DC5 Radiator T-Bracket Failures: the explanation
In around 2015, we started seeing a serious issue a rise in the DC5 community where hoods were flying up and smashing the windshield at highway speeds. This would lead to severe damage and oftentimes would total out the car. In around 2021, we decided to study this devastating issue and find the cause of the DC5's Achille’s heel. We found that the fatal flaw is caused by the DC5's T-bracket radiator support "tearing-out" where the hood latch attaches and failing after over 20 years of corrosion and strong vibration. Countless DC5's have been totaled due to this weakening design and after months of studying the issue, Golden Era Motorworks set out to solve this problem properly without the use of hood-pins and without the need of cutting/drilling into a vehicle’s hood. Our goal was to preserve the clean, OEM front-end lines of the car while reinforcing the radiator support with steel backing plates and pressed-in hardware that will never tear out. 
Image Courtesy of Reddit. Tear out of the hood latch will usually cause hood, windshield, and roof damage.
Our findings led us to these two, square nuts, press welded to thin OEM sheet metal. After over two decades of weathering and vibration, the sharp corners of the nuts begin to dig into, weaken, and crack the surrounding metal it’s attached to. Eventually, the material will give out and the square nuts rip through the sheet metal. At this point, despite the hood latch still functioning and “latching” onto the hood, the latch itself is not attached to the T-bracket anymore, causing catastrophic damage at freeway speeds.
These two OEM welded nuts are the culprits. They eventually tear through the thin sheet metal they are welded to.
The OEM nut has fractured and cracked the metal of the T-support bracket.
Our design makes rip out virtually impossible, by distributing hood forces across three powder-coated reinforced steel plates to minimize flex, utilizing four mounting points over the OEM dual point design, and pressed-in hardware that will last as long as the plates themselves. Years of testing on road and track, R&D, we’ve refined our third iteration and are ready for production. Stainless steel speciality hardware is utilized to last the vehicle’s lifetime.
Installation will involve removing the two OEM square nuts using an oscillating multi tool. Once they are cleanly removed, our hood reinforcement plates can be installed along with the original hood latch and supplied stainless hardware.
Steel Backing plates with additional mounting points.
Installed without the hood latch for visual purposes.
We wanted to solve this devastating issue once and for all and give DC5 owners peace of mind the chassis deserves. Ready for another 25 years of trouble-free operation.
