Hood lift kit questions

[Torch Red 10th]

I am considering getting a hood lift kit to get rid of my damn prop rod. Yes, I'm trying to keep from the pulley/chip combo by wasting my money elsewhere!

Who makes the BEST kit? I saw one I liked but it required installing some rivets in conjuction with the bolts. Do all kits require them? I don't mind using them if it's the best kit.

Anyone have a bad experience with the kits?

I'm painting the pulley guard and a few other things Torch Red to match the car and I was wanting to get a hood lift kit soon so I can have the brackets in the kit painted too. Also, would it hurt anything to paint the hood lift shocks? These wouldn't be going under high-heat to dry and I would protect the area where the cylinder compresses so no paint got in there. I just want to get all the paint done at once and only do it once.

Thanks guys.

 

[Juiced-03]

I have the Redline Tuning kit. Very happy with it and the instructions were very easy to follow. The kit makes opening the hood a real pleasure! People are very impressed when they see my hood stay up and open with ease! You will need to use a rivet gun on the hood brackets and the fenders require drilling for the lower brackets. The rivets are very secure though. I dont plan on ever removing the kit so drilling wasnt a problem for me. Once you get rid of that prop rod you will forget you even had to drill! Not sure about the painting of the shocks, but that is up to you. HIGHLY recommend the kit though!

 

[dgussin1]

I also have the redline tuning kit, I haven't installed yet, but looks like a quality piece with great instructions

 

[Torch Red 10th]

That's nice to hear. That's the kit I was looking at! I have a 1/4 rivet gun, but I think the kit requires a 3/16 one. I guess I'll have to pick one up.

Are there other decent kits?

 

[Juiced-03]

I bought my rivet gun at Autozone for $13. It also came with adapters and extra rivets, even though I doubt I will ever use the rivet gun again lol! I havnt seen any other kits available, but I know a few people here including myself have the Redline kit. Many people on Stangnet have it too.

 

[SnakeBit]

Here's a tip on installation. Attach both sides to the underside of the hood. Then, drill just one side on the fender and attach it. With the hood up (one side should hold the hool up just fine), position the other side on the fender and drill it.

On my 98, I did not get both sides even, so one side had some slack in it. Hindsight is 50/50.

Also of note, on my 98, I used nuts and bolts on the underside of the hood with washers between the nut and the fiberglass. This gave some added strength, but may not have been necessary (so now they recommend rivits). I suspect that the rivits will make it easier, but if you go with nuts and bolts, be sure to have an extendible magnet to retieve the nuts when you drop them inside of the hood reinformcement channel. I got LOTS of practice retrieving dropped nuts on that install.