Installing Eddie Motorsports Hood Braces

While we were installing the new Holley LS valve covers on our 1955 Bel Air, we noticed the big ugly bracket supporting the hood. This bracket is what stabilizes the hood and holds the hood latch. This bracket does a good job, but is less than stellar looking. We looked for options and saw that our friends at Eddie Motorsports had just the solution.

They make an awesome hood brace. Naturally it’s all machined out of billet aluminum for extra strength and to make it look great. We opted for the machined finish version to add a little pop under the hood but they do offer other finishes, such as black. In order to start we  had to remove the old brace. This does require drilling out a few rivets to get the assembly out of the way. The total time to remove the old was about 15 minutes.

Included in the kit is everything needed to complete the install. They even supply allen bolts for a professional sleek appearance. With the old out of the way, we started to mount up the new. The two 90-degree brackets we installed first. This allowed us to then mount the main brace from side to side. It’s a bit awkward with one person so we recommend having a friend help.

With this installed we were able to get the hood latch in place. We didn’t tighten down all the bolts for this, we left them a little loose to be able to move around. Our last step was to install the braces that go from the hood latch to the sides of the main brace. These required us to get all the bolts in place loosly, then tighten down. As the hood has moved around the last 60 years it’s not a perfect fit. Since these are slotted though they allow for movement to dial in the fitment before tightening them down.

A simple upgrade that goes a long ways for looks under the hood in only an hour or twos worth of work. For the complete line of Tri-Five Bel Air parts, visit www.EddieMotorsports.com or call them at (888) 813-1293