Since I'm popping the hood open at this point launching, figured I'd look into hood pins. Who makes a good pin setup, how do they mount to the car, to the hood, etc. Educate me

 

Wow, I haven't installed hood pins in at least 30 years...

They are just a couple of studs that you drill and mount in the engine bay, and then drill openings through the hood and attach the plates and cotter pins. Extremely simple to do. In regards to who makes "good ones" I'm not sure any brand is that different. I think you may want to avoid rain if possible as I'm not sure how well they will stand up to long term water contact (rust).

I would be more concerned about why your hood is popping up? Perhaps something is out of alignment or you need subframes/roll barto keep the car straight at launch? If it is twisting so much that it pops your hood you need to address that problem first, in my opinion.

 

Yeah... it does need subframes.... I'll crack a t-top one of these days if I dont get those done soon

 

Ford Racing makes a nice set of hood pins... I like thier design best... very easy to remove, and they look good. I atached my Hood pins directly to the frame of the car... right infront of the radiator. I then just drilled a hole through the top of the hood, after carefully lining them up. I removed the the locking mechanisms on the hood, and just left the latch... so to open my hood you still need to pop her from the inside... and then you remove the pins... that way you don't have to worry about someone just comming along and taking your pins off...and helping themselves to some free oil or something...