Thanks all... I am going to go up the road a way to a 54 3100 that is in a yard, and ask the owner if I can "do the aluminum foil thing"... I will post the results of the experiment on this thread. BTW, the aluminum foil thing is a lot more cleaver than what I was planning... I was envisioning using magnets to hold a ruler in place (a little more complicated than this explanation) and then expecting the ruler to slide down as I closed the hood.
