Hinged Bonnet conversion
Discussion
A big thumbs up for Allan Howell's hinged bonnet conversion - you'll find his ad. under 'Parts for Sale' in the For Sale section on the TVR Car Club website. It's a very neat and professional job using rose joints fixed onto the original main bonnet front fixing bolts. A little bit of fibre glass strengthening, other stainless steel fixings and the 'job's a goodun'. Excellent value for money compared to other more 'well known' specialists who charge two or three times as much.
Well worth the trip up from Brighton to County Durham - he only needs the car for a couple of days so find a local B&B or campsite (as I did), and enjoy the lovely surrounding countryside whilst he's working on the car.
Called into to Power on the way home (being concerned about a recently acquired engine rattle) who confirmed I do need a rebuild - still at least I'll be able to look at my new shiny engine with ease!
Well worth the trip up from Brighton to County Durham - he only needs the car for a couple of days so find a local B&B or campsite (as I did), and enjoy the lovely surrounding countryside whilst he's working on the car.
Called into to Power on the way home (being concerned about a recently acquired engine rattle) who confirmed I do need a rebuild - still at least I'll be able to look at my new shiny engine with ease!
Hi Matt,
The rose joints literally screw onto the original front main bonnet studs, the fibre glass on the bonnet through which the stud passes is cut away to clear the rose joint. Another bolt with spacers goes thru the rose joint at 90 deg. into a new hole drilled into the bonnet.
The only bit of f/glass strengthening is to the inside front corner of the bonnet.
And yes the service bonnet and main bonnet open independently.
Allan is going to do a DIY kit with pics. etc. when all will be revealed.
Roger
The rose joints literally screw onto the original front main bonnet studs, the fibre glass on the bonnet through which the stud passes is cut away to clear the rose joint. Another bolt with spacers goes thru the rose joint at 90 deg. into a new hole drilled into the bonnet.
The only bit of f/glass strengthening is to the inside front corner of the bonnet.
And yes the service bonnet and main bonnet open independently.
Allan is going to do a DIY kit with pics. etc. when all will be revealed.
Roger
Thankyou for those kind words Roger, Especially when you came all the way from Brighton,But now you can get under the Bonnet on your own and you don't need someone to help you get the bonnet off. You can also detail in the engine bay as i have on my Tuscan like you said you wanted to, The other thing is it is a good safety feature because if something goes wrong under the Bonnet you can get it up in seconds by yourself, One of the members mentioned being able to raise the Bonnet higher, The answer to that is you can have it Vertical if you want there's no limit, The only limit is your service Bonnet but if you fasten your service Bonnet to the main Bonnet using the original center fixing it will raise with the main Bonnet, Kind Regards, Allan.
benny4x said:
seems such a good idea I recently had a small fire when my airfilter caught fire,would have been great to have been able to lift the bonnet so I knew where to point fire extinqisher
is the bonnet held down firmly compared to 4 bots and 2 clips?
You still retain the top clips and centre bolts and it pivots on the rose joints that take the place of the bottom bolts so you've still got 6 fixing points.is the bonnet held down firmly compared to 4 bots and 2 clips?
Allan has done 4 tuscans from the TVRCC Tees Valley Region ours included and personally I can only highly recommend it. It really is a first class job.
Having had it done I think it is one of the natural progression upgrades for any Tuscan.
Now SWMBO has suggested tidying the previously unseen bonnet area
Having had it done I think it is one of the natural progression upgrades for any Tuscan.
Now SWMBO has suggested tidying the previously unseen bonnet area
S6 ROR said:
About time Ken, and can we assume that it will be on show in Whitby on the 2nd in all it's glory
Better bring the sunglasses along
No chance Nigel.Better bring the sunglasses along
We will be in the clone Griff .... It's loud, noisy, smells a bit of exhaust, drinks a lot and at times she thinks it should find a new home ..... just like, well I don't know, I'll let you decide !
NCE 61 said:
That looks a nice conversion, I would like to see some more detailed pictures of hinges & fiberglass work. Good price as well 
Here's the rose joint pivot with bolt and spacer - the g/fibre was reinforced with 3-4 layers of matting around the new hole drilled into the bottom corner of the main bonnet. The corner of the f/glass that takes the existing fixing bolt was cut away so the rose joint is screwed down onto the captive stud. 
Niftynoo said:
NCE 61 said:
That looks a nice conversion, I would like to see some more detailed pictures of hinges & fiberglass work. Good price as well
Here's the rose joint pivot with bolt and spacer - the g/fibre was reinforced with 3-4 layers of matting around the new hole drilled into the bottom corner of the main bonnet. The corner of the f/glass that takes the existing fixing bolt was cut away so the rose joint is screwed down onto the captive stud. Yep, the two mid point nuts are retained, need only be finger tight. The long stays are hinged from the wing and when raised clip to the edge of the raised bonnet in exactly the same away the service stay works (ball and cup type fixings). A strip of Valcro is wrapped around the stay and fixes to another piece stuck on top of the wheel arch to locate them when folded down. The respective fixings are riveted to f/glass with addition of s/s reinforcement strips.
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