[Tim Cole]

While I was finishing my '79, I noticed that my hood sagged just a little. It would never stay up as it should have. A friend of mine with a 1978 Diamond Jubilee had the same problem.

I noticed on other 77-79's that some guys jammed two hood springs onto the hinge in order to hold it up correctly. But that looked real tacky.

Instead, I went to the junk yard and took the springs off of a mid-70's LTD. Those springs were larger and heavier-duty. They really did the trick. And they looked right as well. The size of the springs matches the size and bulk of the hood.

With the new springs in place, my hood stayed up all the way, no drooping, no sagging, just the way it was supposed to be. Now I can work under it without bumping my rapidly balding head.

In hindsight, I guess the original T-Bird springs suffered metal fatigue.

Thanks for listening. Tim