7 replies to this topic

[foreverfixin]

My bonnet has some bad corrosion all along the front edge. Through one of the holes I can see that the frame is also affected so I am wondering how I can separate the skin from the frame in order to remedy the rust. What, if anything, should I be aware of that could cause difficulties? Or, is it as simple as drilling out the spot welds?

[slidehammer]

That would be an extremely hard repair to make due to the compound nature of the bonnet curve. My advice would be source a better one off of either ebay or someone on the forum might have a good second hand one.

[sonscar]

If you have welding tools then drill out the spot and it will easily separate.Fairly easy to repair with some care.A second hand replacement is quite likely to be close to yours.Give it a try,it's cheap.Steve..

[stuart bowes]

I would agree having tried to repair one, getting it back together correctly and doing a really good job of it and in the right shape isn't going to be easy

 

that's not to say it's impossible, for example you if have the shell with an empty engine bay you could weld in the back two pieces, then put the bonnet in it's space, weights on the top, and do a few tacks from underneath to get the cross-members held in the right place before taking off and carefully finishing it on the bench slowly to avoid warp

 

I would lean towards cutting and repairing bits in situ if possible (i,e without removing the bracing)

 

mine was really grotty, I ended up finding a much better one and just doing very minimal repairs instead of taking it apart 

 

when shopping for one I found most of them are near Birmingham for some reason ? must be a big mini scene up there 

Edited by stuart bowes, 30 October 2023 - 07:49 PM.

[sonikk4]

Is it doable, of course it is and the good thing is you can make more adjustments without having to resort to force.

 

I compeletly seperated my clubby bonnet carried out a load of repairs etc only to get a damn warp on the right hand side which i eventually gave up on. It wasn't from want of trying and i wanted it perfect so resorted to a brand new Heritage bonnet and promptly cut into that as well, no warping this time though. I have still kep that bonnet and may well have another go one day.

 

BUT be careful. Its easy to mess things up beyond economical repair. And with that in mind, as mentioned a good solid second hand bonnet is the easier way forward. 

[foreverfixin]

Advice received loud and clear! It doesn’t sound like I have the skills to attempt a complete strip. So, I will cut out the bad bits and hopefully get to see how bad can do frame corners are, then decide what to do. Thank you all for your responses.

[foreverfixin]

I’ve been thinking more about this. What if I build a jig out of 25mm square hollow section and cross brace it, attach a leg at each corner and fix them to the bonnet corner brackets. Then the skin could be removed without any distortion of the frame. Sounds like being worth a try but I’m no expert by any means. In a worst case scenario I would need to find a decent second hand one.

[stuart bowes]

theoretically yes but still exercise caution welding the main bonnet panel itself, too much heat too quickly and it will easily distort

 

then when you weld it back to the crossmember, and cut off the jig it'll pop to a position halfway between the right place and where the bonnet wants to go.. the cross member isn't that solid as such it'll still allow a certain amount of twist

 

but if it's that or buy a new one anyway what's the harm in giving it a go, it'll either work or it wont I guess