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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | It seems that the hood hinge color depends on where the car was made. I have 4 Los Angeles cars from '57-'58 and they all have what looks like a primer red color to them. Kind of an ugly combination to have a red spring on a primer red hinge, but that seems to be how they were made. On my 2 Detroit built cars, it's hard to tell what they were. My guess would be just body color over-spray, but I don't know for sure. My LA built '56 Plymouth hinges look to be cadmium plated and not painted at all, whereas my LA built '60 Chrysler hinges are painted black. Does this agree with what other people have found?
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Exner Expert 10K+
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | My LA built 56 Dodge Hinges were originally some kind of silver(ish) colour (with some minor surface rust). I repainted them with Tremclad (Rustoleum) Aluminum (right or wrong, looks better). The next challenge (in warmer weather is to paint the springs) (Not sure how to do that one).
Edited by 56D500boy 2018-01-01 2:36 PM
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | The cadmium plating that i mentioned on my '56 Plymouth does look silver too. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8445
Location: Perth Australia | This is how I removed the hood springs for painting
Clamped the bar to the hinge to pull it down and expend the spring enough to fit the bracket things in, let the bar come back up to relax the spring and done.
The brackets are made from 1/2" square steel. You need to be confident that your welds will hold (A lot of tension there) and I made divots where the ends of the springs sit with a drill
so they wont/cant slip off.
I have springs on the brackets again from the Plymouth so I treat them with respect when I touch them 
Edited by ttotired 2018-01-01 5:07 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 963
Location: San Antonio, TX | Another method
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Expert 5K+
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Location: northern germany | Anybody with a large vice, doesn't need a special tool for that. |
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Expert 5K+
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Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | The hood hinges on my LA built 1960 Saratoga were painted black originally, as were the fender wells and core support. Other assembly plants in the US painted the fender wells, core supports and hinges body color. In Windsor, ON the 1960 hinges were body color, and fender wells and core supports were black......... When I repainted my hinges I painted them body color. I left the fender wells and core support black. Sometimes I'v seen red painted springs on body colored hinges too. These are before and after pics of my engine compt.
Edited by imopar380 2018-10-04 11:45 PM
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Exner Expert 10K+
Posts: 10162
Location: Lower Mainland BC | macedon - 2018-10-04 3:07 PM
Another method
I just picked up a set of hinges and springs for my 56 Dodge, just so I could clean and paint the springs at my leisure. 
I got the springs off the new to me hinges by putting the hinges (one at a time) in my 1982 Black and Decker Workmate (still going strong, albeit a bit abused) and then prying the spring off with a big (huge) screwdriver at the lower, big loop, end. That was all good. However, the reverse did not work when I tried it. Plus I need to open up the spring anyways to paint the coils.
I like the turnbuckle idea but I'm not sure how you turned the turnbuckle itself when it is hidden in the middle of the spring.
Any hints? Am I missing something?
Edited by 56D500boy 2018-11-06 10:22 PM
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Exner Expert 10K+
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | 56D500boy - 2018-11-06 7:14 PM
I just picked up a set of hinges and springs for my 56 Dodge, just so I could clean and paint the springs at my leisure.
: )
So I thought about the solution to stretch the loose set of hinges for painting and came up with a hardware store turnbuckle, a threaded rod (cut to a specific length) and a threaded rod coupler.
I initially rejected 1/4" as being too wimpy and likely to bend and bought 5/16" stuff. Good idea but flawed. 
The 5/16" turnbuckle binds on the long end of the spring quite early in the process. I made some progress by grinding some clearance space on the outside of the turnbuckle but eventually that failed too and the spring interfered with the turning of the turnbuckle.
Went back to the hardware store and bought 1/4" stuff and assembled the 2nd attempt. The issue wasn't the turnbuckle now, it was, as I thought, the fact that the 1/4" rod bent as I opened the spring.
So then I tried the 5/16" set-up again with a bit more turnbuckle grinding. Made more progress but eventually got stuck.
Not sure what the next attempt will look like. I don't weld.
The photos show the 1/4" set-up in action and the 5/16" set-up before attempt No. 2.
Edited by 56D500boy 2018-11-07 7:47 PM
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Elite Veteran
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Location: San Antonio, TX | I used my vise stretch the spring open. Adjusted the turnbuckle to the right length and then put it inside the spring. Closed the vice and let the spring compress onto the turnbuckle. That's how I did it anyhow. |
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Exner Expert 10K+
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | macedon - 2018-11-09 4:47 PM
I used my vise stretch the spring open. Adjusted the turnbuckle to the right length and then put it inside the spring. Closed the vice and let the spring compress onto the turnbuckle. That's how I did it anyhow.
Thanks for the reply.
One of the problems with the 56 Dodge hinge springs (that I want to paint the same red as my D500 valve covers and OE oil bath air cleaner) is the two hook ends of the spring point in opposite directions. This makes using a tool to hold the spring in the stretched position difficult.
That said, I think that I could partially close the hood (which stretches the spring) and insert 1/8" or 1/4" Aluminum spacers cut from flat bar stock that I have and then open the hood which *should* (hopefully) give me enough length to get either the upper or lower hook off its perch/slot.
Then (in theory) I could insert the 5/16" turn buckle (not the wimpy 1/4" turnbuckle) into the center hollow of the spring and pull the spacers out. Then I could paint the spring and reinstall and then remove the turnbuckle (maybe).
I can imagine a little two piston hydraulic jack with a hose to a hand pump that could be attached to the hook ends of the spring to force it longer. Well, I said "imagine" (maybe dream?)
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Exner Expert 10K+
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | 56D500boy - 2018-11-09 6:35 PM
That said, I think that I could partially close the hood (which stretches the spring) and insert 1/8" or 1/4" Aluminum spacers cut from flat bar stock that I have and then open the hood which *should* (hopefully) give me enough length to get either the upper or lower hook off its perch/slot.
Well that didn't work (enough). I closed the hood partially, enough to stretch the spring and still allow me access to the spring. Then I pried the spring coils apart (one by one) and inserted some stout nails I happened to have. Then I opened the hood which relaxed the spring a bit - but the effect was not good enough to lengthen the spring enough that it even remotely thought that it could be pried off its perches.
Need to go to Plan "C" (whatever that will be)
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 5047
| ill see your nails and raise you a floor jack
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Exner Expert 10K+
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Location: Lower Mainland BC | mikes2nd - 2019-07-29 6:44 PM
ill see your nails and raise you a floor jack
Great idea. That would let me paint the spring but not sure how it will help with the install on the hinge.
Paint first. Install later.
(The nails idea didn't work)
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Veteran
Posts: 133
Location: Wyoming | I’ve got a 58 DeSoto Firedome and painted the springs right on the hinges - hinges removed from the car. I’m pretty particular, and either careful masking (painted hinge first), I was able to mask off the hinge and just paint the spring. Even knowing how it was done, I search and can’t find any spots I missed. That was 10 years ago and it still looks great. I’ll post pics if anyone is interested. |
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | You can still see some of the residual cadmium/zinc plating on the hinge of my '56 Plymouth. I removed them today to do some touchup painting in the engine bay.
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Expert
Posts: 2314
Location: Eastern Iowa | Dave, you need to get the correct battery hold down and cables!!
Insert smiley face (here)!! |
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Veteran
Posts: 264
Location: Pieksamaki, Finland, Europe | Powerflite - 2018-01-01 7:40 PM
It seems that the hood hinge color depends on where the car was made. I have 4 Los Angeles cars from '57-'58 and they all have what looks like a primer red color to them. Kind of an ugly combination to have a red spring on a primer red hinge, but that seems to be how they were made.
My LA made Windsor has also the red primer hinges but the springs seem to be black with only one color coat so they are not painted afterwards. But mine is a very late production, rolled out of LA assembly line on August 14th 1957.
I've been thinking to paint the hinges to A) with same goldish color than the power brake booster or B) to dark grey primer like the under hood or C) to body color .... maybe with red springs with the options A or B and keeping them black if I go with the options B or C. Hard decision as leaving them on red primer would not look good. |
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | Could you post a picture of your springs and hinges here? |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 8952
Location: WHEELING,WV.>>>HOME OF WWVA | i just use a vise to hold the hinge and a brake tool or screwdriver to remove the springs , which ever is the closest and near the contact point with the hinge . ANY method used is going to break
paint somewhere but if you are careful it can be held to a minimum . painting the springs with spacers or even spreaders really makes no sense either ! cause when you take the spacers out or remove
a spreader , the coils still come together with the paint in between touching , failing . the best way i've found to paint the springs is to hang em from a wire at contact point spray em and be done with it
as one will come out with the same results. imagine the factory using half a million springs , spreading them one by one , then spraying one by one . then the thought goes to inside the coils and how
they were painted . i'd say by an uneducated guess is that the springs that were painted were dipped just as some of the bodies were , gettin a full coat--------------------------------------------later |
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Veteran
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Location: Pieksamaki, Finland, Europe | Powerflite - 2019-12-08 10:12 PM
Could you post a picture of your springs and hinges here?
Here you go.
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Expert 5K+
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Location: So. Cal | Thanks. None of my springs have any color to them, so it is nice to see one with it's original paint. I assumed that LA would have painted them red just like Detroit, but it looks like that isn't true. |
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Member
Posts: 15
| What is a dodge coronet 1959 Hood Hinge Color |
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Exner Expert 10K+
Posts: 10162
Location: Lower Mainland BC | Powerflite - 2019-12-09 7:50 AM
Thanks. None of my springs have any color to them, so it is nice to see one with it's original paint. I assumed that LA would have painted them red just like Detroit, but it looks like that isn't true.
Not sure about LA from year to year but here are some photos of my LA-built 56 Dodge Custom Royal. They were red. The last photo of the two springs together is a OE spring that I removed and the new painted "spare" spring (I used DupliColor Engine Red). In person, without a flash, the OE spring is a darker red.
Here is the BEFORE photo:
Here is the AFTER:
Now comparing BEFORE (top) and AFTER (bottom):
Edited by 56D500boy 2021-03-20 12:05 PM
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9858
Location: So. Cal | Thanks for the pictures Dave. It's good to verify with original colors. This Detroit built '57 New Yorker has body color hinges and springs. Quite boring. There doesn't appear to be any other color under the body color spray, but not sure.
Edited by Powerflite 2021-03-21 11:21 AM
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