Awesome pics on the bar, Bill; may need to build one myself.

But didn't I read somewhere that the hood will open all the way to "kissing the windshield" if the strut doo-dads are disconnected?

Just take the hood off. You can do it solo:

:( need newer operating system for flash video.

Yeah, maybe, but consider the effort involved in removing two clips and undoing the doo-dads compared to the ease of fabricating a new piece of metal to store in your garage.

Ha ha!

Last evening I disconnected the strut clips and the hood can be strapped back to just beyond vertical (with the light harness unstrapped, thanks Wren ). I think I'm golden...but one thing I forgot to check; the LeSabre hood has that huge integrated grill that hangs down, so I need to check that:

distance (engine + leveler headroom + boom) < distance (length of hood from base to grill)

I'd do anything to avoid having to remove the hood, because I've never had good luck getting hoods / doors / trunks to realign.

Another possibility is to remove the "integrated" grille from the hood. If it is like the Bonneville, it should only be about 4 fasteners. And it will be easier to align than the hood.

When I do remove hoods, I usually scribe around the hinge plates so I can put 'em back right where they were. Haven't had much trouble with re-alignment. (Knock wood!)

Our hoods are easy to align.