I’m in the process of assembling my bonnet and I find the headlight buckets are no longer fitting. I can’t get the rivet holes to line up without cutting and re-welding the bucket flanges. It seems like the rivet hole pattern in the wing is too far out from the center. I thought maybe I used the wrong washers that go between the wings and center section. I used the thick washers that are about 2mm (.080 inches) thick. I did all my metal straightening and bodywork on the wings prior to assembly, which may also be contributing to the problem.
Hi Gary, I did this specific job on my S2 OTS 10 years ago , so any helpful memories are gone.!!!I I think you might get more helpful responses if you post a photo, as I suspect many folks are going to respond better with more input. Regards, John H.
Hi Gary,
Did you use any new panels?
The strip of bonnet material between the headlight opening and the opening for the sidelights is relatively flimsy and can thus move around some. Dropping down to the joint between the wing and the underpan, I have been able to move the relative position of the 2 parts, mainly the wing, to get a better outcome. In my case, I was chasing best fitment of the chrome surround on enclosed S1 headlights. The holes at the bolted joint are slotted so you can move things around. Any mismatch is covered up by the bumper blade. That said, I wouldn’t be too shocked if the rivet holes didn’t line up. I have described an Etype bonnet as a wet noodle!
This is because your panels have changed shape and it is a common mistake people make when they “restore” cars. The headlamp scoop moldings are a rigid three dimensional shape, but the surrounding panels are like a thin flimsy spring. When these are dismantled and shot blasted using an aggressive medium like sand, it puts a wave of heat through the metal and as that wavefront moves through, it unwinds the spring, which now takes on a new shape. Add to that, if the shot blaster briefly pauses to eliminate some rust, that bit of metal gets warmer than the rest and is also now thinner - it naturally deforms.
Now fast forward and bolt everything back together - it fits differently because the 3D shape is different.
Other common gotchas are that people don’t realise it is the rigid scoop which imparts the shape to the surrounding panels - not the other way around. The other panels are only rigid where there is pressed in angle, e.g. fender edges. This means the angles adopted orient around those more rigid points. Chief amongst those is where the front headlight opening has a join between the centre panel and the fender. If that is angled to the vertical differently than before, then the entire opening for the scoop has to flex to accommodate it as it has only one other fixed point where the fender meets the centre panel again 180’ away. The scoop appears to either be too thin and pointy or short and fat. That cannot be the case - it is the flexible bonnet panels which are reassembled incorrectly.
Mareks explanation certainly seems to make sense…I was totally oblivious to how many bullets I dodged…my resto project however made up for it other areas!!!
Leave the bolts loose so the hood can shift all around till you get everything fitted then you can gradually tighten them maybe a few days weeks and beers till your happy
Patience is your friend here ….apparently the factory spent 40 hours fitting and adjusting bonnets to each car…….I’m not sure it’s true , but many of us have exceeded that …especially if doing it without help
Thank you all for that eye opening response. It’s time for me to take a deep breath and a double shot of bourbon.
Marek’s explanation makes total sense and I should have left everything loose as Jim said. It’s funny how obvious things are in hindsight.
I will need to think about how many steps back I want to take and how best to move forward. Did I mention all the body work on the bonnet panels was done and the inside of the bonnet was fully painted?
I’ll update you with some pictures after I’ve thought this through.