OK, it's my opinion that this is the best solution. If someone has something better, post it up here. I searched a little and didn't see this, so if it's a repost, feel free to flame me.

I just cut one side off a piece of square tube using a cutoff wheel. You can paint it as fancy as you like. I wanted it to match the truck, so it's scratched up and used looking.



When the hood is open, it goes on the shaft of the hood lift strut.

Before:


After:


I store it under the hood here:

 

Pretty common solution is vise grips, but that works too

 

...but that's a waste of a perfectly good tool and no good way to store them under the hood.

 

Good Redneck Engineering! I like it!

 

I like the solution, but my OCD says to replace the struts...

 

If it were some of the other vehicles, I'd replace them. The truck is a spare vehicle just there to do truck stuff, so it only gets mechanical attention. No "little" fixes these days. The AZ sun has taken it's toll on the paint because there is no garage room. It's sad... The F150 is like that distant relative you only visit when you need money.

The last time it was driven was to haul the Viper home after I snapped an axle at the drag strip.

 

I just replaced mine for less than $20.00

 

It's not a matter of money. Those would fail one day and I'm sure my hood will smack my head. This was free and will never wear out. So far no monsoon wind has been able to down my hood.