My 1985 M-B 300D hood can be propped to vertical, so no removal required. I didn't know that when I swapped in a new engine so removed the hood. I was clever enough to first drill two 1/16" holes thru each bracket into the hood so I could bolt it back perfectly. Learned that after removing the hood in my 1969 Dart, relying on a Sharpie outline. I spent a long time trying to get the hood re-aligned since marks don't suffice. I'm guessing the factory aligned the hood with a guy in the engine bay before they installed the K-frame assembly in from the bottom.