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Greetings All and Merry Christmas!

This week was spent using my brain rather than my hands. Not much got done!!!
Continuing my comments from my last update, my guru Dean, was encouraging me to consider purchasing/installing an after-market hood hinge kit.
This would involve adding a lot of hours to the build and cost, with the main benefit being to protect the paint from chips and scratches when opening and closing the hood.
The Hagan kit retails here in Canada for a little over 1000.00 and since there is not a vehicle specific kit available, the install would require modifications to the truck and the hinge kit.
The kit is designed for a 3 piece hood so since mine is a 4-piece, the center hood hinge would need to be removed, then a spacer and supports welded in. A lip would also need to be added to the bottom edge of the hood on both sides to allow the upper hinge frame to be mounted. The side covers would be fixed in place, so they would need to be modified in order to be mounted to the lower hinge support as well.

I have decided to leave it stock, as I intend on driving the heck out of the truck, I am expecting road damage anyways so why would I be worried about the paint? I was going to get the 3M clear protection installed on the front of the fenders, so I might as well get the back of the headlight buckets and along the fender by the engine bay protected too. Another thing is that I am concerned about access to the engine, the existing rad support rods are up pretty high and meet almost in the center of the rad. The lower portion of the hinge would be fixed in place and would replace the existing support. The problem is that it would be right where you are trying to reach through when performing any engine tasks. You would be continuously forced to reach over or under the support and I think that would be very frustrating.

Dean was also suggesting that bear claw door latches be installed as well. They are an important safety upgrade, so I will go ahead and install them. I will work on them starting in January, so you can look forward to updates on that progress.

All the best to you and your loved ones, take care of each other and have a great holiday season.
I will be back with more updates in the new year, see you in 2020!
Steve