What/when were the changes in Cuda/Challenger hood hinges over the years?

Aside from '70 having more coils in the springs - when in production did the interlocking tooth design get stopped?

Thanks in advance

The basics of E-body hood hinge ID-

1970: teeth style; narrow top strap; all same size rivet on peened side. They had a couple minor variations in the base up stop- 1. none 2. welded on tab. 3. stamped in base. Also two different style short straps over the teeth area were used.

1971-72: teeth style; wider top strap; rear rivet on top strap is larger on peened side. Late ones started using '73-4 style base with the slider slots not used.

1973-74: pivot pin/knee action (no teeth); wide top strap.

That should cover it.

Rick

Are the non-tooth design interchangeable with the tooth design? And do they look similar externally?

Presumably the non-teeth design don't suffer the wear problems of the teeth design?

Yes, tooth vs. non-tooth are interchangeable.

If you know what you're looking at, it's very easy to notice the difference.

The newer non-tooth design is a more durable design. The pins in the swiveling part do get sloppy, but not as quickly as the teeth mesh gets loose on the tooth style.

One point worth mentioning is that the '71-4 B-body hinge will bolt up to an E-body, but has a shorter vertical adjustment slot in the base and a slightly different shaped base, so getting proper hood alignment can be a problem.

Don't the 70's also have narrower slots where they attach to the hood because the bolts used to mount hood are a smaller diameter?

Yes, slightly narrower, but they're wide enough for the larger 3/8" bolts used on '71-up hoods.

Sorry YYZ, but I can only assume you were asking cuz you might need new ones? So here goes a hijack Do you have to push down on the hood by the hinges to get the front of the hood to close? On my '70, I do! Guess I need new hinges, should I go with '73 or '74 hinge?

It's primarily a cosmetic issue.. yes, the 73-4 hinge is a better design, but the original tooth design 70 hinge won't give you any trouble on a weekend cruiser. Also, when they're rebuild the fit of the tooth mesh is better than production tolerance, so you're getting a longer service life than new.

Well, yes, originally. I found a set of super-nice, tight later style hinges which I had hoped to use in the next project.

But they're not correct, so it's time to scare up some nice toothed cores.

If you need help with hinges I can help.

The top strap is the part that bolts to the hood, rather than the inner fender.

If you need a set of nice '70 only hinges, I have some locally.