSnow's recommendation. I have been very happy with the results and their quality.

SPDhardware.com

GSNI225090

(You can also get them in Stainless. :-D)

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

Alright, order cancelled. I will be ordering yours Mike as soon as I have verfied that I haven't gotten charged by Napa. :) That is $60 for the pair right?

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

I just installed the NAPA struts, same part number as the How_To but now named Balkamp Turbo Struts. They cost $27.50 each but the conversion was straight forward and they work great. Hardest part was getting the ball out of the SVX struts. My vise is a cheap one so I had the cut it them out with a dremmel. Definately install the bottom bracket before you connect the strut to the ball. Mae that mistake too.
Gene

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

$60 plus shipping, or I can bring them to Reading for you. We will need your old hood struts for core. :)

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

Are these a bolt in deal, or does it include some fabbing....

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

This is a bolt in product. :)


There is a core charge of $15 that applies, but is refunded as soon as we recieve your old struts.

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

This is just a suggestion to improve the great hood strut rebuild process that Mr yourconfused came up with.

http://ourlifeline.net/yourconfused.htm

Might help mike as well.

I love the way mine work!

Keith:cool:

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

I think an overhaul of the document thats in the how-to docs is in order

and this other link that was posted for a seperate deserves some investigating, if only to find the correct length/stroke of strut

Re: Just ordered my Strong Arm Hood Struts
 

Good suggestion Keith.

I may implement this after checking it out.