Hood pins for highline hood

[Rescue6]

I’m trying to decide between a couple types of hood pin styles I’ve seen used. Any advice from those of you who have done the highline hood set up already.
I have seen the Daystar type and the push button style. Is there any other style I should consider or pro’s or cons to these two styles?
Thanks

 

[mrblaine]

I’m trying to decide between a couple types of hood pin styles I’ve seen used. Any advice from those of you who have done the highline hood set up already.
I have seen the Daystar type and the push button style. Is there any other style I should consider or pro’s or cons to these two styles?
Thanks

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I've used both styles and they are okay at best. The push button style is more finicky. The urethane style you listed is either a knock off of the Autofab versions or their exclusivity deal expired. I've been using the AF versions for at least 10 years. Daystar I've only seen around for a few years.

I'd prefer something different than either, but not sure how except they each have attributes I don't like.

 

[Rescue6]

Thank you for the feedback.

 

[starkey480]

I have the daystar pins and am happy with them

 

[rasband]

I did the Daystar ones so far (a month or so) with no complaints. One small bit of advice, I thought I was being clever doing them before cutting my hood. However the hood shifted enough during the hiline cuts to make them fit a bit worse than they did before.

 

[Rescue6]

I did the Daystar ones so far (a month or so) with no complaints. One small bit of advice, I thought I was being clever doing them before cutting my hood. However the hood shifted enough during the hiline cuts to make them fit a bit worse than they did before.

Thanks that is very good info to know. Yeah I’m planning to weld the a 1/2” hide piece onto the bottom at the cut at a 90 degree bend back onto the bottom of the factory hood as best as I can. To try and add a little support back to it. I’ve seen a few other hoods that had a lot of flex after being cut.

 

[tworley]

Using daystar. They have been on 3-4 years. No complaints. Install the pins, put a dabble of grease on them and close your hood. Use that grease mark now on the underside of your hood as an indicator of where to drill thru the hood. Keep in mind, the hood travels in an arc, so the holes will need a slight adjustment forward.

 

[jesseshoots]

I'm a huge fan of AeroCatch. Haven't used them on a TJ hood yet, but on plenty of other cars and they're awesome!

 

[mrblaine]

I'm a huge fan of AeroCatch. Haven't used them on a TJ hood yet, but on plenty of other cars and they're awesome!

I used those before on Ricky's rig. At the time, they only had the aluminum pins. I see now they have steel which makes me a bit happier. They don't like dust and dirt at all so I won't use them again for rigs that go offroad.

 

[jesseshoots]

I used those before on Ricky's rig. At the time, they only had the aluminum pins. I see now they have steel which makes me a bit happier. They don't like dust and dirt at all so I won't use them again for rigs that go offroad.

Good to know about the dust issues.

 

[mrblaine]

Thanks that is very good info to know. Yeah I’m planning to weld the a 1/2” hide piece onto the bottom at the cut at a 90 degree bend back onto the bottom of the factory hood as best as I can. To try and add a little support back to it. I’ve seen a few other hoods that had a lot of flex after being cut.

The best one I've seen done that way re-used the cut off section. They trimmed the vertical piece down to about 3/4", overlapped that onto the hood edge after some other trimming shenanigans and wound up with something that looks pretty factory. I didn't get to see what they did up at the front to stop that area from fully kicking their ass but I don't imagine it was fun.

Also be aware that when you cut the front corner, the crossmember that rests on the grill is no longer attached at each side. If you plan on keeping a consistent gap along the hood edge, you will need to tie that back in somehow since it just keeps moving if you push down on the front of the hood.

 

[Rescue6]

The best one I've seen done that way re-used the cut off section. They trimmed the vertical piece down to about 3/4", overlapped that onto the hood edge after some other trimming shenanigans and wound up with something that looks pretty factory. I didn't get to see what they did up at the front to stop that area from fully kicking their ass but I don't imagine it was fun.

Also be aware that when you cut the front corner, the crossmember that rests on the grill is no longer attached at each side. If you plan on keeping a consistent gap along the hood edge, you will need to tie that back in somehow since it just keeps moving if you push down on the front of the hood.

Thanks again for the info. My best friend is a career body man and custom body panel builder. He is the one tackling this project. When I mentioned I was doing a highline hood cut he said he wanted to weld the lip back on it and take the dimples out of the side of the hood from the factory hinge locations. So I said have at at.