bonnet alignment
Discussion
nearly finished a body off restoeation on my s1, i will be ready to put the bonnet back on next week but i know i will be a b**ch of a job trying to get it to line up correctly. can anyone tell me if there is a way to go about this as i had loads of truble when i took it off last year.
Budget a weekend and get loads of mates to hold the thing in place. Make a party of it. If things go bad then at least you will have some enjoyment out of the process.
Take your time. Things to prop/hold/balance the bonnet are invaluable and get a couple of friends to help you.
Good luck.
Steve
Take your time. Things to prop/hold/balance the bonnet are invaluable and get a couple of friends to help you.
Good luck.
Steve
If you know the alignment is totally out and you're starting from scratch, take the bonnet pins out and only put them back for the last part. Also lightly lock all the adjusters roughly in the middle of their travel. It is a good idea to put a groundsheet over the top of the engine hanging over the sides to protect the bodywork from being scraped by the bonnet while you're moving it around. Get the bonnet mounted on its pivots as soon as possible, then it is just a matter of tweaking the adjusters so it sits in the right place. This is something that you can do on your own as long as it isn't too windy! Best way I've found to fit the bonnet on the pivots is to balance the bonnet on its nose in front of the car (on a suitable protective sheet) and position it close up against the pivot points. Be carefull not to break the indicator lense while you're doing this (D'oh too late!), you may want to remove them to be on the safe side. Jack the front of the car up as far as necessary (about four inches above normal ride height on mine) so the adjustable mounting plates for the pivot bolts are at the same height as the corresponding brackets on the bonnet. Then walk the bonnet back towards the car so the two holes line up and fit the pivot bolts.
With the pins removed, try closing the bonnet. Initially it will probably be miles out, but this is easy to correct. Start by getting the center line of the bonnet parallel with the center line of the car, you can adjust this with the adjusters on the bonnet. Then get it central on the car, you can adjust this by screwing the pivot bolts in and out. Next get the front of the bonnet at the right height, you can adjust this with the slide adjusters on the chassis. Finally set the front/rear position, you can adjust this with the adjusters on the bonnet. Be prepared to go round this loop several times as the adjusters are not completely independant so changes to one can throw another out, but if you are methodical and make small changes you will soon get it right.
With the bonnet in the right position you are ready to refit and re-position the bonnet pins. A good way to do this is to put masking tape over the latches, and bring the bonnet down so the pins mark the masking tape and show you where they're going to land. Once the pins are lined up with the middle of the holes you're ready to lock the pins in position and close the bonnet.
The final adjustment is to set the length of the pins so the bonnet is held down tight against the pads on the scuttle.
>> Edited by greenv8s on Thursday 4th March 17:41
With the pins removed, try closing the bonnet. Initially it will probably be miles out, but this is easy to correct. Start by getting the center line of the bonnet parallel with the center line of the car, you can adjust this with the adjusters on the bonnet. Then get it central on the car, you can adjust this by screwing the pivot bolts in and out. Next get the front of the bonnet at the right height, you can adjust this with the slide adjusters on the chassis. Finally set the front/rear position, you can adjust this with the adjusters on the bonnet. Be prepared to go round this loop several times as the adjusters are not completely independant so changes to one can throw another out, but if you are methodical and make small changes you will soon get it right.
With the bonnet in the right position you are ready to refit and re-position the bonnet pins. A good way to do this is to put masking tape over the latches, and bring the bonnet down so the pins mark the masking tape and show you where they're going to land. Once the pins are lined up with the middle of the holes you're ready to lock the pins in position and close the bonnet.
The final adjustment is to set the length of the pins so the bonnet is held down tight against the pads on the scuttle.
>> Edited by greenv8s on Thursday 4th March 17:41
Get the height set first, then adjust the front/back later.
Unfortunately, as the height adjustment is not vertical, each time to set it, the horizontal adjustment will need tweaking.
If you do not get the adjustment right, your bonnet catches may pop up when you go over bumps. Mine does this all of the time
and I can't fix it easily as the horizontal adjusters have seized.
Good Luck
>> Edited by peter m on Thursday 4th March 18:18
Unfortunately, as the height adjustment is not vertical, each time to set it, the horizontal adjustment will need tweaking.
If you do not get the adjustment right, your bonnet catches may pop up when you go over bumps. Mine does this all of the time
and I can't fix it easily as the horizontal adjusters have seized. Good Luck
>> Edited by peter m on Thursday 4th March 18:18
Please tell me, are the two threaded pins that come out of the box section on the chassis adjustable? Is this where you adjust the verticle alignment on in the bonnet? I think some clampit has set these and kacked them on position with a welder the bonnet is now fouling on the radiator.
greenv8s said:
The final adjustment is to set the length of the pins so the bonnet is held down tight against the pads on the scuttle.
..which I have noticed are missing on a few S's I've seen ..having just "uprated" the ones on mine with some thin sticky backed foam I now get no vibration from the bonnet at all and a really snug fit.
Cheers
Matt
Yes, the long bolt through the bonnet hinge screws into a metal plate that is adjustable in height within the box section on the chassis. If these have been welded by someone, then height adjustment will not be possible.
When the 2 bolts on the box section are loostened, the plate should slide up and down freely. These bolts can be very hard to move, as they get lots of spray from the wheels and corrode solid
When the 2 bolts on the box section are loostened, the plate should slide up and down freely. These bolts can be very hard to move, as they get lots of spray from the wheels and corrode solid
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