Moroso 39025 Hood Pin Brackets for 3/8-Inch Hood Pins

1/8-Inch-Thick Stainless Steel Construction

Moroso constructs the 39025 brackets from 1/8-inch-thick stainless steel.

That’s approximately 0.125 inch of material.

The relatively substantial thickness gives the bracket the rigidity needed to support a hood pin without relying on thin factory sheet metal alone.

This matters because the hood pin may experience loads from:

• Hood vibration
• Aerodynamic pressure
• Chassis movement
• Repeated opening and closing
• Racing use
• Panel flex

The mounting bracket needs to remain rigid enough that the pin doesn’t wander relative to the hood opening.

Stainless Steel Helps Resist Corrosion

Stainless-steel construction is particularly useful in an engine compartment.

The brackets may encounter:

• Water
• Humidity
• Coolant
• Cleaning chemicals
• Road debris
• Heat cycles

Leaving the brackets in their natural stainless finish provides a functional corrosion-resistant installation.

But Moroso also gives builders several finishing options.

Paint, Polish or Leave Them Natural

Moroso specifically notes that the 39025 brackets can be:

• Painted
• Polished
• Left as-is

That makes them easy to integrate into different styles of engine compartment.

A race car may simply use the natural stainless finish.

A restored muscle car may have the brackets painted body color or chassis black.

A show-oriented build may polish the exposed stainless surface.

Function comes first, but there’s no reason the bracket needs to look like something fabricated behind the trailer five minutes before qualifying.

Bolt the Brackets Into Place

The Moroso 39025 can be bolted into position.

A bolt-on installation has several advantages.

It allows the bracket to be:

• Removed
• Repositioned
• Replaced
• Serviced
• Transferred during future modifications

This can be particularly useful during the initial installation.

You can mock up the bracket, install the hood pin, close the hood carefully and verify alignment before committing to the final location.

Once everything lines up correctly, the mounting hardware can be tightened securely.

Or Weld Them Into the Chassis

For a permanent installation, the brackets can also be welded into position.

Welding may make sense on:

• Dedicated drag cars
• Tube-front chassis
• Race cars
• Custom radiator supports
• Fabricated front clips

The surrounding structure needs to be appropriate for welding, and the bracket should be positioned carefully before the final weld.

Measure twice.

Close the hood carefully.

Check it again.

Then weld.

Fabrication gets considerably less entertaining when the perfectly welded hood-pin bracket is perfectly welded in the wrong place.

Mock Up the Hood Before Drilling

Before drilling the hood, determine where the hood pins can be mounted to strong underlying structure.

A typical installation process begins by positioning the brackets beneath the hood.

Then:

1. Establish the desired hood-pin locations.
2. Mock up the Moroso brackets.
3. Install the hood pins loosely.
4. Check clearance around the engine and accessories.
5. Verify that both pins are symmetrical where appropriate.
6. Carefully determine where each pin contacts the underside of the hood.
7. Mark the locations.
8. Drill the hood according to the hood-pin manufacturer’s requirements.
9. Adjust pin height.
10. Confirm the hood closes without binding.

Take your time.

The brackets are replaceable.

The hole you just drilled through an expensive carbon-fiber hood is considerably more permanent.

Start With a Small Pilot Hole

When drilling a hood for pins, starting with a smaller pilot hole gives you some opportunity to correct minor alignment errors before reaching final size.

This is especially valuable with:

• Fiberglass
• Carbon fiber
• Thin aluminum
• Painted steel hoods

Use appropriate drilling techniques for the hood material.

Composite materials require different handling than steel sheet metal.

Protect the surrounding finish and avoid excessive pressure that can crack or chip the panel.

Hood Pins Should Not Bind

Once installed, the hood should lower onto the pins naturally.

The pins should not need to force the hood sideways or pull the panel into alignment.

Binding can place unnecessary stress on:

• Hood structure
• Pin
• Bracket
• Scuff plate
• Quick-release mechanism

If the hood needs to be pushed sideways to engage a pin, correct the alignment.

That’s one of the major advantages of the Moroso 39025 bracket.

The bracket gives you a practical way to move the stationary pin mounting point instead of forcing the hood to accommodate a bad location.

Set the Correct Pin Height

Hood-pin height needs to be adjusted after the brackets are mounted.

The pin should extend far enough through the hood to fully engage the retaining clip or quick-release mechanism.

But excessive height isn’t desirable either.

A properly adjusted system should secure the hood firmly without crushing or distorting the hood panel.

Moroso’s hood-pin instructions emphasize adjusting pin height so the removable panel or hood is held firmly in position.

Useful With Moroso 39000 Hood Pins

Moroso currently lists the 39000 aluminum 3/8-inch hood-pin set in the same hardware family as the 39025 brackets.

That makes the 39025 a logical mounting solution when installing compatible Moroso 3/8-inch pins on a chassis that lacks a convenient mounting point.

The bracket isn’t a complete hood-pin kit.

It solves the structural mounting side of the installation.

Useful With Moroso 39010 Quick-Release Hood Pins

The brackets are also relevant when installing Moroso’s 39010 3/8-inch quick-release hood pins.

Moroso’s instructions for the 39010 specify mounting the 3/8-inch pins to a stationary location before drilling corresponding holes in the removable hood or panel.

The 39025 gives builders a way to create that stationary location when the chassis doesn’t already provide one.

Moroso’s 39010 installation instructions specify 7/16-inch openings in the removable panel for its particular quick-release hardware. Always follow the instructions for the exact hood-pin system being installed rather than assuming the hood hole should simply match the pin diameter.

Hood Pin Bracket vs Hood Scuff Plate

Don’t confuse the Moroso 39025 bracket with a hood-pin scuff plate.

They serve completely different purposes.

Moroso 39025 Hood Pin Bracket

Located under the hood.

Provides a structural mounting location for the stationary hood pin.

Hood Pin Scuff Plate

Located on the hood surface.

Provides a finished surface around the hood-pin opening and helps protect the surrounding panel.

Moroso sells its 39023 Hood Pin Scuff Plates separately for compatible conventional hood-pin applications.

A complete installation may use both components.

Hood Pin Bracket vs Hood Pin Clip

The retaining clip is another separate component.

The basic conventional hood-pin system consists of:

STRUCTURAL BRACKET → HOOD PIN → HOOD → SCUFF PLATE → RETAINING CLIP

The Moroso 39025 handles the first part of that chain.

Moroso’s 39022 replacement hood-pin clips and 39023 scuff plates are available separately for compatible Moroso pin systems.

Hood Pins on Fiberglass Hoods

Fiberglass hoods are one of the most common reasons enthusiasts install hood pins.

A lightweight fiberglass hood may:

• Eliminate the factory latch
• Use a simplified racing latch system
• Flex differently from steel
• Require multiple retention points

The underlying hood-pin mount still needs to be strong.

Mounting a substantial pin into flimsy unsupported sheet metal defeats much of the purpose.

The 1/8-inch stainless Moroso bracket gives the builder a way to establish a more substantial attachment point.

Hood Pins on Carbon-Fiber Hoods

Carbon-fiber hoods require the same attention to alignment, with even more care during drilling.

Composite panels can be expensive, and the surface finish is easily damaged by careless tool work.

Accurate bracket placement before drilling becomes especially important.

The 39025 lets the installer move and mock up the underlying pin location before making permanent changes to the hood.

When possible, follow the hood manufacturer’s recommendations for drilling and reinforcement.

Useful for Engine Swaps

Engine swaps frequently change the front structure of the vehicle.

A swap may involve:

• Modified radiator support
• Custom radiator
• New accessory drive
• Different intake system
• Turbo plumbing
• Custom front clip

Those changes can make the original hood latch difficult to retain.

A properly installed hood-pin system can provide a practical alternative on performance builds where the original latch arrangement no longer works.

The Moroso 39025 brackets are especially useful because they allow the pin mounting location to be fabricated around the new engine-bay layout.

Useful on Drag Cars

Hood pins are extremely common on dedicated drag cars.

Lightweight hoods, removable front clips and simplified body hardware are all common at the track.

The 39025 brackets provide a simple way to establish 3/8-inch hood-pin mounts without fabricating each bracket from raw steel.

They can be welded into a race chassis or bolted into a removable structure depending on the build.

Hood Pins and Aerodynamic Loads

A hood experiences pressure differences as air moves over and through the front of the vehicle.

At higher speeds, those forces can become significant.

A poorly secured hood can lift, flutter or separate from the vehicle.

That is why hood retention shouldn’t be treated as a cosmetic modification.

The pin, bracket, hood structure and retaining hardware all need to work together.

Don’t Mount Hood Pins to Weak Sheet Metal

The strongest hood pin in the world doesn’t help much if it’s attached to thin unsupported sheet metal that flexes with the hood.

Choose a mounting point tied into meaningful structure.

Depending on the vehicle, that might include:

• Radiator support
• Upper chassis structure
• Fabricated crossbar
• Tube front end
• Reinforced inner structure

The Moroso bracket can help bridge the gap between the structural mounting point and the desired hood-pin position.

Use Both Brackets

The Moroso 39025 is sold as a pair of two brackets.

For a conventional front hood-pin arrangement, that allows one bracket to be positioned on each side of the vehicle.

Measure carefully so the finished installation looks intentional.

A hood with one pin three inches farther from the centerline than the other will still function.

It will also bother you every single time you look at the car.

Moroso Hood Pin Safety Guidance

Moroso’s installation instructions for its complete hood-pin systems provide an important reminder: the number of required retention points depends on how the hood is secured.

For example, Moroso recommends multiple pins when hood pins are the only means of attachment on a removable hood. The exact number varies according to the specific Moroso pin system and configuration.

That means a pair of brackets should not automatically be interpreted as a complete hood-retention strategy for every race vehicle.

Follow the hood manufacturer’s requirements, the hood-pin manufacturer’s instructions and the rules of the sanctioning body where applicable.

Moroso 39025 Specifications

Part Number: 39025

Product: Hood Pin Bracket Set

Quantity: Pair / 2 brackets

Hood Pin Diameter: 3/8 inch

Material: Stainless steel

Material Thickness: 1/8 inch

Installation: Bolt-on and/or weld-on

Finish Options: Natural stainless, polished or painted

Application: Performance and racing hood-pin installation

Fitment: Universal / fabrication required

Country of Origin: United States

Not Vehicle-Specific

The supplied marketplace data doesn’t provide useful vehicle fitment because the 39025 isn’t really a year/make/model component.

The important compatibility factors are:

• 3/8-inch hood-pin diameter
• Available chassis structure
• Desired hood-pin location
• Hood design
• Fabrication method

For ecommerce purposes, I would classify it as:

Fitment Type: Universal

Pin Compatibility: 3/8-inch diameter hood pins

Installation Type: Bolt-on or weld-on fabrication

Material: 1/8-inch stainless steel

This will be much more useful to customers building modified vehicles than attempting to populate a vehicle-specific fitment table.

Who Should Buy the Moroso 39025?

The Moroso 39025 is ideal for builders who need to install 3/8-inch hood pins but don’t have a strong factory mounting point directly underneath the desired pin location.

Strong applications include:

• Drag cars
• Pro Street builds
• Pro Touring cars
• Muscle cars
• Engine swaps
• Fiberglass hoods
• Carbon-fiber hoods
• Lightweight race hoods
• Tube-front chassis
• Custom radiator supports
• Removable body panels

The ability to weld or bolt the brackets in place makes them adaptable to a wide range of custom installations.

Final Verdict

The Moroso 39025 Hood Pin Bracket Set solves one of the annoying parts of installing hood pins: finding a strong mounting point exactly where the pin needs to be.

Each bracket is made from 1/8-inch-thick stainless steel, accepts a 3/8-inch hood pin, and can be bolted or welded into the vehicle.

The pair can then be painted, polished or left in its natural stainless finish.

For a custom hood-pin installation, that means less fabrication, easier alignment and a much cleaner path from “this is roughly where the pin should go” to a properly secured hood.

Which is preferable to discovering your hood-retention strategy is mostly optimism at 100 mph.