aar hood spring question

[sheetmetaldan]

I just bought a AAR hood,I know I`m going to need the low tension springs for it does anyone know how long the springs are when they are off the hinges? The reason I ask is that I have a pair of springs that look like they may work for me they are about 5 1/2 inches long end to end and spring thickness is between 1/8 and 3/16 thick.These springs came off some H.V.A.C dampers that were from a jobsite I`m working at and are painted half red like the ones sold on E-bay for AAR hoods.Thanks for any help!

[rumrunner70]

Hi

I measured the springs on the brackets and I come up with 9.5 inchs if they where to be removed off the hing I would say 9 inchs this is measured from end to end. hope this helps

Doug

[sheetmetaldan]

Thanks for the reply rumrunner70 I ended up buying a set of springs last week they measure about 7 3/4 of an inch end to end.

Funny thing yesterday I took down my kids trampoline for the winter and those springs look like they could work.I`m gonna measure them and see how they compare could be a cheap alternative for any one needing AAR springs instead of spending $50-$55 bucks like I did.

[rumrunner70]

Now you have my attention on this.
After I read your reply I removed the spring from the bracket and it did measure 9" and the diameter was 1 and a 1/4 " ,To be honest with you not sure which are correct, I have had my AAR for 7 years now, I will have to look into it some more. I will keep you in the loop.
Doug

[sheetmetaldan]

If I had to guess I would say that the springs you have would be correct.I got mine from Penstar reproductions they sell these springs to go with their hood.I`m making my 72 to look similar to a 70 AAR so I`m not too concerned with originality.The springs I bought measure 7 3/4 end to end outside diameter of the spring is about 7/8 of an inch and wire thickness about 1/8 thick.

I have a feeling my jump king trampoline springs might be more correct than the ones I bought!:mad:

I was hoping to change them this weekend but I never got a chance when I do I`ll post a couple photos for comparison.

[Brads70]

I have a T/A hood on my Challenger and went through 2 different vendors till I got springs that would hold the hood open. Hope yours work good for you?
Here are the ones I got that worked? The repop hood I bought was a little heavier than stock so it wasn't anyone's fault? I gave the ones that didn't work to another member and they worked for him!
http://sixpackperformance.net/product.php?productid=16216

[cudarick]

My boss asked me to send these pics to help you guys. One of the springs is a after market, and isnt like the other two. He said you would know the differnce.

[cudarick]

here they are

[sheetmetaldan]

Thanks for the pics Cudarick.I guess there are a lot of choices out there.Here are pics of the ones I bought what do you think? I still havent even taken them out of the package yet.I was hoping to see how they fit in a day or two,but were supposed to get walloped with snow tonight and tomorrow and it`s freezing outside so who knows when i`ll get a chance to work on my car. This weather is killin me! :mad:

[cudarick]

The red one is an original AAR spring the yellow is a cuda standard spring the black one were sold to me as aar but aren't close. you want a spring that will hold the hood up barley the main problem is when the hood is closed the spring is streached and puts upward preasure on the hood causing it to warp the hood along the fender line. plus in the sun is worse. I kept my springs off most of the time.(fan belt works best)

[Brads70]

Here is what I ran into?
http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=69437.0

[sheetmetaldan]

I just put the springs and hood on my car the other day and the springs from Penstar still seemed too stiff to me plus they were noisy as hell. My hood sounded just like my pull down attic staircase my neighbor heard it and said thats exactly what it sounded like. So I changed them to the trampoline springs I mentioned earlier and guess what they work perfect hood stays up on its own and closes real nice without all the noise the other ones made.When I get a chance I`ll post a picture of these springs looking at actual AAR springs these look very similar.

[ramenth]

Good thread, guys. Since I'll be running an AAR hood on my '74 it's nice to know the trials and fixes you guys are coming up with.

[sheetmetaldan]

Glad it`s helping you check this link out, http://www.cuda-challenger.com/cc/index.php?topic=73828.msg750558#msg750558

I posted it on the other forum it`s what I went through getting my AAR hood.It may help you decide who to buy from.