Just replied to HOOD IS STUCK re my plea for help in opening my REALLY STUCK 1969 L88 hood without cutting it off of the car.  If I ever get it to open, I would like to replace the existing rear locking system with hood pins.  Does someone manufacture a set of hood pins that plug into the existing locking mechanism?

i feel your pain,  dad's hood cable broke many years ago, and it was a struggle to get the hood open, but finally did....  main thing is to get to the release under the hood, by way of the cowl trough*where the wipers are.... while your car has a wiper door to contend with, dad's did not( 1976 model, no wiper door) so you have another obstacle to contend with....  if by chance your cable broke at the handle inside the cab, you might be able to remove the handle bracket and get the cable and tug on it with pliers...otherwise, watch this video, it gives you an idea of what you need to do, a longer screwdriver or pry bar(not a Crowbar) to reach the latch through the wiper trough...     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4BhkZ26nTQ

|UPDATED|2/10/2018 4:10:04 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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StingrayJim
NCM Lifetime Member #1936

Stingray's '76���������������������������� StingrayJr's '78���������������������������Lil Red '94

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After reading some stories about the cable braking, I fastened a piece of cable to the release under the hood and routed it back towards the windshield.  Now if the cable breaks, I can just fish this up and pull on it to open the hood.  (My '75 does not have any cowling in front of the windshield.)

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12 wasted hours of effort after the cable broke and with the battery pack on the drill charged, I got it open.  If I could have 5 minutes in a steel cage with the guy who designed the hood release system, I would feel better.  But, for now, I still need a recommendation for hood pins.  Thanks!

What did you end up doing?

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Sorry to hear about your bout with the Achilles Heel on the C3. I worried about the same thing on my '79 after I put a cover over my windshield wiper bay. That covered my access to the grommets that would allow me to reach the releases.
I saw in the Mid-America catalog a set of emergency wires that attached to the releases that you would pull on to release the hood.
I'm sorry, I just looked it up in their catalog to get the number and found that they were for the 1977-1982  Vettes. Crap!!

Doesn't 1977-1982 include 1979?


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The OP has a '69....

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Yes, I put the wires on my '79 and was going to suggest them for the '69 but found out they wouldn't fit. Sorry.

Used a fire place poker (90 degree hook) to reach up underneath the right side (no room there either) to pull on the cable from underneath.  Continued to press forward on the driver's side mechanism though the side vents and that final popped the right side open.  Non-gentle pulling side to side on the hood with the right side free caused the driver's side to, finally, release.