['68OrangeSunshine]

Just kidding Buddy. My Stepside still has the original Orange paint. Still, I never heard of using the hood for a table.
Ever since I bought it in 1973, the hood on my Stepside was popped up in back. The PO showed me how he [lovingly] used a flattened T-shirt under his elbow to press the rear edges level. After a while, I never bothered. I just figured that's the way it is. Lets hot air out from under the hood. I even had to use a hit of flat black spray paint on the back of the driver's side headlight, to kill the backblast glare.

Around 2004, I bought a pair of NNS [New New Stock] remakes of the 67-72 Hood Hinges and Springs -- made by GM for our vintage. They were reasonable, but I don't recall the exact price. I didn't put them on when I rebuilt the engine. I hung on to them.
In 2020, when my truck turned 400,000, I remembered I still had them. My mechanic and I R & R'ed the Hood Hinges and Springs, and he re-aligned the hood, so it shuts without slamming, and gently pops up when you pull the release. I was amazed at how smooth the thing was.
I used to have to use both hands, get at the right height, hold my mouth just so, and then slam that hood. Now it's like closing the door.