An acetabular guide system for placing an alignment pin (150, 151) near an acetabulum, comprising: an acetabular guide, including: an exterior surface of the acetabular guide configured to have a geometry to substantially engage the acetabulum of a specific patient, and a central post extending from an interior surface of the acetabular guide; and a pin guide (160, 160'), including: a guide boss (162, 162') engageable and rotatable relative to the central post, and a guide body (168, 168a, 168b) extending from the guide boss (162, 162') operable to move relative to the guide boss (162, 162'); a first arm (170, 170') extending directly from the guide body (168, 168a, 168b); a second arm (172, 172') extending directly from the first arm (170, 170') to the guide boss (162, 162'), wherein the first arm (170, 170') and the second arm (172, 172') share a longitudinal axis; wherein the first arm (170, 170') is configured to articulate longitudinally along the longitudinal axis relative to the second arm (172, 172') to move the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) a selected distance from the central post; and, wherein the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) defines a bore (166, 166a, 166b) to allow the alignment pin (150, 151) to pass through the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) and engage a region near the acetabulum such that the pin guide (160, 160') may be moved along the length of the alignment pin (150, 151) to remove the pin guide (160, 160') while the alignment pin (150, 151) remains engaged with the region near the acetabulum within the pelvis. an exterior surface of the acetabular guide configured to have a geometry to substantially engage the acetabulum of a specific patient, and a central post extending from an interior surface of the acetabular guide; and a pin guide (160, 160'), including: a guide boss (162, 162') engageable and rotatable relative to the central post, and a guide body (168, 168a, 168b) extending from the guide boss (162, 162') operable to move relative to the guide boss (162, 162'); a first arm (170, 170') extending directly from the guide body (168, 168a, 168b); a second arm (172, 172') extending directly from the first arm (170, 170') to the guide boss (162, 162'), wherein the first arm (170, 170') and the second arm (172, 172') share a longitudinal axis; wherein the first arm (170, 170') is configured to articulate longitudinally along the longitudinal axis relative to the second arm (172, 172') to move the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) a selected distance from the central post; and, wherein the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) defines a bore (166, 166a, 166b) to allow the alignment pin (150, 151) to pass through the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) and engage a region near the acetabulum such that the pin guide (160, 160') may be moved along the length of the alignment pin (150, 151) to remove the pin guide (160, 160') while the alignment pin (150, 151) remains engaged with the region near the acetabulum within the pelvis. a guide boss (162, 162') engageable and rotatable relative to the central post, and a guide body (168, 168a, 168b) extending from the guide boss (162, 162') operable to move relative to the guide boss (162, 162'); a first arm (170, 170') extending directly from the guide body (168, 168a, 168b); a second arm (172, 172') extending directly from the first arm (170, 170') to the guide boss (162, 162'), wherein the first arm (170, 170') and the second arm (172, 172') share a longitudinal axis; wherein the first arm (170, 170') is configured to articulate longitudinally along the longitudinal axis relative to the second arm (172, 172') to move the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) a selected distance from the central post; and, wherein the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) defines a bore (166, 166a, 166b) to allow the alignment pin (150, 151) to pass through the guide body (168, 168a, 168b) and engage a region near the acetabulum such that the pin guide (160, 160') may be moved along the length of the alignment pin (150, 151) to remove the pin guide (160, 160') while the alignment pin (150, 151) remains engaged with the region near the acetabulum within the pelvis.