Mazda3Club.com : The Original Mazda3 Forum - carbon fiber hood-hood pins

so far, i seem to be the only person on here that installed hood pins in my hood, and though many say they've bought them and intend to put them on...don't know of anybody else on protege club that has them actually installed. for me it's a pain in the ass cause the way the flange system is set up, i need to pull the hood pins out, pull the hood latch and then pull the hood up. simply put, it takes some ingenuity in figuring out how to line up your pins into the hood and into the radiator core mount, pictured later in my post. basically, you have to find a mounting point where you can successfully get a drill down in, and have about 2 or 3 inches available underneath for the bolt of the pin and a nut underneath, and be symetrical on each side of the car. i lucked out on my car and fussed with the mounting for about 5 hours to get it right. unfortunately, i have a stock metal hood, so without any rust treatment, it leaves much to be desired. from my experience, i will tell you that a regular 8 dollar set of pins won't suffice. locking devices don't work as the angle of the front end of my hood and where the pins are mounted, your hood would have to be level with the core support to mount correctly. so forget pin designs under 10 bucks and any key locking pins. mounting plates should be of flexible design, but not plastic. and despite the fact that you buy a pin set with self tapping screws, pre-drill the holes for your flange. also, on any slippery or painted surface, without a sharp fresh bit, drill walk will occur. basically, here is a list of materials:
cordless 12 or 14+ volt drill
variable speed corded drill with 3/8" inch chuck or greater (prefer 3/4 inch chuck)
1/2 inch drill bit (depending on pin diameter, get large enough bit)
5/8 inch drill bit (depending on pin diameter, get large enough bit)
(basically by large enough, i mean large enough to allow a little play to slide pin in and out)
assortment of smaller drill bits (3/8ths inch needed)
length of 3/8 inch dowel rod
utility knife
grease pen or something that when applied to an object won't dry for 10 minutes at least.
metal punch and 16oz hammer
perminent marker
adjustable wrenches
socket set
masking tape
measuring tape if desired
windex & paper towels
patience and 3 hours or more just to allow for more patience to avoid frustration.

now for a lengthy description of how i completed this task.
1. i stood back an figured out where basically would be an ideal mounting point that was symetrical and i was able to get a wrench into. to install my pins, i removed my headlights and grille just to make the most room possible for working space
2. i marked my two measurements, evenly spaced on the radiator core assembly (where you'll see my pins mounted)
3. i then used my metal punch and hammer to make a divot in dead center of the mounting points i chose and then drilled a hole in each with a 3/8" inch drill bit and cordless drill.
4. i then cut a 4 inch length of dowel rod, making sure that top end of the dowel i cut was flat and then inserted the dowel into the hole and covered the top of the dowel rod with a transferrable marking substance... canvas paint :). the purpose of this is to transfer the markings of your mounting points to your hood
5. i then slowly closed the hood, allowing the dowel rods to sink into the radiator core and shut the hood completely. opened the hood back up and made sure the points were ideal. you will notice it may show up as a streak mark, think logically where the dowel finally stopped at towards the back of your hood ;) . you may have to wipe away the paint to remeasure, but 3rd time is a dusey
6. i then made a mark with the perminant marker dead center where the pin would travel through the hood. and taking the metal punch again, i punched a divot into the metal
7. i then taped the top of the hood above where the pins would go through to prevent paint chipping. i then took a 3/8" inch drill bit and drilled straight up through the bottom of the hood where my divots were made and went through the layers of the hood, and through the top
8. i then inserted 6 inch lengths of dowel rod in the holes of the radiator core assembly to make sure that the holes lined up perfectly. now it's time to widen your holes.
9. i took my corded drill with a 1/2 drill bit and plowed my holes into the radiator core support and through the top of my hood. drilling is now recommended to be done through the top of the hood.
10. once the holes were drilled, i installed the pins loosely and made sure they fit... and they did. the hood closed and opened perfectly
11. i then installed the flanges/covers for the top of the hood, marking my holes with perminant marker and predrilling them with an appropriate size to allow the screws to catch without walking off and destroying the paint, but not big enough to where they would not catch. this portion is trial and error, but is achievable.
12. after the flanges were installed, i adjusted the pins with a wrench and the 2 bolts that came on each pin and tightened them where they would hold the hood down snuggly.

now this method is less than mathematic, but worked fine for me. i took my time, but this could feasibly take you under 2 hours to do. here are two picks of my hood open and shut. good luck and i hope my hour spent typing this little how-to from my lengthy 8 month old memory hasn't gone to waste. this is the best i can explain it, eitherwise, i'd say dish out the 50 to 100 bucks to have your local mechanic or speed shop install these puppies. there are no brands out there that i specifically recommend, i just highly recommend getting a 1/2 inch drill bit or larger with your purchases.

peace and good luck
kevin

and here are the two pictures i have to provide you:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...e/fbe3d8e6.jpg

and

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...f/fbe3d8e2.jpg

enjoy