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Wed Jul 02, 2008 9:19 am

My '53 has a much later hood but I think has the correct 3 bolt hood prop........
Before I end up buying parts I don't need :lol: , can anyone confirm that the hood prop in the picture is correct for a '53?

Thanks!

:wink:

Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:17 pm

Looks like an early one to me. The later ones don't have that large square-ish elbow.

Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:58 pm

RareAir wrote: Looks like an early one to me. The later ones don't have that large square-ish elbow.

Thanks, thought it was an early type going by the pics I unearthed on other threads here on The Samba but just wanted confirmation...................

:wink:

Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:31 am

heres a photo of an early prop, my early ovals all have the right angle bends on both ends, mine are about 38mm long when fully extended, if you bolt one of the long props to a hood hinge bolt and not to the extra bolt hole the windshield end of the hood will hit the wiper arms pretty hard, whatever you do dont open the hood with the wipers on!

I am thinking the long split props were straight like the white one in your first pic and sometime between 53-55 they added the extra bends like the silver one below to clear the hinge better, the straight ones rub the paint off the hinge

heres a split with a super late hood with wrong prop in hinge mount bolt mounted upside-down ... ugh

Thu Jul 03, 2008 1:44 am

billmetric wrote: heres a photo of an early prop, mine all have the right angle bends on both ends, mine are about 38mm long when fully extended, if you bolt one of the long props to a hood hinge bolt and not to the extra bolt hole the windshield end of the hood will hit the wiper arms pretty hard, whatever you do dont open the hood with the wipers on!

heres a split with a super late hood with wrong prop in hinge mount bolt mounted upside-down ... ugh

Thanks for the reply.......
See what you mean about not opening the hood with the wipers on with the current set-up I have but luckily the car is not driveable at the moment :lol: .
I had come across the top picture before, and this is what led me to believe my prop was original.
However, now that I look more closely mine doesn't have the 90 degree bend at each end, though it is approx 38cm long in its extended position?
Does this mean there was a change to the prop from '53 to 54/55?
Have to admit to being confused now.................. :?:

Thu Jul 03, 2008 8:31 pm

Yeah, I'm sure your flat 38mm prop is correct for your '53, at some point between '53 and '55 they kept the total length the same but added the extra 90 degree bends to better clear the hood hinge, the flat ones rub on the hinge and most splits have the paint rubbed off or at least scratched, the later ones dont get near the hinge due to the extra bends and they work a little smoother without rubbing, I'm pretty sure all '55s I've seen have the extra bends so either late '53 or sometime in '54 they changed it, I'm sure someone can look up the date in "progressive refinements" if they are really concerned about it

Fri Jul 04, 2008 12:17 am

billmetric wrote: Yeah, I'm sure your flat 38mm prop is correct for your '53, at some point between '53 and '55 they kept the total length the same but added the extra 90 degree bends to better clear the hood hinge, the flat ones rub on the hinge and most splits have the paint rubbed off or at least scratched, the later ones dont get near the hinge due to the extra bends and they work a little smoother without rubbing, I'm pretty sure all '55s I've seen have the extra bends so either late '53 or sometime in '54 they changed it, I'm sure someone can look up the date in "progressive refinements" if they are really concerned about it

Thanks again, I had taken photos of a truly immaculate Oct '54 at a show recently and on examination yesterday when I went through all the pics on my computer that too had the 90 degree bends at each end of the prop which got me doubting that mine was original.
So it looks like the change occured between Sept '53 and Oct '54.
That puts my mind at rest now , at least I don't have to buy another prop.

Thanks!

:wink: